The £400 Mini Cooper

[mattyowen5]

I was looking for a cheap to run car for winter when I came across this mini. It needed a few things but at £400 they were well worth doing. The car came with no history at all, but looking around showed someone had looked after it at some point. I decided I would also change a few things about the mini that I didn't like.

I have done the following so far:

Exhaust
Oil & Filter
Spark plugs
Brake pads all round
Vredestein tyres all round
Fuel tank strap (old one was rotten)
Windscreen through insurance
Aftermarket grill
R112 alloys - I feel they suit the R50/R53 minis quite well

So far it's probably had about £900 spent on top of the purchase price, so still within a £1500 budget that I had set myself.


Before changes



As it currently stands



My next plan is get the roof black so suits the rest of the car and start uses the car from probably October

[Wacky Racer]

Very nice, can't really go wrong at that price.

[Mr Tidy]

What a bargain - they are great cars!

I can see why you want to lose the white roof though.

[MC Bodge]

Good stuff. I approve.

[Swampy1982]

Ignore all the rubbish about the windscreen, you made the PH twitter page!

What are the plans for the roof? Are you going to do it yourself? Paint or vinyl?

Tell us more where you brought the bargain mini? Feels like a deal with a mate or family, super cheap price

Edited by Swampy1982 on Friday 16th August 11:05

[RazerSauber]

Love these, working on my own one that cost £400 but is in significantly worse condition. Being a 2001 car, is the gearbox and pas pump ok? Might be worth dropping £30 on the PAS fan from ebay to keep it going longer. Black bonnet stripes would go well on this too.

Looking forward to watching this develop!

[mattyowen5]

I spotted the car for sale locally to me, it was up for £450 for at least a month before I went to have a look. It wasn't advertised on the internet as far as I could tell. Went with my dad to have a look and there were a few usual mini problems with it (mainly the exhaust rotting) and offered £400 and got it.

For the roof I plan on using vinyl through someone I know but I am tempted by paint as well.

[Swampy1982]

Keep us updated on progress, looks like a great build on a budget

[400SE Dave]

Looks a good buy. Personally I prefer the original wheels, always liked that design.

Black roof will look way better

[familyguy1]

i hate to be the boring one, how many miles has it done ? I would replace the timing chain on this, as it seems a very common problem, could be a DIY or a relatively pricey job. with that done it could well last you a good few years.

But a great purchase at that price.

[Greendubber]

mattyowen5 said:

I spotted the car for sale locally to me, it was up for £450 for at least a month before I went to have a look. It wasn't advertised on the internet as far as I could tell. Went with my dad to have a look and there were a few usual mini problems with it (mainly the exhaust rotting) and offered £400 and got it.

For the roof I plan on using vinyl through someone I know but I am tempted by paint as well.

Its worth every penny of 400 quid. We had one years ago, replaced it with a brand new Cooper in 2015 then about 18 months ago we got a Cooper SD and it's fantastic. I do like a Mini and it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

[Jack Mansfield]

Great purchase! Was about to post saying I've included you on Facebook & Twitter but someone beat me to it

Keep us updated with the progress!

[mattyowen5]

The car has done 145k. Not a fan of the gear change at the moment, as 1st and 3rd are quite hard to tell apart and the same for 2nd and 4th. I'm guessing that would gear linkage?

I'll make a note of the PAS fan. My sister had her PAS unit fail on her mini when it was about 10 years old, so know they can be expensive.

[CABC]

i got an '05 one last year. i really feel this is a modern classic, even non-S.
paid £1500 which is ok as it was on 93k and benefits from new g'box and other fixes put in last R50 cars.
have since paid same again fixing cooling system, brakes and bushes

Anyway, looks a bargain, great project. check the bushes and put good tyres on to enjoy her.

[RazerSauber]

familyguy1 said:

i hate to be the boring one, how many miles has it done ? I would replace the timing chain on this, as it seems a very common problem, could be a DIY or a relatively pricey job. with that done it could well last you a good few years.

But a great purchase at that price.

I have 2 R50's both on original chains over 120k. Neither of them have any murmur from the chains? These did comes with gearbox issues up until some time in 2002/3 and endless PAS pump issues but never heard of chain problems?

[wjb]

Great buy, I thought I did well with mine for £1250 a year ago!

It's not cost me a penny other than an oil service though.

Top little cars for a daily.

[RammyMP]

Nice motor! I’m thinking of something for a winter car and a potential learner for the lad, an old cooper would fit the bill. I’m not telling the wife though!

[Dr G]

Looks good; black headlamp bezels not to my personal taste but seems as if you're coming out of it with a good car.

Buy a 1500 quid Mini that in theory is 'good'

or

Buy a cheapy Mini and spend the budget making sure it is.

[Marchutch]

Look great. I love my GP and I'll never sell up - really fun little machines!

[Swampy1982]

Any plans for the inside OP? Let's see some pics of that too