Friday 16th October 2009

SOTW: Mini 1000

We all love a Mini, and at this price it's hard to say no

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Riggers is away for a few weeks, and that's good news as once again the SOTW challenge falls to me and rather than choose the usual barge, this week I have gone to the opposite end of the spectrum with this minute British beauty.

I won't pretend to be a Mini expert, so don't expect the full run down of facts and figures but I do know that the Issigonis designed car still looks as good today as it did when launched in 1959 and, if we are honest with ourselves, has it ever been beaten?

These cars evoke so many memories, from Paddy Hopkirk to the Italian Job but rather than repeat these well-known stories, let's just have a look at the pictures accompanying this story. How good does this car look? Okay, so they have forgotten to take a picture of the side profile (oddly) but it still looks remarkably fresh for a 1991 car. You could be a rich old-money type or a newly passed driver on a budget in this car and nobody would know. You could park where a Smart car could without looking too 'Green Party' and you would be able to look up at MINI drivers as they tower over you in traffic.

We all have a Mini story don't we? I recall the 'larger-than-average' girl I used to know who managed to fit into a yellow one; I remember test-driving a 1990 Cooper and not buying it (a decision I regret); I remember struggling to keep up with one along some Cambridgeshire fen roads and I still look at the cars for sale at a certain London Mini dealership and am shocked at the money they fetch these days. Oddly enough, I also remember the fascination with student types trying to break records for the most people in a Mini, memories from back in the day when World Records were far easier to break than today.

This weeks SOTW looks like a bargain at £750, especially as it has some T&T remaining and has a new exhaust and good tyres. Admittedly there are some minor issues like not having a radio, and no heating but at this price these items can be easily fixed. What might be more troublesome is the fact that the 'outer sills could do with some TLC'. I'm not sure what that means but the seller is kind enough to throw some outer sills and a floorpan into the deal! Worth a punt, surely?

Ad says: 1991 Mini 1000 Studio 2, 96,500 miles. Here I have Junior, my 1991 Rover Mini Studio 2 for sale. Reluctant to sell as this is a lovely car, but sadly I have no use for her anymore. Is a great little run around, very reliable, with MOT till March and Taxed till February/March, so can be driven away. Body in good solid condition but could do with a little TLC on the usual Mini rust parts and may need some work done to the outer sills, I will provide the drivers side outer sill and floor panel. Engine size is 998cc, which means very cheap insurance (even for new drivers :)

Some bad parts:

Does not come with Stereo
Heating does not work
Left indicator sometimes gets freezes, is something to do with the connection to the front left bulb but is easily rectified
Outer sills could do with some TLC

The better parts:

Is a great run around, engine is sound
Good, clean interior (drivers seat slightly less good)
New Exhaust
Comes with Minilite alloys
Tyres in good condition
Clear rear lights

Im sad to see Junior go as i love this car, but I just cant afford to keep running a car that I no longer need £750 ono.

 

[nsmith1180]

Awwww, Why couldnt I see that! Am I blind.

Great buy, hope it is "worth a punt" as you put it.

Good luck.

[nsmith1180]

FWDRacer said:

mustard tab said:

Pants shed.
Cramped, slow, unreliable, rusts as bad as an old Alfa. The only good thing about them was if you had one as a first motor to get some insurance under your belt, as soon as you traded up to a real motor there was no going back IMO

Get.

Out.

+1.

Rather have a Mini than a MINI.

[nsmith1180]

Fastra said:

Love(d) the 3 Minis I had over 5-6 years - can't say they were horrible to own at all really, but then again I liked getting my hands dirty!


Only ever let me down on 2 occasions - split pin came out of gear linkage, and after putting a new clutch in I didn't tighten the big flywheel nut up properly and it came undone on the M6 near Birmingham!


But I wouldn't have one now purely because of safety issues. The ones I had all had bad tin worm and would have simply folded in even the lightest of accidents. But I was young then and these things never crossed my mind really.

The way I look at them now is "Would I let my daughter drive it? NO!!!"

The way I look at one is, If I dropped in a bigger engine, would i get smiles per track mile? HELL YES