13 replies to this topic

[berkut]

Hello to everyone on the forum, I'm Gav and I'm from Yorkshire.

I am going to look at a Mini on Saturday with the hope of buying it. It will be my first Mini (and first car).

The car is a 1962 Mk1 Austin, what sort of things should I be on the lookout (or listening) for? The owner says that it is not in concourse condition but is very good. It has apparently had some work done on the engine and body at some time in the past. How will I be able to tell if the work has been done well?

Really, I just need to be able to tell if the thing is useable or not. I don't have the knowledge or facilities to carry out anything other than the most basic maintinence. I plan to use it as a daily run about, well, maybe a few short runs a week with the odd longer outing. I hope that that a 46 year old car will be able to be used like this (provided that it is well looked after of course).

The bloke is asking £2500 for the car, does that sound about right?

Any advice is greatly apreciated.

[Ouster]

Welcome Gav!

I'm not sure what price mk I minis are going for these days, so hopefully someone else can help you there.
But when you go to visit, have a look for any rust - the main areas are the sills, under the headlights, A panels, flooring, and the boot/battery box. Have a look under the carpets.

When going for a test drive, make sure it brakes straight etc etc, that there's not any nasty smoke when you put your foot down, and that the gearbox is smooth (did early minis have synchromesh gearboxes?)

Hope it goes well for you, and remember the golden rule - don't be afraid to walk away. If there's something you don't like, don't buy it.
Also, mechanical things are cheap, bodywork is not!

[mk1leg]

Hi..and welcome to TMF for £2500 it should be in class 2 condition clean and tidy minamal rust and when you test drive it take it for a 10-15 mile drive so engine is well warm and when you get back pop it in forth and hand brake on lift clutch slowly until it starts to bite then it should stall this will tell you if clutch is good if it does not stall and revs then its on its way out...............good luck..............

[berkut]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll be taking my Dad along who had a few Minis in his youth.

So it shouldn't be too much of a problem to be running a Mini such as this as an everyday car?

Here's a quick picture.


I hope it isn't raining on Saturday morning.

[Juju]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll be taking my Dad along who had a few Minis in his youth.

So it shouldn't be too much of a problem to be running a Mini such as this as an everyday car?

Here's a quick picture.


I hope it isn't raining on Saturday morning.

Owww my lordy, that's a beautiful mini. If it's in as good nick as it looks in that pic, you've got a bargain, I reckon. As the others said, it's rust that is your biggest worry.
Good luck. I hope you get it.

[Angelic_Fruitcake]

It looks very tidy in the picture!

Welcome to TMF

[Pooky]

Very sweet! Does look in very good condition!

As has been said rust is the main worry. You've really got spend lots of time checking absolutely everywhere, wear old clothes because you'll be crawling around on the ground checking the floorpan and take a torch so you can try and have a look up under the wheel arches (especially at the front in the corners of the scuttle panel).

Check the bottoms of the doors and not just the outer skin but right underneath where it meets the seal.

Round the windscreens front and rear.

Check for rust in the engine bay, particularly around the clutch and brake cylinders.

Have a peek down into the rear bins in the back seat area as minis can suffer here too.

[miniEgg]

As everyone else has said, rust is your enemy..... definately lift the carpets up to look under them for rust. check under the car and the sills, wheel arches etc.. also check the boot floor and the battery compartment for rust.

the pic looks great but its easy to take a "good" photo. although there does seem to be a mark (maybe a shadow) on the scuttle panel just infront the drivers side windscreen wiper.

hope you grab a bargain mate....

[berkut]

Thanks a lot for the replies; I'll print them out and take them with me so that I remember to check everything.

I agree, it looks great in the picture, it is pretty much exactly the Mini that I always wanted: an original sixties Mini, I preffer the look of the Austins over the Morris too.

I have been to look at a couple of Minis that have looked nice in pictures that have turned out not to be right. I really hope that I don't find anything that is too much of a problem as I think I would have difficulty walking away from this one.

Are there tell-tale signs of bodged body repairs that I should be on the lookout for?

My plan, if I get it, is to take it to a local Mini specialist and have it waxoiled and given a good once over. Any ideas how much it should cost to get the thing waxoiled? Is there anything else that I should look into in order to further protect it?

[jplonie]

Hi Gav!
Buying a MK1 as your first car, sounds familiar... I did that 2.5 years ago!!
I was clueless at the time and my-old-man tried putting me off, but I wasn't having any of it!
First year I used her as a daily driver, was fine in the summer, but a nightmare in winter or when wet, but think most minis are like that.
Knowledge is only something you learn with hands-on experience I have discovered so really pleased I bought her now.

A good idea would be to ask if it has recently been re-sprayed. As mine looked perfect when I bought it , but a quick cheap spray had just been done, now it shows.

Not sure if that year had hydro-elastic suspension? but if it does make sure it is fairly strong, because the parts are a nightmare to find I discovered.

(Save pennies.... under-seal it at home)

Where bouts in Yorkshire you from?

Hope all goes well.

J

Edited by jplonie, 06 September 2008 - 12:14 AM.

[Alexanderx]

oh and don't be put of by rust its treatable if ur willing to put the effort in to getting rid of it,
and you'd be very lucky to find a mini with out any rust on it.
and to be honest working on the body ent to bad you just got to have patience
and you can get a really good finish ur self.

with the waxoil are you planing to have it pumped into the the seals?
its a really good idea helps prevent them from rusting and such.


good luck with the mini chap,
she looks lovely.

talk soon Alex.

[Ethel]

If you want a car that doesn't leak or break down in the wet you'd be better hoping it does rain. Buying a nice vintage Mini as a first car is a responsibility to take seriously.

[berkut]

Hello all.

Many thanks for all of the help and advice.

Unfortunately I didn't buy the car. There were too many things that weren't right. There were bodged repairs all over the car (although there wasn't very much rust). The inside had been brush painted and the outside paintwork was very dull and had a sort of mottled finish and was blistering in places. My dad reconed that it had been painted with the wrong type of paint and had reacted with the pain underneath. There was overspray on everything too. The bodywork was generally poor and the car was a bit of a missmatch of parts.

The engine didn't seem to have any pull whatsoever. I didn't expect an 850 to be hugely powerful but I have seen a 1000 and this was nothing like it. The brakes were also much less effective than the drums on another Mini that I have seen. The car was also really 'wallowy' on the road.

Anyway, it was a shame to leave it behind but I think the car needed far too much work to make it good, work that I couldn't do myself, and that made it not worth the asking price. The bloke said that he had had a lot of interest but that noone had made him an offer and I think that is because it looked so good in the pictures but not so good up close.

Ah, well, something else will come up I'm sure.

[sazal]

Good work on walking away The bubbling paint was probably hiding rust