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Dean Foster’s Mini love affair

8 December, 2016

In New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 313 Dean Foster shares his story of how he came to love and cherish the Mini marque, and became involved in keeping them alive all these years.

His first car was a 1974 Leyland Mini, which he bought through good old Trade & Exchange back in 1996, with money he’d saved up from his first job. It had been fully customized and souped up with a worked 1330cc engine, a lumpy cam, and a 28/36 down-draught Weber. It had been painted red, with a white roof and Cooper stripes.

Fast forward 12 years to 2008, and Dean decided to work towards the goal of attending the Mini 50th celebrations, in October 2009. This was a good excuse to get his current Mini out of storage for a quick strip-down and repaint. The strip-down turned into a slightly larger job when he made the call to get the shell acid dipped, and a full restoration ensued.

Have a look at a few additional photos that didn’t make it into the feature in the January issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 313) — grab your copy here to read the full story.  

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Luxury by design

15 January, 2026

How do you define luxury? To some it is being blinded with all manner of technological wizardry, from massaging heated seats to being able to activate everything with your voice, be it the driver’s side window or the next track on Spotify. To others, the most exorbitant price tag will dictate how luxurious a car is.
For me, true automotive luxury comes from being transported in unparalleled comfort, refinement, and smoothness of power under complete control. Forget millions of technological toys; if one can be transported here and there without the sensation of moving at all, that is luxury — something that is perfectly encapsulated by the original Lexus LS400. It was the first truly global luxury car from Toyota, and one that made the big luxury brands take notice.

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2026 issue 403, on sale now

15 December, 2025

Morris’ ground-breaking, world-beating, Minor
It was Britain’s biggest small car, and it got Britain mobile again.       Morris Motors celebrated its millionth Minor in December 1960, a car that defined the British motor industry, and was in production for 10 years alongside the iconic Mini of 1959.
Whakatane dentist John Twaddle has a passion for Morris Minors going back to 1982, and he still has his first example. There are now three ‘Morries’ in his garage. One, however, is quite special, a rare ‘Minor-Million’. 
One of just 350 made commemorating the millionth Morris Minor produced, the first British car to hit a million units, the well-rounded little Brit’ would end production in 1971with a tally of over 1.6 million units.
John finished his Minor Million six years ago, resplendent in lilac, its official factory colour. He calls it his ‘Minor Resurrection’, and it has won numerous awards.
This summer edition also comes with our annual FREE classic car calendar, a must for every garage wall.
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, our poster is of a couple of garage mates, a 1957 Ford Ranchero and a 1968 Lincoln Continental.