1965 Austin Mini Van

YEAR: 1965
MODEL: Austin Mini Van (Mark I)
VIN#: 7931441
ENGINE: Originally 848cc inline Four-Cylinder 
CURB WEIGHT: 1,512 LBS.
TOP SPEED: 72 MPH
PRICE WHEN NEW: Over 600 British pounds
NUMBER BUILT: 521,494
BUILD DATE: 1965
COLOR: Red (Originally yellow)
OWNERS: Kelly Kirkland and Satch Carlson (Since 2019)
LOCATION: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
NICKNAME: Ike

The Mini Van was a commercial panel van that was rated at very low ¼-ton load capacity. The Mini Van was built on the longer Traveller chassis but without side windows. The Van was quite popular in the UK during the 1960s because it was classed as a commercial vehicle and required no sales tax. It was a much cheaper design having less brightwork and stamped steel slots in place of a chrome grille. 

In Satch’s words: “Kelly spotted a Mini panel van for sale in Spain and started looking into total overall costs including shipping. Then she found this car in LA—less than a hundred miles from where we lived in San Diego! Obviously, we were meant to buy it.”

Kelly named it Ike after the adopted Canadian little brother on South Park. “I like Ike” was a campaign slogan in 1952 and 1956, and it seems to be true: Everybody loves Ike!”

Built as a complete rotisserie restoration In 1996 by a wholesale florist, the Austin Mini panel van was used primarily for trade shows.

Ike was updated and uprated with a cammed 1,380-cc engine carrying two-and-a-half inch SU carburetors; all ancillaries have been upgraded to Mini Cooper S specs, including disc brakes and an S distributor. This engine sits atop a Jack Knight five-speed gearbox in place of the original four-speed, so Interstate cruising speeds are no problem. Unfortunately, the original fuel tank holds about six gallons, with only a range of a hundred miles.