The childhood and early teenage years are a great time of life, with moderate worries and much more time to do the things you really want to do. But for the true Mini enthusiast, it can also be a very frustrating time waiting for your 17th birthday... and your first Mini. Ryan Barnes has been lucky. He is the proud owner of a fabulous Mini which, wisely, he has been building since he was 14 years old. Born to be car-crazed, his dad, Gary, worked at Silverstone Circuit as a racing mechanic at one time and the family would go with him to the races. Today Gary works at an MoT testing station, which has proved to be very useful for Ryan. Three years ago a young lad brought a scruffy Mini in for the MoT. It failed on a number of points, all of which could have been rectified without too much bother but, as the Mini had very rusty front wings and A-panels, damaged doors, and the gearbox was noisy and jumped out of second gear, the owner decided to get rid of it and buy a restored Mini. As it happened, Gary knew of one so he put the lad in touch with the seller and the deal was done. Gary bought the old Mini for 50 quid. "The idea was to swap the engine and 'box for a second-hand unit, tidy the bodywork up and sell it on," he says. He certainly hadn't planned on what happened next. Ryan took a look and asked, "Can I have it to do up ready for my 17th birthday?" No car-mad father is going to say no to his son on that front. Gary did insist on one condition though... "As long as it is we and not me," he said.
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