Your thoughs on old Mini's?

I

InternetSwag

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I own 2 (1973 and 1976) and all I have to say is parts parts parts can be a problem. They are easy to maintain and service (oil, plugs, points and pads).

Problems I have had thus far: The head was ported poorly (I replaced the motor from a spare I had lying around), the wiring loom is old and I had to sort out electrics more than once, brakes (I changed them to disk brakes from a golf), windscreen leaking when it rained.

Properly maintained they are awesome little cars, nippy, not bad on fuel and head turners.
 
Jase said:
I own 2 (1973 and 1976) and all I have to say is parts parts parts can be a problem. They are easy to maintain and service (oil, plugs, points and pads).

Problems I have had thus far: The head was ported poorly (I replaced the motor from a spare I had lying around), the wiring loom is old and I had to sort out electrics more than once, brakes (I changed them to disk brakes from a golf), windscreen leaking when it rained.

Properly maintained they are awesome little cars, nippy, not bad on fuel and head turners.
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What you think about those ones on Gumtree? They look well maintained, could one replace the mini engine and parts with more servicable engine such as that from a Ballade, Golf etc? If I got it done professionally ofc.
 
InternetSwag said:
What you think about those ones on Gumtree? They look well maintained, could one replace the mini engine and parts with more servicable engine such as that from a Ballade, Golf etc? If I got it done professionally ofc.
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They all look decent but it's best to go see them and give them a thorough inspection. Take someone along who knows a bit about older cars and who can give you an unbiased opinion (I made that mistake with my first mini, I bought it on looks alone)

As to engine swaps, the most popular are the V-Tec or RXI motors. So yes, you can drop another motor in depending on space limitation. Other popular mods are forced induction, fuel injection etc.

Have a look around This UK Mini Site to see all the various mods done to minis over the years (the site is down for maintenance).

Lastly, to reiterate, it can be costly to maintain. Edit: I actually mean to get it fixed. General service is pretty cheap
 
InternetSwag said:
The famous 1970-1980s Mini.

I seen a few very good looking ones, my father owned one and says they require a lot of maintenance and getting parts is a drag.

look at these ones though, they look really nice.

http://capetown-westerncape.gumtree...cars-finished-mini-project-W0QQAdIdZ373587576

http://capetown-westerncape.gumtree...c-very-rare-and-immaculate-W0QQAdIdZ373422354

http://capetown-westerncape.gumtree.co.za/c-Cars-Vehicles-cars-Mini-For-Sale-W0QQAdIdZ373091353
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yah they require constant maintenance , the bloody things are like WOMEN !


one night you park the car fine , ready for that drivers test tomorrow, car is immaculate :love::whistle:

next morning ................................

WIPERS DONT WORK , HEADLIGHTS DONT WORK, hooter was low ! (refitted light bulbs, switched the car on and off and on again and voila- TLC was given and TLC was accepted, everything worked ! :p

also, with those drum brakes beware that you dont speed and then suddenly brake at robots or wherever .... this will happen to you =

http://durban.gumtree.co.za/c-Cars-Vehicles-cars-mini-1275-urgent-sale-W0QQAdIdZ374467320

that wasnt mine, but you can only assume that it happened as ive tried to brake hard with drums and its just sliding all over the place. (track days, gotta love em)
they are very stubborn cars, they dont like uphills and they dont like hot days, they HATE still standing/crawling traffic for more than 12 minutes, they also dont like it if there are more than 1 person in the car or if the second person is weighing more than the car alone:D

note : to be taken with salt when purchasing, good starter project for learning the basics and to be used on weekends only (friday you can try if its a public holiday)


also rust, as common as a moerby boom in kzn !

you better check that chassis with a magnifying glass, check if its not bent when the owner took out the rust and forgot to keep the body straightened - check rust on the floors , under the drivers seat, in the the boot under the battery, between the metal of the body and where the floors actually meet (mine was pulling away, such a hassle it was to fix) inspection of the engine bay rust is also critical, give small knocks on any place you think there is rust, usually its spread out more than it looks.


they love oil , the gearbox and engine share oil so its every 5000 km you have to change it.
only use 20w50 ! no synthetics !

BEWARE ! i went down this road with a red gts , sold it and got a proper classic car - the vauxhall kadett 1985! :D
 
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Man I LOVED my mini. But ****, it had more issues than I care to mention. Most of all it was the brakes, every frikken weekend I had to do something with the brakes.

Never have I owned a car that was that much fun to drive, and the stories it gave me as a student were epic.

Tbh, I didn't look at the ads the OP loaded, the nostalgia would kill me, but do it, you'll hate your decision and love it at the same time
 
SukkaFoo said:
Man I LOVED my mini. But ****, it had more issues than I care to mention. Most of all it was the brakes, every frikken weekend I had to do something with the brakes.

Never have I owned a car that was that much fun to drive, and the stories it gave me as a student were epic.

Tbh, I didn't look at the ads the OP loaded, the nostalgia would kill me, but do it, you'll hate your decision and love it at the same time
Click to expand...


+10 000 agreed
 
Jase said:
Ouch, I have one almost like that. Green with the union jack on the roof. Current issue, the blooming tail lights keep blowing a fuse....
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a "hard" short-circuit on the feed from that fuse. check that electrical line ! also , try disconnect your wiring and starting from step 1 until you find the culprit , or you could go to a mech and ask him to do that for you :P
 
Damn, I can't afford that much maintenance :(

Cars are so lovely though - how can a 40 year old model look better than any new Picanto, Atos etc.

Wouldn't it be possible to change the components with other vehicles? Like replace the gearbox, engine etc with that of a VW Golf or something - something more maintainable. Or would that ruin the car?
 
InternetSwag said:
Damn, I can't afford that much maintenance :(

Cars are so lovely though - how can a 40 year old model look better than any new Picanto, Atos etc.

Wouldn't it be possible to change the components with other vehicles? Like replace the gearbox, engine etc with that of a VW Golf or something - something more maintainable. Or would that ruin the car?
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yeah its possible, the value would drop due to its parts not being original (ive seen mini's sell for R80 000) completely original, as if nobody has ever driven it before and its just from the show room with all the original engine parts, seats, windows, tyres, everything spot on the dot original.

anyways, its too much of hassle, rather get a normal 1275 with an A+ engine or A engine and try build it up nice and neat and original as possible, that is, if you have the time and cash ..... that mini is a sucker for cash flows
 
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