Motors Got me a new mini!

With so much work do on the house I figured my 1960 mini isn't going to be ready any time soon, and id much rather store it until I've built my garage, so I figured I'd need a mini to drive about, cos i miss them so.

Found me a nice-ish studio2 that needs a bit of work (heh) on the body, needs new a panels, inner hinges, floor pan on drivers side and a bonnet etc. oh and the small matter of a new rear subframe too.

Have taken all the chrome crap off, as well as the cooper stickers, gonna go slightly retro in appearance but that'll take a while cos im SKINT.
It's going in for all the welding as soon as the panels arrive, then I'm gonna respray the new panels and bonnet myself, cos I can't afford owt else

Next job after that is sourcing a cheap turbo lump to drop in, cos the 998 just doesn't cut it im afraid.

isn't she purty?

 

Hayabusa engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4AattlzskA

 

would LOVE a busa engine, (maybe a turbo one heh) but i'd love to drive one first, cos apparently they don't go around corners the same after the conversion

annnnd.... the small fact my wallet would not stretch to even a tenth of the cost... but nm

 

True, to quickly round corners and you'll end up pirouetting across hedges and into fields.

 

www.turbominis.co.uk

come and have a look at my site.. best resource for turbocharged minis anywhere

if you're down south i'll take you out in mine somewhen

 

oof, i thought you meant a MINI when you said new, I nearly had a fit, looks lubly

 

hey AlexB, I'm registered there as jefinabox

I used to be good mates with FeebleUK (hehe i bet some people here remember him), and he's been into turbos for a fair while. I just need a turbo engine to pop up for no more than £300 (hah fat chance) and ill jump on it, then i'll be able to join the club

 

Looks nice. I'd like to get a mini at some stage but I'm not quite sure what I'd be getting myself in for in terms of both time and money.

From the picture it looks like it's in quite good condition? Have you got pictures of the parts that need repairs? I'm curious as to how much money one has to spend to get a clean, mechanically sound mini on the road.

 

I think how much you spend completely varies from mini to mini tbh, from the accounts I've seen from others that is. I'm not a very 'hands on' owner mind as my baby is a later model and has never let me down once

 

It depends on the year.

If you want a restoration project, you can pick up pre-70s rotten ones for a couple of hundred quid, if not peanuts, parts and panels are cheap as the mini is a popular car and after-market and reproduction parts are all over the place.

The expense comes from labour costs. But if you get friends and family to help with the work you can keep the costs down.

 

yeah minis are as cheap if you're skilled. experienced and have room/tools/time lol, the more of those you don't have the dearer they are. imo parts are cheap, its only labour and the frequency of repairs needed (dont care what anyone says, minis as a whole are complete rust buckets) that make them semi-dear.

the minis in a lot worse condition than it looks in those pics, i've already replaced both doors and the bonnet as they'd started to rust (pics soon), got those for peanuts really, think i paid £30 or something and they're completely rust free.

this is a little list of the new panels i've had to order for her (baring in mind this is a 1990 mini, not that old)

A Post Inner Hinge Panel, left hand, Mk3-5
A Post Inner Hinge Panel, right hand, Mk3-5
Hinge Panel, inner wing, left hand, Mk3-5
Hinge Panel, inner wing, right hand, Mk3-5
Floor Half, right hand, Mk1-5
Sill, left hand, Mk3-4
Sill, right hand, Mk3-4
Scuttle

all that lot runs to about £130ish or something
the welding; i'm getting someone else to do cos i never bothered to learn (will do when i have my garage) and my mechanic owes me a few favours for fixing his pc so often

then there's all the paint which im guessing will cost me close to £60ish for all the panels inc door and stuff, cos i'm painting it myself with cans (cant be arsed using compressor for just a few panels).

the rear subframe also wants replacing but I have a spare one, and I suppose I'll do this myself, even though I'm not too keen on the job but it could be worse.

then she needs her brakes looking at, so new pads and discs at around the £30 mark, all new ignition (call it £25) and an oil change along with filter, so it does begin to add up.

lets say i got her for the equivalent of £300 she still won't run me too large a bill, but im lucky to be owed favours and stuff. I would really like to drop a turbo lump in her as well cos her 998 has 82k on the clock and is imo prolly needing a rebuild (haven't really driven it).

so erm yeah, minis are about as expensive as you want really, tbh i'd be looking at around £600-700 for a run around up north, getting better the more you pay, of course there are bargains to be had but thats what id look to spend

can't wait to get cracking with this one though she still needs a name...

 

Are the other minis beside it yours as well?

 

nah, that pic was from the bloke i bought it off. i've only got 1 more; a 1960 bodyshell that needs restoring (another job for another day). ive also got a ritz at my house that belongs to my girlfriend that im doing for her, that's waiting for me to put a 1275 in (got one in my lounge lol) and a full respray

 

as did i!
very nice lookin car and seems you have a few others stashed in the back.
this is mine : http://fishstick.co.uk/Travis/Pictures/Wheels/images/DSCF0047 (Medium).JPG

 

Now that's a clean little mini. Did you do the work or buy it like that? Are the wheels white, silver or chrome (can't tell from the angle). The matt black paint is nice. What sort of engine have you got in it?

 

ooh that is neat, very much like the retro treatment of the front end, will be doing something like that with the studio2, but perhaps with a wavy grill and gp2 arches

 

Nice mini! good work

 

If you need a source of parts at good prices try this www.ukclassicminiparts.com

 

bought it like that, my best mate was the previous owner, if you wanna see what it looked like some 3 years ago...bought for 150£ off a scrapheap...look no further:
http://fishstick.co.uk/Travis/Pictures/Before/

 

forgot to add, the wheels are white, and its a standard 998 engine.