Who is the real hero behind Mini?

Not the current, but the first original Mini was undoubtedly a car that changed the automotive world. In 1956, after Egypt's decision to oust the Suez Canal, which had been under its control since 1882, France and England, who built the canal, tried to dissuade Colonel Nasser from doing so, but they were unsuccessful. While Egypt closed the oil pipeline across the Mediterranean, with the start of the war, it blew up the Syrian line, which met 20 percent of Britain's oil needs, and this caused the British to have a hard time. Because oil could be transported by tankers over South Africa, as Suez was closed.

William John Daniels, "Jack" Daniels, (8 February 1912 – 27 November 2004) was a British car engineer who worked directly with Sir Alec Issigonis for 35 years and was associated with such projects as the 1948 Morris Minor and the 1959 Mini. He was an invited guest at the 1999 awards ceremony in Las Vegas when the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century.

This increased the need for economic instruments in England in 1956. Sales of vehicles with 900 to 1000 cc engines quadrupled between 1956-57. The German brands of BMW Isetta and Messerschmitt started to do well in the country, but although they consumed less, they also brought with them problems such as safety and driving "inconvenience".

It was during this period that BMC would rewrite its history. Alec Issigonis was working on a project to build a front-wheel drive vehicle to replace the brand's sales champion Morris Minor. But doing a supercar project with the Alvis brand was more appealing to him. However, an offer from Leonard Lord in 1955 caused him to return to BMC. Issigonis formed a small engineering team, including Jack Daniels, with whom he also worked during the Morris Minor era.

The crisis also became an excuse, and plans for a replacement for the Minor were replaced by a brand new small car project.

Love of railways

It was under these conditions that the foundation of the original Mini launched in 1959, was laid. But Issigonis wasn't the one who completely created this vehicle. Yes, the design and idea of this vehicle belonged to him, and he even chose the engineers to assist him. However, there were various restrictions when making the Mini. Because a new engine was not developed for the vehicle, it was requested to use the existing ones. In addition, 80 percent of the vehicle's dimensions were left to the passengers, but the rest was left to the engine. So serious engineering and "magic" was required.

The wizard was none other than Austin, Issigonis' "right-hand man," and Morris engineer W J "Jack" Daniels. He was responsible for 90 percent of the development of the vehicle, and Issigonis for 10 percent. Jack was intelligent and therefore had communication problems. He studied at Oxford Central School, which trains technicians and managers. His greatest pleasures were woodcarving and technical drawings. He was more interested in railways rather than automobiles. However, he did not turn down the internship offer that came to him at school and stepped into this sector with MG. Here he took what he had started by 'clearing the engineers' drawings' and moved on to the development of MG's racing cars.

Having crossed paths with Issigonis after the merger in 1935, Jack worked together on the "10 M-Series" in 1938. He continued to do his job during the Second World War, but this time he worked on the development of military vehicles. He developed armored vehicles, mobile communication vehicles, mobile cranes, and cable carriers capable of laying fuses for explosives.

Post-war Alec and Jack turned to their small Morris model development project. Issigonis found the Morris Minor's prototype chassis too narrow. But Jack always had a solution-oriented idea. With his friends, Jack started to drive the two of them into two wheelbarrows side by side, gradually widening the distance between the two wheelbarrows until Alec made sense of it. Therefore, the width of the vehicle was thus determined.

Engineering genius

Jack and Issigonis also managed to develop the Mini on the basis of the Morris Minor, which was made with horizontally placed front-wheel drive. Because the company did not want to spend too much and develop new engines. Alec had drawn the car but hadn't fully taken into account what roads it might take. That job belonged to Jack.

They would enter the world of rear-wheel drive vehicles with a front-wheel drive model. Jack became one of the pioneers of this new era. Minor placed his engine on a horizontal, not vertical, engine. He positioned the gearbox close to the crankcase so that it does not take up space in the vehicle. He worked day and night for this for 4 years. It wasn't enough, it fell to him to convince the Morris management that the future is in front-wheel drive cars.

When the first prototype, dubbed the "Orange Case", appeared in 1957, Issigonis wanted to take the first test ride himself, but its suspension soon broke. But Jack figured it out as well and didn't give up on working on the project. However, it also contributed to small car production, which was not known until then, and tried the untested ones. For example, Mini used a gear system taken from the rudders of submarines in its steering, to which it owes its go-kart-like driving style. Small-size tires, on the other hand, were a first in the tire industry and were specially developed.

Jack also worked on other projects after the Mini was released. Even though Alec has left the company...

He also contributed to the development of Cooper and other versions of the Mini.

He retired in 1977. However, it was indispensable for racing events in which Mini and Morris's vehicles participated. That is until he passed away in 2004.

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The Story of the Mini - A Timeless British Classic

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