Mini Moke
The Mini Moke is a small, front-wheel-drive utility and recreational convertible, conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation, and subsequently marketed for civilian use under the Austin, Morris, Leyland, and Moke brands. The name "Mini Moke" combines mini with moke, an archaic term for a mule. The Moke is known for its simple, straightforward, doorless design and for its adaptability.
BMC's Cowley plant started building Mokes in January 1964, with 14,518 produced in the UK between 1964 and 1968; 26,000 were manufactured in Australia between 1966 and 1981; and 10,000 in Portugal between 1980 and 1993 when, after a nearly 30-year run, production ended.
In 2013 a new chinese version appeared, made by Chinese automaker Chery Automobile started production in China of a new car called Moke. This evocation of the design is assembled and distributed by a number of companies in several countries including England, France, and the US, although ownership of the Moke trademark is disputed. This Moke is a full new design and shares nothing with the original British Mini Moke.
History
The original Moke was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and John Sheppard. When Issigonis designed the Mini, he planned another vehicle to share the Mini's mechanical parts, but with a more rugged body shell. This was an attempt to take a portion of the military vehicle business from Land Rover. Issigonis had previously designed the Nuffield Guppy in a failed attempt to break into that market. By 1959, BMC had working prototypes of what was codenamed "The Buckboard", later to become the Mini Moke. These prototypes were shown to the British Army as a parachute-droppable vehicle, but poor ground clearance and a low-powered engine did not meet the most basic requirements for an off-road vehicle. Only the Royal Navy showed any interest in the Buckboard, as a vehicle for use on the decks of aircraft carriers.Early promotional material made much of the lightness of the vehicle, showing four soldiers travelling in the Moke off-road, then picking it up by its tubular bumpers and carrying it when its low ground-clearance proved inadequate.
In a further attempt to make a viable military vehicle, a few four-wheel drive Mokes were made. This was accomplished by the addition of a second engine and transmission at the back of the vehicle with linked clutches and gear shifters, which did nothing for the ground-clearance problems. This vehicle was called "The Twini" and was shown to the US Army—again with no success. The added mechanical complexity and lack of interest by the military discouraged development beyond the prototype stage.
Three of these vehicles were used by the Brazilian Army after being captured during the 1969 Rupununi Rebellion from Guyanese rebels, who had crossed the border into Brazil.
During the Rhodesian Bush War there was an attempt by the Rhodesian Security Forces to create an Armoured Moke as an improvised fighting vehicle, which was seemingly unsuccessful.
Originally prototyped using the engine, transmission and suspension parts from the Mini Van, the design's small wheels and low ground clearance made it unsuitable as an off-road military vehicle. The design was subsequently adapted and sold globally for general use as a low-cost, easily maintained, lightweight recreational and utility vehicle.
British Mokes
When BMC gave up on the idea of selling the Moke to the military, in 1963 they marketed it as a civilian vehicle, targeting farmers and light commercial applications. Several prototypes were built in 1963, one of which is still known to exist in Pinner just outside London, England. The Moke was launched onto the British market in 1964. The British Customs and Excise department decided that the Moke should be classified as a passenger car rather than as a commercial vehicle, which meant that it attracted purchase tax, reducing sales in its intended commercial market.British-made Mokes were fitted with a low-end 848 cc transverse inline-four engine, detuned to use low-octane fuel. They used the same suspension, gearbox and 10 inch wheels as the standard Mini. Originally, passenger seats, grab handles, heater, windscreen washer and a removable canvas top were optional equipment, installed by the owner. The base price was £ 405. The "Mk I" Mokes had a single windscreen wiper and a floor-mounted headlight dip switch, and the only colour available was "Spruce Green". In 1967, the "Mk II" Moke added a passenger-side wiper. Horn and headlight controls were moved onto the indicator stalk. These later British Mokes were also available in white.
The John Player & Sons cigarette company ran a team of Mokes in autocross competitions on grass tracks through 1968. These vehicles were equipped with rollover protection and used the Mini Cooper S 1275 cc engine.
Despite the lack of success in selling the Mini Moke to the British Armed Forces, an unknown number of examples were apparently used by Land Forces Falkland Islands during the Falklands War and its immediate aftermath; the source of these vehicles is unclear. At least one commandeered civilian Mini Moke was also used by the Argentinian Forces during their occupation of the islands.
