Mini Advice..

[UncleDave]

I might be after a Mini for my first car.. seems a pretty decent choice.

I've started a thread here:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=309766&p=1

So sorry for the 'semi-crossposting'

Any advice/extra general information you can give me either here or on the original thread would be brilliant

Shame there aren't any Mini-meets around here!

Dave.

[tim-d]

Get yourself a mini! top fun for "no" money, easy to mod to taste and cheap parts - for about the £1k budget best option would be post 84 (you get disc brakes) post '88 you get servoed discs too and '89 on an unleaded head - but from a tinworm perspective the mid eighties onwards cars are hideous - cheap minis are now hard to find (i.e I have a rust free 1980 mini and a rusted out 1996 car hmmm...rover=rust)Best approach select the one with the least rust, check the following places really throughly:
Scuttle corners
Behind eyeball vents
Below headlights
Bonnet leading edge
A panels
Inner & outer sills (pull up the carpet!)
Front floorpans (if carpets soggy or smells very musty reduce prices accordingly)
Boot corners
Rear Valance
Rear subframe

You're guaranteed to find some rust, sills & floorpans easily sorted though - if your get a decent body such things as engine, interior etc can be picked up for comparative peanuts, you can happily run a banger for years or throw bucket loads of cash at it to create something special. Security is not up to much though and not much power in std trim - as a first car 998cc mini hard to beat - engines are pretty much indestructable and its very insurable too - from an insurers perspective shy away from coopers too (performance increase not worth the +++ premium) . Beware of heavily modded car though unless you can see quality work....

Pre 73 = no road tax and definite classic insurance.

Ebay a bad place to go looking as premium prices being paid - local rags or good old fashioned cheeky door knocking works every time!

[love machine]

Good choice, buy a clean car, pay as much as yo can and as soon as you can, get a 12hf01 MG Metro unleaded engine.

[UncleDave]

[Plotloss]

Buy on the condition of the bodywork and the less importantly rear subframe.

Engines are 10 a penny and the front subframe is usually coated in engine oil so rarely corrodes.