Discussion
With seeing all the posts on other Pher’s buying MCS R53’s i thought i start my thread of progress so far…..
First of all i bought one of these new in late 2004, Blue with the white wheels, roof and go faster bonnet stripes
It was a great little Car, no issues with it (probably down to the fact it was new!) untill one eveing coming into my hometown, a lovely pi$$ed as a fart Female decide she wanted to drive straight out her driveway and hit me head on! The Car was written off and that was the end of that Car…… many sads
The years went past in various other Cars that i was never really happy with and to add that i missed the “character” of the little MCS! So in 2013 i found another one, a late Silver 2003 model, plenty of service reciepts etc and more importantly, none of the sieve-like characteristics of an engine that was supposed to actually keep the all important Oil inside
Ran it for a year but during that time my work commute was getting silly and for a Car that really only managed 25mpg at most with me at the helm, it was moved onto its new owner!
Round about August time this year, new job ALOT closer to Home (1.5mls each way!) prompted me to start having a look for yet another little characterful MCS.
Looked at a few, and as many of previous owners know, most were rusting aprind the boot, tail lights etc.
This little yellow @r$ehole turned up very local to us so thought i should go give it a look at least!
Upon pulling into the owners street, in my Girlfriends mind at least, the Car was already bought
Bodywork wise, it’s actually very clean for a near on 20yr old MCS, no rusting bootlid, no corrosion around the tail lights etc. The offside exhaust silencer box is goosed, but tht’ll get cut out and welded back together. Wheels need a refurb and tyres that dont hunt for the scenery when things get slightly moist! Full leather, even the heated seats still work. Air con needs regassed, it does a great impression of an asthmatic budgie when the button is pressed, but tht can wait til next year, if i dont set fire to it by then.
Now onto the engine……upon looking around it, it had clearly been jetwashed prior to us viewing it, as it looked clean, however after a decent test drive and returning to the sellers Home, it looked liked there was at least some weeping from Every.Single.Gasket i inspected! Anyways, i done what ever other decent Human Being looking at that engine would…….& walked away!
The car drives great, apart from the previously mentioned sieve like tendencies of the engine so upon getting it home, it was up on axle stands (where it remained for a fortnight!) doing maybe an hour on it some evenings after my work.
The result is a wee MCS that the girlfriend loves, is great to drive now that the Oil remians inside the Engine and is happily being used for daily duties
Because im rubbish at taking pictures, ive only got some of it with the front end of it while changing the Rocker cover, Sump, O-Ring, oil filter housing & cooler gaskets, Belt and idler tensioner thing mabob!
I bought longer M8 bolts to slide the Rad pack etc forward, because i really couldnt be ar$ed dropping the coolant etc, everything was easily accessible doing this.
Theres a small leak coming from the rear main seal, but i aint attempting that myself so if ive not set fire to it by then, a new owner can change the clutch and main seal, coz im definitely not The clutch is strong on it just now and for the little mileage we do it can drip away til its little heart is content!
Further jobs, if i can be bothered, is give it a decent polish, sort the rear exhaust ball and *drive the hell out it!
First of all i bought one of these new in late 2004, Blue with the white wheels, roof and go faster bonnet stripes
It was a great little Car, no issues with it (probably down to the fact it was new!) untill one eveing coming into my hometown, a lovely pi$$ed as a fart Female decide she wanted to drive straight out her driveway and hit me head on! The Car was written off and that was the end of that Car…… many sads
The years went past in various other Cars that i was never really happy with and to add that i missed the “character” of the little MCS! So in 2013 i found another one, a late Silver 2003 model, plenty of service reciepts etc and more importantly, none of the sieve-like characteristics of an engine that was supposed to actually keep the all important Oil inside
Ran it for a year but during that time my work commute was getting silly and for a Car that really only managed 25mpg at most with me at the helm, it was moved onto its new owner!
Round about August time this year, new job ALOT closer to Home (1.5mls each way!) prompted me to start having a look for yet another little characterful MCS.
Looked at a few, and as many of previous owners know, most were rusting aprind the boot, tail lights etc.
This little yellow @r$ehole turned up very local to us so thought i should go give it a look at least!
Upon pulling into the owners street, in my Girlfriends mind at least, the Car was already bought
Bodywork wise, it’s actually very clean for a near on 20yr old MCS, no rusting bootlid, no corrosion around the tail lights etc. The offside exhaust silencer box is goosed, but tht’ll get cut out and welded back together. Wheels need a refurb and tyres that dont hunt for the scenery when things get slightly moist! Full leather, even the heated seats still work. Air con needs regassed, it does a great impression of an asthmatic budgie when the button is pressed, but tht can wait til next year, if i dont set fire to it by then.
