5 replies to this topic

[2004mark]

Hello everyone!
java script:emoticon(':sad:')
smilie
Let me intorduce myself. My name is Mark I'm 24 and my Mini is called 'SOJ' and is an E reg (88), it hasn't moved now for over five years (thats the first time that I've worked that out - thought it was about 3) but more about Soj in a minute.

To cut it short I got the Mini bug when I was about 13 when my Dad bought my Mom a Rove Mini Cooper, it was a red L reg and I loved it at first sight.

Natrually when I past my test I purchased myself a F reg city 998, that lasted all of 13 days untill I wrote it off. After my insurance payout I bought Soj from a local Mini dealer for £1300 complete with some godge welding and a C**p respray. Again to cut it short, over the period of a year I had transformd Sog from a puney standard 998 to a fire spitting (litterally) 1293 compleate with all the trimmings including a SC box.

Was having a lot of fun with Sog untill one tragic day a piston shattered and it's been in my garage ever since - rotting!

I tock the engine out and stripped it and also bought a MG Turbo engine complete with turbo and all for a bargin price of £100.

The plan was to build a turbo engine and a back up normally asperrated engine. This has never happened and Sog is not looking to good from his bodged body repairs and time sat in the garage.

SO...

...my dilema, I currently have no funds to spare on Soj, so do I get rid of the shell and buy another in the future or endure my Mothers nagging and leave it put untill I can get the funds together to have it repstored (engines are my thing not body work).

Could any one tell me what an average restoration would cost (just bodywork and paint job) It'll probaly need two doos, both sills new bonnet and is rusting bad under the front and back windows - plus in other usual place. I realise I'm asking how long is a peice of string but would it be £500, £1000, £1500?

[liam_italian]

It cost ya loads, it's not the panels that cost the earth its the labour that hits ur pocket! cheaper 2 get a restored shell on e-bay if ya ask me!

[binge]

You paid £1300 for a rust bucket?

[austin68]

I've another rust bucket if you've another £1300 :grin:

[Barnett]

Crazy!! :sad:

I only paid 1500 euros for this 1991 cooper...thats about 1000 squidillies!! :cheese:

Attached Files

•  IMGP1180.JPG   130.84K   1 downloads

[2004mark]

Well the car was £950, that included a the body work repairs and a respray, I bumped the price up to £1300 with extras and pealessent paint, and for the year or so I had it on the road it looked great, it was black with a purple perl.

But like I said after 5 years off the road it hasn't faired too well. Cosmeticly it still doesn't look to bad (apart from under the front and back windows), I see worse cars on the road on a daily basis, but its the drivers side sill that is worrying me the most.

What I'm going to do this week is push it out of the garage and take some detailed photographs of the problem areas and send them to a few body shops to see if I can get an idea on price. I wouldn't want it up to show car standard, just solid and looking tidy (might even go for the rally style).

I realise that It'd probaly be cheaper to by a soild rolling shell, but I had so many good miles in that car it'd be hard to get rid.

I've been sorting through all the bit of engine that I have and have drawn up a list of needed parts to get the turbo engine running (I gave the block and internals away) so fingers crossed this thime next year (money will be the bottle neck in progress) I could have sog back on the road.