PDA

View Full Version : Free Mini Project



Dave.
20-01-11, 02:13 AM
Well thought i'd start a new thread as my old one was full of pointless posts, and pictures of other peoples cars lol

In 1985 my auntie walked into the the Mini showroom and walked away with a brand spaking new 1985 1000cc Austin Mini City, ive known the car all my life and remember her taking me out in it at a very early age :d she used it daily for many many years untill her eyesight becaus etoo abd she couldnt drive anymore.

My uncle then used the car up untill 2006, then it failed its mot for the first time ever on 1 or 2 small patches of rust on the sills, my auntie and uncle knowing nothing about cars put the mini in the garage where it sat for 4/5 years, and rather weiredly bought a Nova lol, which was then rear ended by a truck 6 months later :(

Anyways last year i got told that next time we went to visit them at their house (London way, thats about 200 miles away) that if i came with a truck they would happily let me take the Mini and restore it to its former glory, at first i was abit undecided about it, but after looking at what prices mini's go for, and considering i was getting offered a 32,000 mile C reg example that had failed its mot on tiny things, i decided id take it off their hands :d

Now i must stress that i havent seen the car yet, all i know is that its in abit of a sorry state, its been in the garage for 4 years and stuff has been placed around, inside, and on top of it :( however my auntie emailed me a picture over of what it DID look like when she bought it in 1985... i dont think the colour could be more horribley awsome!!

Wait for it.... IT JUST LOOKS SIMILAR TO THIS ONE!!






http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/4600767482_e798c1d6a1.jpg

Uber retroness beige!! :d

Now due to my dad being told he has got cancer over the past few weeks, we dont know when we'll be able to pick it up, weve got a truck but its not looking good for him, and i really dont want to make him drive all that way with him being ill, so for now this is just a starting post, hoepfully it will be brought back up here in the next few months, once ive found somewhere to store it (If anyone knows of anywhere in the North West for temp car storage for my Corsa, to free up a space in the garage, drop me a PM)

Hoepfully be going down on the train soemtime soon to see how it is, then we'll go from there, but a C reg Beige 32,000 1 owner Mini for free, has to be a win all day long? :thumb:

Maxfield
20-01-11, 09:26 AM
I'm in the middle of restoring a Mini for a customer. Wish I never started now.

MK1_Ben
20-01-11, 09:51 AM
Sounds good, I've helped a friend restore a couple Mini's before. Worst cars ever to work on if you ask me personally haha :)

However, a fun little car, and an Icon which will fetch good money if you want to resell it.

mowgli
20-01-11, 10:04 AM
the legendary designer, alec issigonis was always keen to move on with his next design, and the finishing off was usually left for others, but he never bothered with eliminating rust traps, and the mini (and a lot of other designs) suffered terribly.

Stuart
20-01-11, 11:12 AM
weigh it in, dirty waste of metal! that and the bmw mini should be stricken from automotive history

grooge
20-01-11, 12:36 PM
^^absolutley not, cant beat a proper mini!

MK999
20-01-11, 12:45 PM
The BMW thing is a joke cashing in on the mini hype though, anyone seen the 60 plate ones? Looks nothing like a mini, they even do 4 door ones ffs!

Stuart
20-01-11, 12:48 PM
^^absolutley not, cant beat a proper mini!


yes you can, with a nice big stick

mowgli
20-01-11, 12:51 PM
^^absolutley not, cant beat a proper mini!

in performance, reliability, or build quality?????? all three easily. a std mini is shocking.. a modified one is better, but unless you are prepared to throw huge money about, then they aren't thet great.

MK999
20-01-11, 12:52 PM
in performance, reliability, or build quality?????? all three easily. a std mini is shocking.. a modified one is better, but unless you are prepared to throw huge money about, then they aren't thet great.

neither is a Nova lol Their potential is pretty good though, as is proven by both cars rallying heritage?

