17 replies to this topic

[Oscar1275]

Well, I wrote out a long spiel and the site swallowed it whole and now I have to write another one! I hope this isn't a bad omen....

Picked the car up last Friday and drove home 65 miles - a bit scary but got there in one piece. No back box (back firing sounds so much louder when it's only a few inches below your backside), no door mirrors, no brakes (well, token) and a reminder of how much it hurts your right leg driving a mini! I thought I'd get DVT it ached so much!

It's home though, so that's a good start. I'm no mechanic or body repairer so that's a bad next step. Steep learning curve for me but looking forward to it: I know, ask me in six months. I need to fit a new back box, door mirrors, dash, inner door panels, fix non-opening drivers window, new driver's side radius arm, fix horn, check and fix electrics and then work through the mechanicals. I'm sure the car will lovingly surprise me as I go! Buying a Haynes manual would help (Halfords didn't have one) and AA cover would also be reassuring!!

I must be crazy! I'm hoping you guys welcome new idiots on parade and the levels of moral support (or is that collective psychosis?) seem really great in this forum. If the guy who flashed and waved just outside Sleaford last week reads the forum, sorry for not waving back - did my grimace look like a wide grin by any chance?

Steven

[simong6]

hey welcome to the site matey!

just read what was wrong with yours and i thought you had secretly bought my car!!!!!


as i get told so so often welcome to the joys of mini ownership!!!!!!!!!

[Purple Tom]

welcome to the forum mate!

Sounds like a pretty typical Mini you have there..... :grin:

A piece of advice about the Haynes manuals, don't buy the new dark blue one from Halfords, they're pretty pants, full of 'refer to section so-and-so' quotes, useless pictures, and a lot of the useful info has been removed - and they're £14.99!!

Get hold of the earlier pale blue one if you can, covers cars from 1969 to 1991 (has an appendix in the back for the early 90's Cooper's, HIF44's etc). Pretty much any car boot sale will reveal these manuals for about a pound each. They're much more comprehensive, and actually tell you how to do something, rather than just referring you to about 7 different sections of the book. I have 3 manuals, one for the house, one for the garage, and one for the car

We're dead friendly on here, so look around, ask questions, we'll always do our best to help!

[ed4ran]

Welcome,

any picys of your mini?? :grin:

[Oscar1275]

Will take some pics tonight and post!

[Oscar1275]

Remembered I bought it off Ebay and nicked these pics from there!

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[Oscar1275]

Another pic

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[Oscar1275]

And another - anyone know how to post multiple images? This seems a bit long winded!

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[minipixie]

you could post multipple pictures by uploading them onto photobucket.com for example and then jus post the [IMG]etc etc[IMG/] thing, and then it'll post ur pictures, if that makes sense??

Welcome to the forum by the way!! :grin:

[Oscar1275]

Er, thanks MiniPixie - I think! I'll have a play and see if it works. You'll soon know because the pics will appear!

I took a look at your write up about Babs - was it easy to modify the door cards? Mine have fibreglass speaker mounts (ridiculous) and I'm either going to have to un-modify them or get a new set! You can't wind the windows down very easily, so the last owner roughly hacked away at the window winders to *just* make them fit. Nonce!

[Oscar1275]

[Oscar1275]

Thanks MiniPixie - nice one!

[minipixie]

no worries!!

the doorcards are quite easy to modify, altho im not sure how the fibreglass speaker mounts will affect it! it also depends on what you want to do to the doorcards, if it's jus a case of recovering them, thats mega simple! jus need to take them out, recover them and then put them back in place! jobs done! lol!

u got any pictures of ur doorcards at the moment?

pixie!

[Dom]

Hello and welcome to TheMiniForum

Enjoy the site :cool:

[Oscar1275]

Thanks for all the welcome messages! I know you guys have been through it all and it's important for someone like me to feel I have friendly "know-it-alls" to lean on now and again!

Pixie - don't have pics of door cards but will take them shortly and put on the web tomorrow.

Worryingly, I just rang my nearest scrap yard and asked if he had any mini city mid 80's and he said "no, they're increasingly rare nowadays". Gulp! I really don't want to be put over a barrel for spares prices! Where do you all buy your bits and pieces?