How much £ for a thorough Mini project?

[ehyouwhat]

Hi all,

I've just caught the last 20mins of an edition of Better Cars on the Men & Motors channel. The featured car of the show was an H-reg Mini - I'm not up on my Mini's so I don't know the model or anything.

Over the course of the show the car was transformed into a show-condition machine, with 'Royal Rover Blue' paintwork, all new chrome accessories (bumpers, trim, lights, window-winders, everything), a full blue/cream leather retrim (including dash, doorcards, etc) and even an electric folding-fabric roof (Webbasto?). I'm not sure if the engine was touched.

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much a complete overhaul like this would cost? And yes I realise this is a very ambiguous question. I've no previous experience or - dare I say it - prior passion for the original-style Mini, but the show produced something that looked absolutely beautiful...something I would be very proud to own myself. I found my fingers hovering over the keyboard ready to start searching autotrader for Mini's.

So let's assume a comprehensive project: the purchase of an original car for starters, followed by a complete makeover (inside and out) and maybe even the sorting (or replacement) of the engine for something with a bit of go (obviously this would in turn require changing brakes, suspension, etc).

How much are we talking for the whole works?

Cheers in advance for any comments or info.

[ehyouwhat]

CooperS said:

Biggest question is how much of the rebuild can you do your self?

I.e. can you weld, spray, rebuild engines? (and read, most important is the bible of haynes)

Probably not a vast amount of it, although I would be more than willing to 'learn' as much as possible...I'm just not so sure I would be confident in my abilities to get stuff right, and of course I'd then know that stuff wasn't up to scratch.

My future bro-in-law is very handy with rebuilding cars and even has a little experience with Minis (he used to have a Calibra 2.0 16v-powered example) so obviously I would consult him for as much information and help as possible. He isn't the oracle on all things Mini though, so I tend to think the help you guys on PH can give me (info-wise) would be invaluable.

I know of a very good local sprayer who is a friend of my bro's, so I imagine he would do me a good deal on a respray. I also have various friends, friends-of-friends, etc who are handy with welding, so I imagine I could enlist their services (for a reduced fee). The engine is something that I would probably want to pay someone with knowledge and experience to do - I'd love to learn how to maintain and tinker with a car like this (I have zero knowledge at present) but I'd like the motor to be sound and as reliable as possible to start with!

I've heard of Minis with crazy-power engines in them and I find this mildly appealing, but I think I'd rather have something that was fast without being bonkers-fast. I'm more concerned with handling and reliability I think. I'm also fiscally bound a little - I'm willing to pay the necessary money for the car I want, but I don't think I want(need?) to spend £10k or more on getting that. I'm happy to stand corrected on that matter though - I want to give this idea proper consideration.

I want something that looks clean and 'new' (for want of a better word) rather than chavved-up and blingy. Ultimately I think I'd like to try and get involved with the Mini social scene, and I'd like something that turns a few heads but for the right reasons.

[ehyouwhat]

Basically it's just an idea at the moment.

My girlfriend and I had planned to buy an old VW camper van to restore and customise, preferably an early split-screen model. However a bit of research hinted that doing what we wanted could very well cost £30k-£40k even before we get to the fancy stuff, and at the moment I just can't justify that sort of outlay - a 300-mile relocation to Dorset in a couple of weeks is financially draining me far more than I am happy with (it's only a sodding flat - I could have a 5-bed detached here up north for less).

My girlfriend loves Minis though, and I'm gaining a healthy appreciation for them myself, so it's something I'm certainly giving some real thought to.

I'd like a nippy and reliable example, but more that anything I'd like something that looks extremely clean and tidy - showroom condition, as it were. I also really fancy the idea of a modern twist somewhere along the line - an electric folding-fabric roof seems a great idea. We wouldn't need to use it daily as we both have daily runners, so it'd just be a summer/show car.

I've always fancied having a car that was the exact colour I wanted - all my purchases have been used in some form or another except for the MINI Cooper S JCW I had a few years back, and even then I didn't have a massive choice of colours. As such I'd like this one to have a real stand-out colour; not necessarily garish, but something that sets the car apart. I have no shame in saying I want to show off with it a little bit, as the idea of having a superb example of something so small and 'niche' appeals to me more and more every day.

