MINI With a Gearbox Problem, Balcatta to Cooloongup

Eddie's MINI Cooper S had a gearbox problem in Balcatta, and it needed to go to Cooloongup, about 60 kilometres south. Eddie is a member of the Mini Owners Club of WA, and his car is a sharp one: dark green with a white roof, white bonnet stripes and Union Jack mirror caps.

The club started in 1985 with a small group of Perth people who loved the Mini. It now has over 80 members looking after around 200 Minis between them, from early Morris 850s and Mokes to the last Rover Coopers and BMW-era MINIs like Eddie's. Members head out on breakfast cruises, Perth Hills drives, coastal runs and country trips, always in a convoy of Minis, and hold tech days and garage sessions in between. You can read more on the Mini Owners Club of WA website.

Eddie asked for a mid-morning pickup, outside peak hour, and that is when Chris collected it.

A car with a gearbox fault is not one to drive, so the MINI made the trip on the tilt tray. At around 1,100 kilograms and small all round, a MINI is one of the easiest cars to put on a tray.

The Cooper S packs a lot into a small car. Depending on the year, its turbocharged 1.6 litre engine sends 128 kW or more through the front wheels, and MINI gearboxes from the late 2000s and early 2010s have a reputation for trouble, with the six-speed manual's failures a known fault on that generation.

Eddie was all smiles at the other end.