Purdue North Central Car Show.

Purdue North Central hosted a car show Saturday September 13th. It was a COLD and over cast day, and not many cars came out. Being a Purdue alumni I braved the weather spent the day bundled in a winter coat of all things. Rather than hand out awards at this event the decision was made to post the cars on the 2015 Purdue North Central Student Government Calendar. It looks like I will have June, an appropriate month for a small red Mini Mark roadster. Here is the link to the Purdue Facebook page on the Car Show. If you are in the area next September stop out and bring your car!

Join us now on Facebook

After posting to this blog and not being able to have other owners easily share their experiences and photos I decided to finally start a Facebook page as well on the Bremen Mini Mark.

Just put Bremen Mini Mark in the find box and you should pull it up. I have taken all the photos I have found from owners all over the world and shared them on Facebook and also added some of the marketing literature I have been able to find on the Bremen Mini Mark.

Facebook I hope will also allow owners who want to find a new home for their Bremen Mini Mark to post information and pictures, getting that info to others who are interested in buying this great car.

             

Give it a look and a LIKE and lets see where it goes!

Orak Shriners Car Show

 

Saturday, August 16. The weather was overcast but beautiful and the possibility of rain held off as I took our Mini Mark to the local Orak Shriners Car Show in Michigan City, IN. Lots of cars of all ages, and brands with even more car enthusiasts out enjoying all the cars. At three o'clock when the awards were announced the Mini Mark was fortunate to receive a "60-76 Custom Class" award.
This show was a bit different than most the car has been to in the last year as the Shriners had a panel of judges inspect the cars (it was not done by popular vote). This meant that the cars were judged on condition and merits, not by popularity. Our record book of each phase of the rebuild helped I think to show what condition the car was in when purchased compared to the beauty it is now. I think it also helped that we did all of the work ourselves except for the paint. There were many compliments on the car, and as usual a new group of people who up until today were not aware of the Bremen Mini Mark.

The Wind Wings

How many of your Mini Marks came with Wind Wings? How many still have them and they are solid to the windshield frame? Unfortunately when we bought our Mini Mark they were on the windshield, but had been mounted numerous times and had the holes to prove it. They were just "hanging" and I wasn't sure how to revive them. During the restoration I made sure to weld all the holes shut on the frame, but it just didn't seem like this was a design that worked well over time. Also, the original design was just stainless butt hinges, not very stylish. We finished the restoration without Wind Wings, but I still toyed with a design that would do them justice and would be streamline, firm and last. Finally I came up with a design which I think fits the car. Making use of the groove already in the windshield frame I set out making a set of brackets out of 6061 aluminum. I fabricated frame brackets and then glass brackets, finally polishing them to make them shine. New Plexiglas  wings which have the edges polished as well for the clear glass look. Stainless acorn nuts with stainless threaded rods join the hinge halves, and a plastic high durometer bearing between each hinge half. I did drill some small holes in the inner side of the frame to mount the new hinges, but they will hold up over time, and because of the design they will not loosen from wind resistance. It gives the windshield the finish look for a roadster, and should keep a bit of air out of the passenger compartment, another finishing touch.  

The Gilmore Auto Museum and a Mini Mark

Thursday July 17 was a beautiful summer day, temperature in the mid 70's, and just a few wispy white clouds in the sky. We left the house around 7 AM and headed to the Gilmore Auto Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. We took the scenic back roads rather then the interstate, why not, it was a beautiful day?
 
 In just under three hours we pulled into the parking lot at Gilmore. There had been many changes to the museum since our last visit including a new Visitors Center and Library. I had some business in the Library with Dick B. and after I asked if we could get on the grounds to get some pictures of our Mini Mark.

Dick made a phone call and when the call was concluded advised we could get the pictures, however Hemming's Motor News was also on the grounds that day and doing a photo shoot for an upcoming issue. We drove onto the grounds and found their crew taking pictures at the filling station. There was an immaculate blue Tucker, (number 47 of 51 produced) getting pictures. I talked with the museum helper with the crew and was told that they would be shooting for a while, but I could get a few shots as they changed locations on the grounds. We then drove over to the Diner and started taking pictures there, (yet keeping an eye on the service station).

Around twenty minutes later the crew packed up and moved to another location on the grounds. This left the Service Station open with the Tucker still there. We quickly moved in and started shooting the Mini Mark, in the company of the Tucker. It was rather ironic, I had wanted pictures of just the Mini Mark, but I could never have arranged a photo shoot with the Tucker.
For around the next half hour I took photos from every possible angle. Then a driver came and took the Tucker away. This gave me the opportunity now to do some solo shots in the same spot. I spent the next 45 minutes getting solo shots at the station, in front of a barn they have on the museum campus and the Ford museum.
 It was funny, all the while we were there waiting and taking pictures, people seemed as inquisitive of the Mini Mark as they did the Tucker and other classics there, stopping and asking questions, wanting to find out more about it. Not one person I talked with had ever heard of the Mini Mark. After taking all the pictures we toured the museum and then headed back home. The ride back was just as pleasant, and the weather just as enjoyable. Made one or two stops along the way (we found a Sinclair Museum in Cassopolis, Michigan) taking a few more pictures and then finally back in the garage. The Mini Mark did over 300 miles round trip and performed wonderfully.

