Does no one tune classic minis anymore?

[Jezza1983]

Hi
I'm thinking to build a track day mini with kad 16v.
Trawling the forums all the posts are from early internet days and very little these days.
Wondering if the humble mini still has a following or the kids have moved on?

[Jezza1983]

I had a mini neon 998 back in the day of late 1990s.
Was mildly tuned and now I have cash I'm tempted to go back and do it properly.
Sold my 911 so need some new toys...
Thanks for all the replies.

[Jezza1983]

P5BNij said:

It still has a following, the Summer shows are usually well attended with a fair bit of variety amongst the actual cars that turn up, but as said above it's not the bargain hobby it used to be.

I don't know where you live but Stanford Hall Mini Day (near Lutterworth in Leicestershire) is coming up on 11th September, there are usually some decently modified examples on show each year.

Live in Australia now so looking to ship one out.

[Jezza1983]

Mr Peel said:

I'm rediscovering the classic Mini scene after 15 years away. There's plenty going on, but as others have said the ratio of older/well-off owners feels a lot higher.

Also feels to me that there's more interest in restoration/originality than customisation at the moment. Would others agree?

Price is definitely a factor. Nothing that could fairly be called rust-free is less than £6k, often much more. Rover Coopers carry a hefty premium, despite being not much quicker than the other saloons.

Forums are dead or dying. It's all on Facebook. I've got a Mk6 SPi and there's a Facebook just for them. It's mostly blokes constantly fiddling about with ECUs and emissions levels.

I think my 998 cost me £1800 in 2000. Now price isn't an issue for me. Crazy how times change.

[Jezza1983]

EVOTECH3BELL said:

Mines been off the road for twice as long as its been on the road during my ownership.
First cay and daily transport for 5 years. Il get round to it one day....

Edited by EVOTECH3BELL on Friday 22 July 16:06

At least it's not taking up much space

[Jezza1983]

P5BNij said:

Sorry, I missed this reply earlier - a mate of mine emigrated to Australia in 2000 and took his '71 Clubman with him, since then he's bought at least three Auz built Minis and restored them. What's the market like for them over there at the moment, are there plenty about and for sale...?

Any Auz built Mini that turns up for sale in the UK usually gets snapped up, they're similar to Innocentis in some ways which makes them very attractive, especially the Mk1s.

I've got my eye on a couple of Mk1s at the moment, both started out as 850s but have been modified, one has a 1275 and the other has a 1380, quite tempted by them.

Edited by P5BNij on Friday 22 July 16:31

Very few for sale. 1990s coopers for £29k! But shipping them is expensive now and you have to do a lot of work to bring them in when not a personal import. A lot of Japanese imports as they had air con and that's a must here.