1.6 Mk1 MINI Cooper (R50?) - Buyers guide
Discussion
martinq357 said:
Feirny said:
Pre-04 Cooper/One gearboxes are chocolate.
The post 04 Getrag boxes aren't much better. Mine went on a 90k Cooper, fortunately the dealer I got it from was a good one and it was done under warranty.I'd look at upgrading to the 6pd Getrag from an R53.
HorneyMX5 said:
Spending £1000s on upgrading to the 6speed defeats the point of having a cheap mini.
Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
September 2000 the first was made.Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
You can do the 6spd conversion for about £600 if you scour about for parts. Gearbox is a case of when, not if, sadly.
Feirny said:
HorneyMX5 said:
Spending £1000s on upgrading to the 6speed defeats the point of having a cheap mini.
Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
September 2000 the first was made.Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
You can do the 6spd conversion for about £600 if you scour about for parts. Gearbox is a case of when, not if, sadly.
"July 2001 saw it hit the UK market – and to accompany the launch was an innovative marketing campaign, pitched directly at the young and well-to-do urbanites who’s parents took the original to their hearts in the Sixties. If anyone out there didn’t know what a ‘MINI adventure’ was by the end of 2001, there was probably little hope for them…"
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-bmw/mini...
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-bmw/mini...
HorneyMX5 said:
Feirny said:
HorneyMX5 said:
Spending £1000s on upgrading to the 6speed defeats the point of having a cheap mini.
Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
September 2000 the first was made.Hopefully off on Saturday to view a July 2001 car which must be one of the very first produced.
You can do the 6spd conversion for about £600 if you scour about for parts. Gearbox is a case of when, not if, sadly.
Good point.
All the 2000 year stuff was pre-prod and testing. Pretty sure no customer cars started build until April or May 2001.
Anyhoo, back to the box. Yes it will fail, my have already been replaced at 10 years old and 120,000 miles. I'm not overly fussed as a replacement box is easy to pick up and I have access to a ramp and workshop to swap it if need be. The earliest Gertrag equipped cars are still north of £2.5K for anything that isn't hanging or crash damaged.
All the 2000 year stuff was pre-prod and testing. Pretty sure no customer cars started build until April or May 2001.
Anyhoo, back to the box. Yes it will fail, my have already been replaced at 10 years old and 120,000 miles. I'm not overly fussed as a replacement box is easy to pick up and I have access to a ramp and workshop to swap it if need be. The earliest Gertrag equipped cars are still north of £2.5K for anything that isn't hanging or crash damaged.
JM944 said:
Why not pick a Cooper S up for 2 grand. I got one with 90k miles for that money complete with proper gearbox aand Scorpion exhaust.
The temptation to mod to would too strong (Small pulley and reap etc) and the idea is for a cheap station car. I already have a mini supercharger albeit bolted to my MX5.Gassing Station | New MINIs | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff