5 replies to this topic

[SaulCalvert]

Hi all,

complete mini newbie here looking for advice as I am considering buying a 1984 city E to use as a daily driver. It will be my second car and the only car I will have available to drive. My main concern is whether or not it will be able to handle the monthly trip from Belfast to Dublin and back (roughly 90 miles) which is motorway the entire journey. Other than that I'm also thinking rust could be an issue, especially in winter months with the salt being sprayed , but am thinking that coating everything in waxoyl before the winter and giving under the car a spray down every weekend should keep the rust at bay?

Thanks in advance for any help and if all goes well I will have the car within a month! :)

[Str8Thru]

Welcome!

what condiiton is it in? How much work has it done in the past (milage)? these factors will have a big impact on its capabilities as a daily driver. Also keeping it  dry stored is neccassary too.

[minimissions]

Hi it would handle that trip fine, one thing i would say is to maybe looking for something with a little more power for motorway driving. I used my 1995 Mini Sidewalk daily for a few years she did at least 16k a year and handled it fine being an SPI 1275 it kept with everything on the motorway,

 

I have always had a mini as a daily up until the last few years whether that be 998cc or 1275cc it was always fun :) basically because I now need a bigger car mine isn't used everyday now.

 

I say go for it.

[Vinay-RS]

I use my 1275 E as a daily and have done so for the past 3 years. It doesn't have to go too far ~20 km per day, and we don't have the kind of weather conditions you guys have in the UK. The only thing I found was that it needs more regular maintenance if you use it regularly (seems obvious ). If you have the time to do the weekly/monthly checks (they don't take time at all), then it should be fine. It'd probably be ideal to make sure everything mechanical and electrical is working well before you start using it as your daily.

 

Good luck on the purchase and enjoy your Mini :) 

[absx2]

I have a daily drive fitted with a 998 city E lump and it managed a 440 mile round trip in a day to Castle Combe and back in a day.

The city E is high geared with a 2.9 diff and I remember on Metro`s and maybe the minis forth gear was marked with an "E" like an overdrive gear so the gearing is suited ( for a mini ) for sustained 70 mph driving. Its the fillings in your teeth and your ears that will suffer not the car :)

 

As for the rust you are right next to the sea so get the same very humid air as I do but if you keep the areas that catch mud clear and soak the seams and gutters in plenty of penetrating oil and protect the underside, like mine 13 years on it shouldn`t look much different to what it does now.

Cars in coastal areas rot out in storage so at least used on the road they get aired out and maintained.

[SaulCalvert]

Wow thanks for all the advice, the body is in good condition and has supposedly only done somewhere between 11-18k miles so I'm thinking it should be fine as long as I keep on top of maintenance and do the weekly checks as been said here. :)