If you are ever up around Gilmore it is worth a visit, and keep an eye on Hemming's for their shots without a Mini Mark!

Buy, Sell, Trade, Barter, Exchange, Recycle

The blog has been getting quite a few posts from owners and sellers looking for a way to buy or sell a Mini Mark. There have also been many questions on parts for the Mini Marks. With that in mind I thought it might be a good idea to have just a single post on the blog where that information can be exchanged. If you have your Mini Mark and you want to find a new home, or are looking to add one to your garage; you need a part, or have one to share, post it here. If you are having trouble finding a part, another owner may be able to put you on the right track.

IF YOU HAVE PICTURES PLEASE LEAVE YOU E-MAIL ADDRESS SO VIEWERS MAY CONTACT YOU AND YOU MAY EXCHANGE THEM.

The only fine print I will post along with this is that I take no responsibility for anything that is sold, bought or other. This post is merely to connect people who have the interest of keeping the Bremen Mini Mark alive. Buyer beware!

Good luck to all!

May 2014

The last days of May and we have finally seen some warm weather, warm enough to take the car out and have some fun. We took a long drive over the Memorial Day weekend and had lots of waves and thumbs up as always. Since the weather was COLD before Memorial Day I was able to put another coat of wax on ours, and get a polish on the chrome. It really does shine when you get it out in the sun. Even the smallest part of the car, like the headlamp can create quite the photo effect when the sun is shining on it.

So many owners have found the blog and left great comments. With all of the cars that have been found so far, an owner of a Ford Pinto Mini Mark, just shared his cars information. I knew Bremen marketed a Pinto version with an automatic transmission, but never had run across one yet. I must admit the thought of an automatic transmission is appealing, but it probably isn't as much fun as a stick shift!

4th of July and parade days are coming soon, so get your Mini Mark polished up and show it off!

Spring 2014

I am not sure about you but I think this has been one heck of a long winter. Snow, cold, more snow, more cold, still cold. Even though it is spring by the calendar, it is still a bit too chilly to get our Mini Mark back on the road for this season. With May just a few days away and the car shows starting up, well one can only hope for warm weather soon.

It looks like the blog is still getting many views (around 6,000 so far) from owners, questions being posted and answers posted back. That is GREAT! Sharing our problems, fixes, ideas, history and just news of what is happening with your own unique Mini Mark. There are even a few postings of cars for sale. Although I take no responsibility for what shape or condition those cars are in, this at least gives us a chance to keep the Mini Mark alive.

During the winter months we have done a little maintenance on our Mini Mark, (for the most part it has been in a warm shop under cover during the winter). We replaced the master brake cylinder and bled the brake system. If any of you ever replace the master cylinder, follow the instructions and bench bleed the master cylinder first. This sure makes the rest of the process easy and quick, plus, with a bench bleed, you get ALL of the air out of the master cylinder before you install it in the car.

Next we replaced the oil sump plate and studs. We went with a billet aluminum cover and so far it seems to seal a bit better than the stamped steel version. While we were finishing it up we decided to replace the oil filter with a chrome one for VW's.  I found one thru Car Craft VW in Riverside, CA. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of Car Craft. First of all they lack customer service, and second, they don’t stand behind their products. Their web site brags about shipping the next business day,, I found out not so, it took 3-4 days to get it shipped. When we received the oil filter it looked nice and we put it on, then filled up the engine with oil and started it up, no leaks. A few weeks later I started it up and backed it out of the garage to wash it. The oil filter gasket blew and dumped over two quarts of oil out before I found out and killed the engine.

I contacted Ron at Car Craft and he said "sorry, blew the gasket, right?"  "That is common with VW motors that have the HD oil pump, when you start them up you can't rev them until warm,,,, happens to some of my buggy customers frequently,,,,". 

I just about seized an engine and never even got a "would you like it replaced?" just a,, "sorry". If I had been driving on the road, I would have lost all the oil and seized the engine. It took me around two hours to clean up the mess from the oil spill before I pushed the car back in the shop to find out what happened.

I checked the filter and I think it is basically a bad design. There is no solid metal ring to support the gasket and the gasket is rather soft compared to other filters. We ran a Fram last year, and never had a problem, warm, cold, rev'd or idled. Fram’s gasket design is much better, and it is supported by a metal ring to avoid a "frequent blow out". I did a bit of research on the Fram we used, and found a KN filter in chrome. It is a motorcycle filter, but has the same thread design, the no drain back with engine off, and the gasket is the same size and has a good support ring as the Fram does. It is a little bit smaller (capacity) than the Fram, but there is the oil sump filter in the VW, and it isn't like I will be putting lots of miles between oil and filter changes. I put the new filter on, filled it back up with oil and started it up, rev'd it, 50 PSI pressure and no leaks. I ran it for a while at various speeds and all looks good, no leaks. I will keep an eye on it, but my suspicion is it will hold up just like the Fram did. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Car Craft, put your time and money with a better parts house who stand behind their parts.

Here is a picture of the KN filter in place- NICE!!

I would still love to hear stories from more owners as well as their experiences! Sharing them for other owners to read as well. Meantime, get the wax on your car, get it buffed out and get ready for the car shows, parades, poker runs or just Sunday afternoon drives in the sun. Keep these unique and stylish Mini Marks out on the road for people to see!