The original Moke was made in Britain until 1968.
Australian Mokes
Starting in 1966, the Moke was built in Australia where it was originally marketed as the Morris Mini Moke, and from 1973 as the Leyland Moke. Initially Australian Mokes had the same 10-inch wheels as British Mokes and Mini saloons but in 1968 these were replaced by 13-inch wheels with longer rear trailing arms, which made them more practical for gentle off-road or beach use than the British version. There was also a widening piece welded to the wheel arches, front and rear to allow for wider tyres and rims. The solid metal seats of the British Mokes were replaced with tubular-framed "deck-chair" seats. This variant started with a 998 cc engine, which was switched mid-production to 1,098 cc. In 1976, with the advent of new anti-pollution requirements, the locally manufactured 1,098 cc motor was replaced by an imported version of the 998 cc motor with an air pump and exhaust gas recirculation, which had been developed to meet UK anti-pollution requirements.For a brief period around 1971, Leyland Australia produced a variant referred to in Leyland literature as "Moke, special export", but commonly called a "Californian", which had a 1,275 cc engine and was fitted with side marker lamps and different rear lights to conform to US FMVSS standards. The fuel tank from the Austin Sprite or MG Midget was fitted beneath the rear load area, replacing the standard tank mounted in the left sidebox. The export Californian was readily recognisable by its roof and seats, trimmed in "Op-pop verve" black and white tiger-striped vinyl or "Orange Bali" vinyl, which looked rather like a fruit salad, and was briefly marketed to the "flower power" culture in the United States.
The name "Californian" and the 1275 cc motor were resurrected in 1977 for Australian market Mokes with denim seat covers, more comfortable seats, spoked wheels and complex tubular bumpers.
Australian Mokes were exported to many countries and pioneered large-scale exports of Australian-made vehicles. Leyland Australia made much of these exports in its advertising. The use of Australian-made Mokes by the Israeli Army attracted controversy and media attention.
From 1975, a pickup version of the Moke was produced, with a 1.45 x 1.50 metre drop-sided bed which protruded behind the back of the vehicle, and a cloth top over the cab area.
At least two four-wheel drive Moke prototypes were manufactured by Leyland Australia in the late 1970s, but unlike the British version, these used just one engine. Leyland were planning to market this version, but Moke production in Australia ended in 1981 and all that remains of the project is one of the prototypes which is now owned by an enthusiast in Western Australia and a modified differential crownwheel with gearteeth cut in the side to drive the rear tailshaft, in the personal collection of a Melbourne Mini specialist.
In 1977, a 1275 cc Cooper S-engined Moke was entered into the Singapore Airlines London-Sydney Marathon. The car was driven over over 30 days and finished in 35th place.
Australian production of the Moke ended in 1981.
Portuguese Mokes
As Australian Moke production wound down, manufacturing was transferred to British Leyland's subsidiary in Portugal, which made 8,500 of the "Californian" Mokes in the Setúbal IMA plant between 1980 and 1984. In 1984 production was transferred to the Vendas Novas plant. Initially these Mokes were identical to late-model Australian Mokes; very soon, however, they were altered to use then-current British production Mini saloon components, including the standard-length Mini rear trailing arms and the 12–in wheels with modern low-profile tyres, which the saloon had acquired during the Moke's absence from Europe.In April 1990, British Leyland sold the "Moke" name to Cagiva, a motorcycle manufacturer in Bologna, Italy. Production continued in Portugal under Cagiva's auspices until 1993, when Cagiva transferred the tooling to their own factory in Varese, Italy with the intention of restarting production there in 1995 — which they never did, although some unfinished cars were assembled in Italy. Cagiva was made to pay a considerably higher price for the Rover-made parts than had BL's Portuguese subsidiary, and the enterprise never made financial sense. The Cagiva-built Mokes have a new top with C-shaped openings, as well as plastic curve handles at the rear longitudinal elements of the rollover bar. Since Cagiva did not own the "Mini" name, the 2071 cars they built were sold simply as "Mokes". This brought the total production run of Mokes and Moke derivatives to about 50,000.