March 20, 2003 – With the warmer weather in California this week, it’s got me thinking about pulling out our family Moke, the one my kids won’t let me sell.

This pic is of Michael Waterjohns, of M-tech in the UK, who builds many of our custom, built-to-order Minis. His most famous one is his “Countryman Sport” woodie that made the cover of Mini Magazine. Others he’s built for our customers are on our “Built to Order” pages.

Click Here to go to that page.

When Mike called to say he would be coming out to attend Mini Meet West 2002 (hosted here in Southern California by MOALA, our local Mini club), we were only too glad to loan “M-tech Mike” our family’s personal Moke – this nice burgundy one – for the two weeks he was here with his good friend and fellow miniac, Jerry.

When our family later upgraded to a four-seat “Californian” model with a 1275cc and disc brakes, we sent this burgundy Moke out to Florida, where it’s consigned to my friend.

Click here to see the listing for it on our Consignment page:

It’s available now near St. Petersburg, Florida. Call or email if you’d like an appointment to see it.

M-tech Mike thoroughly enjoyed driving this Moke, and this shot is probably the only time he had the top up – and he went home with the sunburn to prove it. Mike and Jerry logged a lot of miles cruising the coast, and hitting all the tourist attractions, including a boat ride to Catalina Island where a large fleet of Mokes were available for rent in the ’60′s and ’70′s.

M-tech Mike had such a great time with this Australian Moke that he’s since acquired one of his own that he’s now restoring.

We’re very pleased to be the exclusive U.S. representative for M-tech, since Mike would much rather have a wrench in his hand than a phone or computer mouse! Please contact us with your wish list and a sense of your budget range, and Mike just might build you the Mini of your dreams. He’s not cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for – and references are gladly provided.

p.s. – If you get a chance to talk with M-tech Mike, please be sure to give him some friendly ribbing about how the MiniGuy had to teach him how to properly eat a Taco Bell burrito. Something about not applying too much “hydraulic pressure” to the contents from one end… And we’ve got the pics to prove it! Giggle…