24 replies to this topic

[miniQ]

From what I can see everything looks original MKII to me.

 

The dash switch panel 

 

The clutch and brake master cylinders

 

External door hinges

 

Roof gutter drip rail being a big give away. 

 

It might have hydro elastic suspension also.

 

Look to see if it has the original fluted sills. 

Edited by miniQ, 30 June 2018 - 03:21 PM.

[MikeRotherham]

The images of the engine compartment appear to show the pipes to the displacers so it would suggest it has hydrolastic suspension.

[surfblue]

All Mk2s originally had hydrolastic suspension, it was introduced during latter part of Mk1 production and remained till early 1970s with the Mk3, yours certainly has the hydro pipes under the bonnet so likely still has that suspension fitted.

If you provide the first few numbers / letters of the engine number we will be able to identify the capacity, assuming the engine number hasnt been swapped to a different block.

Get a mirror and torch and look down the back right hand side of the engine block (as you face the car) it should have either 850 or 1000 cast into the engine block.

[SurpriseMini]

Sorry for my lack of response, it has been a hectic week and a half!

 

Time to do some replies...

[SurpriseMini]

I think this is a great little car. Provided you can secure ownership (I agree with your reasoning and the valuation of storage costs etc over these years) it would be a great project. An original Mk2 is a hard thing to come by these days. The mk2 was only manufactured for 3-4 years so makes them quite rare. If you want to keep it which being a mini addict I would, obviously, you could get a British heritage certificate for it which would identify the original factory spec. There is also a good book available called Factory Original by James Taylor covering both mk1 & 2 minis. It’s about £30 on eBay and is a good reference book. Fully restored to a good level and in ‘original’ condition it would be worth around £10k I reckon. Very few come up for sale though so it’s hard to say what someone will pay. Top condition early 850 mk1s can fetch nearer £20k, and a ‘59 even more these days so who knows! I own a few minis including a nice early mk1, and would love to add a mk2 to my collection as they’re becoming rarer and more sought after. Good luck with securing ownership and let us know how you get on.

 

I forgot to add - if you’ve never driven a mini, do it now. If you don’t hate it, you’ll be addicted forever! Loads of members are more than happy to take prospective owners out on a taster session.

Thanks for the info, I will look into the certificate and book.

That is a very good point, I wouldn't want to spend time and money to not like something. Sounds like you are a nice friendly community so I will think about this as part 

of the consideration process. This could backfire and sway me to do something I shouldn't however haha. 

 

From what I can see everything looks original MKII to me.

 

The dash switch panel 

 

The clutch and brake master cylinders

 

External door hinges

 

Roof gutter drip rail being a big give away. 

 

It might have hydro elastic suspension also.

 

Look to see if it has the original fluted sills. 

Thanks for looking it over. I will research these points so I can check if they are present on my next visit.

 

The images of the engine compartment appear to show the pipes to the displacers so it would suggest it has hydrolastic suspension.

 

All Mk2s originally had hydrolastic suspension, it was introduced during latter part of Mk1 production and remained till early 1970s with the Mk3, yours certainly has the hydro pipes under the bonnet so likely still has that suspension fitted.

If you provide the first few numbers / letters of the engine number we will be able to identify the capacity, assuming the engine number hasnt been swapped to a different block.

Get a mirror and torch and look down the back right hand side of the engine block (as you face the car) it should have either 850 or 1000 cast into the engine block.

Thanks for the information about the suspension, sounds a lot like the hydropneumatic system Citroen uses after a wiki search. Is it as expensive to fix as I imagine? I worked for Citroen

and their system was through the roof!

Car is 3 hours away so I will put it on the list of things to check on the next visit.

[Minigman]

The hydro units (bags) can be rehosed for about £80 each and pipe work and fittings aren’t to expensive. It’s all a bit fiddly getting some of the pipes fitted but perfectly doable.

[MikeRotherham]

The hydrolastic system is a lot simpler than the Citroen system.

 

Basically, a displacer on each wheel instead of a rubber spring and telescopic damper.

 

The displacers on the front are connected to the ones on the back by a pipe and filled with a special fluid and the whole thing is pressurised. There are no pumps involved.

 

When the front wheel hits something in the road it causes the interconnected rear wheel to do the opposite. So if the front wheel goes over a bump the rear wheel is pushed down. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this) It always seems like a daft idea but it works and works well. I had a three year old 1968 mini 850 with it fitted and the ride was pretty good for a tiny little car.

[Minigman]

I love a hydro car. Some say the ride is too soft but as long as it’s not a track car it’s fine. Lots of original Coopers etc still giving it some beans on hydro suspension.

[62S]

That is a great find, a fairly early Mk 2 in El Paso Beige by the look of it and it seems pretty original.

Not sure it has been there quite 30 years as the style of tax disc on the screen appeared in the early 1990's. Engine number looks original and correct for an 848cc unit in that age of car.

[pedromintor]

hi i sent a private message. thanks
peter