Now onto the engine……upon looking around it, it had clearly been jetwashed prior to us viewing it, as it looked clean, however after a decent test drive and returning to the sellers Home, it looked liked there was at least some weeping from Every.Single.Gasket i inspected! Anyways, i done what ever other decent Human Being looking at that engine would…….& walked away!
- i didnt, i couldnt bare looking at her sad wee face any longer so bought it
The car drives great, apart from the previously mentioned sieve like tendencies of the engine so upon getting it home, it was up on axle stands (where it remained for a fortnight!) doing maybe an hour on it some evenings after my work.
The result is a wee MCS that the girlfriend loves, is great to drive now that the Oil remians inside the Engine and is happily being used for daily duties
Because im rubbish at taking pictures, ive only got some of it with the front end of it while changing the Rocker cover, Sump, O-Ring, oil filter housing & cooler gaskets, Belt and idler tensioner thing mabob!
I bought longer M8 bolts to slide the Rad pack etc forward, because i really couldnt be ar$ed dropping the coolant etc, everything was easily accessible doing this.
Theres a small leak coming from the rear main seal, but i aint attempting that myself so if ive not set fire to it by then, a new owner can change the clutch and main seal, coz im definitely not
The clutch is strong on it just now and for the little mileage we do it can drip away til its little heart is content! Further jobs, if i can be bothered, is give it a decent polish, sort the rear exhaust ball and *drive the hell out it!
- read as my Girlfriend driving it and mentioning to me theres a warning light on the dash or its making a funny noise!
Edited by Farky on Monday 5th December 14:51
I think minis are going to get banned from here!
Wonder why they have suddenly got so popular. Might be because they have been cheap for a while but have stayed cheap despite the crazy market. Can’t last much longer though as so many are getting scraped.
Yellow looks good haven’t seen many of those.
Welcome back to the club!
Wonder why they have suddenly got so popular. Might be because they have been cheap for a while but have stayed cheap despite the crazy market. Can’t last much longer though as so many are getting scraped.
Yellow looks good haven’t seen many of those.
Welcome back to the club!
I thinks its because a well sorted one on decent tyres/suspension is a hoot to drive, loads of character. The running costs, road tax and fuel etc gets a little bit (ok ALOT) tedious at times. Theyr easy to work on and parts remain very cheap, so if you dont mind working on your own Cars it can be enjoyable too
Edited by Farky on Tuesday 6th December 12:12
Being able to do the work yourself is the key to running one of these. I didn't and ended up spending up towards £10k on mine over a couple of years or so 😮. Chasing oil leaks (twice) necessitating the front of the car coming off each time gets tedious. With the reduced pulley and a racing cam it was very sprightly though, particularly on a cold evening. You never tire of the whining noise!
Great cars but I couldn't stomach the costs anymore. Still got the oil patch on my drive as a reminder of the fun though.
Good luck OP, enjoy it.
Great cars but I couldn't stomach the costs anymore. Still got the oil patch on my drive as a reminder of the fun though.
Good luck OP, enjoy it.
Yeah, they can become REALLY ruinous
Tbh although i still really like them, the Car was bought more for my Girlfriend’s love for them, ive probably only driven it 5 times!
The Road Tax per mth, very poor mpg etc has always pi$$ed me off, and like you mentioned, the constant oil leaks etc! I’d love to put it up for sale but theres no way she’ll be having that!
The whine and go-kart like drive is very addictive tho!
Me……..? I’d be happier with a 100hp panda!! :8
Tbh although i still really like them, the Car was bought more for my Girlfriend’s love for them, ive probably only driven it 5 times!
The Road Tax per mth, very poor mpg etc has always pi$$ed me off, and like you mentioned, the constant oil leaks etc! I’d love to put it up for sale but theres no way she’ll be having that!
The whine and go-kart like drive is very addictive tho!
Me……..? I’d be happier with a 100hp panda!! :8
Farky said:
Yeah, they can become REALLY ruinous
Tbh although i still really like them, the Car was bought more for my Girlfriend’s love for them, ive probably only driven it 5 times!
The Road Tax per mth, very poor mpg etc has always pi$$ed me off, and like you mentioned, the constant oil leaks etc! I’d love to put it up for sale but theres no way she’ll be having that!
The whine and go-kart like drive is very addictive tho!
Me……..? I’d be happier with a 100hp panda!! :8
My wife had the Cooper S and my son had a One. He moved to London so we were selling one of them. We kept the One for all the reasons mentioned but also it’s a lovely car to drive, smooth and comfortable compared to the S. Similar concept to the Panda.Tbh although i still really like them, the Car was bought more for my Girlfriend’s love for them, ive probably only driven it 5 times!
The Road Tax per mth, very poor mpg etc has always pi$$ed me off, and like you mentioned, the constant oil leaks etc! I’d love to put it up for sale but theres no way she’ll be having that!
The whine and go-kart like drive is very addictive tho!
Me……..? I’d be happier with a 100hp panda!! :8
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