8 replies to this topic

[Haynes]

Oh dear, my son wants a mini, where he got that idea from I don’t know.  He’s been driving a year, and as an engineering apprentice is now keen to get more hands on.  He has friends with a Beetle, another with an Imp and there are a few minis at college.

 

Ive persuaded him to keep his daily and get a project he can work on over a year or so.  And the object of the exercise is to give him some practical experience.  He is also doing a bit of welding at college.  I cant weld but have always wanted to learn, and ive plenty of experience with the mechanics on a min, having owned them since I was his age!

 

Ive found a project locally for around £1000, last mot 2 years ago, 80s mayfair.

The bad bits:

Oversills  (Ok not great but if it gets through an mot now it can be tackled later?)

Windscreen scuttle is quite scabby with a few blisters

Wing seams have been filled over

A  panel / hinge loose

 

Theres the odd scab and blister on the paint but it’s a complete car that runs and stops etc.  Interior very tatty etc.  Subframes look ok.

 

But it is generally quite solid and I don’t think it would take much to get through an mot, suspension mountings seem ok.

He isn’t so worried about paint, more interested in making it solid, and the whole object of the exercise is to have a project to learn on.  And if its not a show car less worries about going out in the rain etc.

 

I guess my main concern is the costs running away with it and becoming a money pit.  Eg paying someone £1000 to weld, £500 for panels, £2500 for paint job before even touching the mechanicals.  But doing most of the work ourselves and only doing whats necessary to get it on the road then might not cost too much.

 

Do you think we can get a better project for the money?

Would it be better getting a nicer more up together road worthy car, (probs £5K these days!)

Would you not bother on grounds of oversills and scuttle?

Or should we go for it?

 

 

[Aaron3]

Theyre all money pits dispite what you pay for them, the car may be worth a look with a magnet to determine how much metal is still there, many get covered in icing to make them look pretty. But in all fairness if the mechanicals are ok and the rust is not structural I think for £1000 it could be a good basis for an on the road project, Ive seen many unfinished projects on eBay go for 2 maybe 3 times that amount.

[KTS]

considering the work I assume would be required to put it back on the road again, asking for £1000 seems somewhat ambitious

 

if it's got oversills fitted then i would assume it will need everything adjacent to the sill void replacing (inner sills, heel board, rear seat bins etc). You'll be wanting to replace a-panels, wings and front panel as a matter of course, but again assume there will be plenty of other repair work required around the door hinge pillars/inner wing/footwell area, andi would also assume you will be needing to repair (..if not replace..) the boot floor, rear valance and rear wheel tubs

 

on the plus side, it'll certainly give you both ample opportunity practice your welding

 

the other big question is does the engine run ? if not, the only value the car has is as scrap or for breaking

 

unless they're willing to drop the price an awful lot, and you're willing to commit a lot of time and effort over the next 12months, i'd keep looking.

[WillCarter]

I got a mini when I was 16. I spent all my time and money fixing it rather than actually being able to drive it. unfortunately they need to be constablty looked after. As said above they are money pits. However, they're probably the best fun you could have in a car, they're good for learning to work on cars and there are plenty of spare parts around and help too.
I had to sell mine as I couldn't afford to keep it and go to uni at the same time but if your son has a job and wants something to learn to work on long term then I'd say go for it. However, it's a bad idea to swap it for whatever his other car is as I'd imagine that his boss won't be too happy with the 'sorry I can't come to work, my car's broken down' excuse. That happened to me many times during 6th form.

That being said, I've missed mine ever since I sold it so overall, either get one that he can work on long term in addition to his other car or otherwise wait until a decent one that doesn't need much work doing comes along that can be driven and tinkered on in his so time.

[cal844]

Yes minis do need maintenance, however once restored the maintenance is actually only a few hours at the weekend

However compared to your son's modern car, the parts price is actually very good

Edited by cal844, 19 May 2018 - 09:32 AM.

[carbon]

+1 for KTS comments about oversills, they can hide a lot of issues and also cause the floor to rot out.

 

If you're going to do the welding then could be worth £1000 but if otherwise I would add up potential cost of likely repairs. Chances are you can find another mini which will not need as much welding which would work out much cheaper in the long run.

 

Also worth joining a local mini club, there may be members who can give advice.

[Boycie]

You don't see many complete/ driving Minis for under £1k nowadays, oversills or not.
If the rest of it seems manageable it's probably worth a gamble. Particularly if the rest of the rust is 'first time around' stuff- ie it's not hiding lots of pigeon-sh*t welding or filler. There's project cars and then there's project cars!

[wile e coyote]

£1k for a runner is unfortunately about right - what would worry me more than anything else is the scuttle to fix it properly is an entire front end off ......and doesn't come cheap...I suspect from desrciption of wing seams filled and a panel rot that there's rot there  - at minimum it's screen out, treat / repair, new rubber etc etc -if (big if - check very thoroughly) ..... If the scuttle is shot and "you" have the appetite and capability do do it then negotiate very hard on worse case scenario (investigate from the inside around the eyeball vent / bulkhead- can be VERY revealing - the fact it doesn't have an MOT puts seller on the back foot.

 

A lot of rabid energy is expended on oversills - yes they're horrendous and should never be fitted - but if they're already there and surrounding steel is sound (check thoroughly) then replacement can wait....

 

Every mini at the lower end (even many asking serious money) will have it's issues given that even the last ones are fast approaching 20 years old....I'd ask to see the last MOT fail sheet though (if it's not online)

 

If scuttle manageable - on brief description -I'd get the price down as far as possible and go for it.......yes it'll be a moneypit, but once MOT gained improvements can be made progressively

[blacktulip]

I say get it and enjoy it. As you say, your son is learning to weld and there is loads of advice and guides on how to tackle such jobs on the net and on here, just look at the project section if you want inspiration. Being a forum member for well over 10 years I can gladly say there are members who knows the answer to any question you may have so help is to hand. I think you would be glad once it's on the road.

Edited by blacktulip, 20 May 2018 - 09:06 PM.