The History of the Scamp

Introduction

This is where it all began, three decades ago. Who would have believed that when BMC decided to axe the Moke a whole generation of clones would spring into existence. Many came and went, some created from steel, others from the established friend of the Kit Car and Special manufacturers, Glass-fibre.
Of all these creations the most enduring has been the Scamp, still in production over 30 years since it’s inception. This is an achievement of which we are all justifiably proud: whilst our competition has withered away, we have continued to improve and modify our range to match contemporary regulations and customer expectations.

1969

Robert Mandry, working out of his premises in Ottershaw, successfully launched the Mk1 Scamp. This continued in production for 8 years, until 1977. Unfortunately production figures are not available for these early years, but certainly the highest rates of production were to be witnessed: annual build figures of 200 plus were certainly achieved. Like all subsequent models of the Scamp, jigs were used to ensure chassis accuracy in order to make the fitting of Mini mechanics as straight forward as possible. In the case of the Mk1 both front and rear sub-frames were employed.