Main thing going for both cars is lightweight shells, that's not something you can change easily whereas performance, reliability and handling etc is pretty easy, build quality is also 'easy' to improve if you're rebuilding from scratch.

mowgli
20-01-11, 12:57 PM
old minis were fun to drive, but the mucky bits are awful to work on...... the reason the minis were so good in rallies in the 60's was simple.... nothing else handled anywhere near as good...but things have moved on a lot.

MK999
20-01-11, 01:16 PM
...but things have moved on a lot.

True, Mr Rome you should buy a BMW Mini or a Mk6 Fiesta instead, it'll handle much better after you spend todays WRC money on it :p

grooge
20-01-11, 01:28 PM
in performance, reliability, or build quality?????? all three easily. a std mini is shocking.. a modified one is better, but unless you are prepared to throw huge money about, then they aren't thet great.

ok, they arn't brilliant in any of those areas (and a whole lot of others aswell) but then again a lot of cars arn't and you have to remember it is a 50yr old car. novas arnt exactly brilliant cars either.
a modified mini driving by in the street will catch my attention though, unlike a 60 plate MINI cooper s or a corsa vxr etc

MK999, have you seen the new 4x4 MINIs, they're horrific!

AlexW
20-01-11, 01:38 PM
Agreed with the mini-loving, They are ****, But so are Novas, and novas came much later and are just as rubbish lol

I'd have a Mini.

MK999
20-01-11, 01:54 PM
MK999, have you seen the new 4x4 MINIs, they're horrific!

Did they make the wheelbase larger than a land rover for those? Since the standard ones are roughly the same as a land rover lol

octagonalpaul
24-01-11, 03:30 PM
weigh it in, dirty waste of metal! that and the bmw mini should be stricken from automotive history

They're far better than a nova. I'd say easier to work on, much better handling (even in stock form) and easy to make very fast for little money. A few grand can have you with a vtec or redtop engined mini (with everything else sorted to match) that ways less than a nova and is incredibly reliable.

L14MNP
24-01-11, 03:37 PM
I've never even found them fun to drive TBH, offset steering/pedals, can't remember which - or is it both? lol and the dodgy bus style steering column angle ruin them for me. They can be awkward to work on also.

Which is a shame as I like the idea of them, 1275, B16, Z Car ones etc.

All that aside though, I would 100% have a Clubman. They look the business - and Vtec easier. lol

octagonalpaul
24-01-11, 05:03 PM
the steering and pedals are perfectly in line? And a £3 drop bracket will sort the steering position ;)

Dave.
14-04-11, 01:28 AM
Heres the first propper update,

Mum and dad been down to my Aunties for a week away and got me some pics of the Mini, never seen it before and these are the only pictures i have of it, it looks like it needs 2 doorskins, a new rear bumper and a little bit of work on the n/s/r sill, other than that looks quite solid, defonatley allright for FREE!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2823.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2824.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2826.jpg

C reg, love these style numberplates!! old-skool text!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2828.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2829.jpg

Cant see much of the interior, full of fishing gear, however its full on dark chocolate brown!! was used as a weekend car and has only done 32,000 miles approx, so should be mint inside

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/x_novadose_x/100_2825.jpg

Plan is once my dads sold his old cr, the Mini will be transported up here from London and work shal begin, atleast now i know what im up against, let the project commence!! :thumb:

Dave.
14-04-11, 05:52 PM
Also forgot to say that illbe restoring it to its former glory, asif its just rolled out the showroom, the curren steel wheels will be staying, casette radi and also the sticker sin the rear windows, Itll be a suprise to my Auntie when she see's it all restored and back on the road :thumb:

MK999
15-04-11, 12:09 AM
Also forgot to say that illbe restoring it to its former glory, asif its just rolled out the showroom, the curren steel wheels will be staying, casette radi and also the sticker sin the rear windows, Itll be a suprise to my Auntie when she see's it all restored and back on the road :thumb:

WE KNOW! lol

shed-on-wheels
17-04-11, 01:11 AM
ive been working on one for a mate and i hate the thing it wont even run tidy and ive done everything lol

brainsnova
17-04-11, 01:15 AM
So no vauxhall mini let then lol

shed-on-wheels
17-04-11, 01:19 AM
^^^lol