Most importantly, I'd like the car to be of my own specifying - by that, I mean that I want to choose all the specifics of the final car (colour, engine spec, interior, accessories, everything). Even though I won't be doing the bulk of the work myself, I want it to be my 'baby'. So I won't be buying a finished or mostly-finished project that someone else has done.

[ehyouwhat]

Plotloss said:

Due to the prevalence of Minis, their small size and the availability of parts and companies that work on them it will be very difficult to get a unique colour unless you get it mixed for you.

So dont go for a book colour, speak to a specialist and have a personal mix done so either take a base and have a tint or a flip put on it thats unique. Thats the only way you will achieve true personalisation.

Worthy of consideration. I don't like most of the flip-paint jobs that I've seen, although having said that some of the colours I've seen on MGZRs and MGZTs are lovely. I do have a bit of a penchant for yellow cars at the moment, so perhaps a rich yellow might be the order of the day.

I don't want to 'chav' the car up, rather I'd like something that attracts looks and stares for the right reasons. So no ridiculous exhausts, neons or anything of that nature. Just something that looks cared-for (as it will be) and something that puts a smile on my face.

I don't know how many BMW M3 Owners Clubs there are around and, to be homest, I don't imagine I'd enjoy joining such a social club. I could be under false impressions, but I imagine joining a Mini-based club would be a better experience.

[ehyouwhat]

FWDRacer said:

Just make sure your Missus buys into your obvious enthusiasm.

1) She had a passion for the original-style Mini long before I did. As such I imagine she'll have just as much passion for the project as me.

2) It'll be muggins here paying for everything in the first place so, to be honest, she can bugger off if she doesn't like it.

My only worry regarding the social aspect: A few years ago I bought myself a brand new MINI Cooper S with a comprehensive JCW package. I spent a lot of money on that car and I really did love it a lot, but the reason I bought it was because I liked the actual car...NOT because it was trying to emulate the original Mini. I would have been just as likely to buy it had it been called the BMW 1-Series.

I got a lot of stick from owners of the original Mini for having the new machine - I would get fingers stuck up at me, I would get sarky comments and I even once had a nasty note left on my windscreen for having the cheek to park next to an original Mini in a carpark (not an intentional thing on my part - that's where the space was).

Now in all my time of owning cars, I've never made nasty comments to people just because of their choice of cars. I've also never made it a personal mission to belittle any particular car, either because of what I own or because of what I have passion for. The concept just seems alien to me.

So I'm not sure just how much I would buy into this aspect of the social scene - an aspect that seems prevelant with the Mini. I see no end of stickers in the back of original Mini cars that slag off the newer BMW version, yet funnily I see no stickers in the back of the new-type MINI that slag off the original. It almost seems like original Mini owners have a chip on their shoulder, and that's something that I simply have no respect for.

Having said all that, I really do hope that starting a project such as this will put me closer to the people that really do have a passion for cars, and a healthy, balanced passion for the Mini.

Edited by ehyouwhat on Wednesday 18th July 10:25

[ehyouwhat]

FWDRacer said:

I take the point. You get d*ckheads in any form of car scene and the Mini is certainly no exception.

With respect to the BMW mini debate... in 99% of cases the banter is exactly that. Whoever left a note under your windscreen needs to check themselves.

Within the PH Mini community you'll find plenty of good natured people, gushing fountains of information and the the sort of bods that would stop (In their respective Minis) to see if you are alright/help out, should you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of your own Mini pride and joy leaving you stranded roadside...

Sounds great. I'd like to think that, assuming I get involved with the whole social aspect of things, I would do the same sorts of things.

As for the Mini/MINI debate, I don't mind a little bit of banter...I'd probably get involved a little myself. But sometimes 'banter' is called as much just to hide genuine prejudices and gripes that people actually have, and whilst I accept that this is part-and-parcel of people being free to have their own opinions, I don't subscribe to it myself.

I'm happy to see on various forums that quite a few people have both a Mini and a MINI in their fleet. As the MINI I had was the most reliable and consistent car I've ever owned, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that I would join such ranks in time.

Live and let live usually seems to make sense for me.