Sharon Ekin with her 1973 Austin Mini Clubman was the first winner of the ClassicLine sponsored 2019 Gemini Events Pride of Ownership awards. Following Sharon’s win at Motorfest on the 21st & 22nd April, we caught up with Sharon to find out more about her fabulous Mini Clubman.
Sharon, from Longton near Stoke on Trent, has had a passion for classic Mini’s since the early 90’s. At the age of 18, her parents purchased a white 1975 Mini Clubman for the grand sum of £100 for her to learn to drive in. From this point onwards, Sharon was hooked on Minis!
It was around six years ago that Sharon happened to hear about ‘Lily’ at a local garage. This ’73 Austin Mini Clubman was for sale and Sharon fell in love instantly. Even though Sharon wasn’t looking to buy another Mini at the time, she already had a Mini Mayfair in need of restoration, she purchased Lily there and then.
Lily, the Mini Clubman, was first registered in London in February 1973 by a Mr Owen who, after only having the car a short while sadly passed away. The car was then garaged for a considerable length of time having only done 32,000 miles until she was later sold by the family to the garage in Stoke on Trent.
The car was in a reasonable state thanks to good storage so only minor restoration was required. The original 1973 body work is remarkable. Sharon tells us, “the paint was quite tired, but I could tell she was loved. Some of the Teal Blue original paintwork had been rubbed away in places so has been refreshed”.