The first Austin by BAAK

Following the backdating movement this car project was entirely designed and produced in our workshop in Lyon (France), the Austin Mini was the first ever car project BAAK embark shortly after the company started. It was then an ambitious project to offer Mini project ranging from few parts and accessories to full restoration.

This complete Austin project combines parts and accessories available in our catalog with a true expertise and a complete work on the car. The donor, a red 1300MPI went through a complete frame off restoration as we’ll des- cribe later. Once the body was separated form the frame and the engine, it was placed on a rolling cart where we could get to work, first by modifying the roof to add a sun roof. We then rolled it in our paint booth to apply a beau- tiful shade of cream on the body, this color is much warmer than the ivory shade we chose for our showroom car and contrast perfectly with the other black element. This time the roof, the new fender flares and the wheels were sprayed in a deep gloss black. All this being done in house in our fully equipped workshop. A complete upholstery set includes the headliner, the various carpets a leather dashboard liner. Since we were at it we’ve also included a beautiful pair of Cobras frond seats and bench entirely covered by our master craftsmen in our leather shop. The finishing touches comes in the form or the door panels and other miscellaneous details. To complete the interior we’ve designed and casted some aluminum panels for the gauges, the switches as well as the door handles, gear knob and the steering wheel center cap. All these parts and accessories are available on our website to embellish the interior of your Mini.

While part of the team was dedicated to the body and interior work, our mechanic performed a complete overhaul of the frame, the suspensions, the brake system and of course the engine. We’ve also decided to bring this Mini into the modern era with the instal of a power steering. Once the car was back in one piece, our team did all the ne- cessary adjustments and settings as well as an alignment before some test rides to make sure the car was dialed in correctly.

As it is our reputation for our 2 wheels creation, we had the same care and attention to details while assembling this first commission on 4 wheels. We’ve taken our expertise almost everywhere and created luxury parts and ac- cessories to build a sophisticated and elegant car without being conspicuous. We’ve also included some special touches requested by our customer such as leather shift knob gaiter and the Lucas P700 tripod headlight. No mat- ter where you lay your eyes inside and outside of this car you’ll see exquisite details: from the high quality leather to the matching stitching and piping all the way to the sun visor for the ultimate details. The final road testing confirmed the excellent job done by our team with an excellent handling!