24 replies to this topic

[marksmini]

got offered a mini which has been stood for 6 years outside. alot of surface rust in the normal places, a couple of holes but if i don’t buy it its been scraped.

Its a Mini City AUTO but never mind. Never driven a mini auto before.
1985
in white with lots of light green moss growing on it.
the guy says he thinks its a 1.1 which it could be i spouse.
Engine runs just fine and is clean of oil.
The car is fully original expect some rare alloys fitted (which i cant remember what there called at the mo)
its got ok (ish) seats in, with no rips, just could with some warmth to take the damp out them.
he wants £100 for it im going to offer £75 and see if he will take it. i think he will.

as long as the sub frames are good on my next inspection and the rust isn’t on the main body of the car its mine. on a quick look the sills feel good. drivers wing very baddy rotten and a hole on the inner arch and i bet there’s alot more to find, but with a tone of filler and fibreglass im hoping to get it right back on the road. Brakes need checking but as long as she drives. why not.
My plan is to NOT care for the car. if i do care for the car it comes off the road and takes many many years to go back, like my other two minis lol.

If it passes MOT, Runs and Brakes its good enough for me.
worst case is i sell the alloys and get my money back. then either scrap or even Ebay the car for breaking. Either way i cant lose i don’t think.
The guy started the car once a month up to a couple months ago, as the battery has now gone flat and he old guy doesn’t have any jump leads bless him. He was given the car when a family member passed away.

taking a closer look hopefully next Friday where i might even bring it home. Handy as its only 30 sec away from home. could even drive it its that close.

[Shifty]

Autos are a doss to drive!!! They just love to rev themseves to bits!!!

Pull the covers out of the rear bins and have a look if anythings attacting the rear frame to the body!!!

Also, at the top of the arches and the boot corners.

Rat look???

[marksmini]

rat look lol, from a distance it looks ok. But i can soon sort that :-p

i want to check the insides alot closer on my next visit.
i really hope to clean the brakes up, fill in any main holes, rebuild the wing with fibreglass to give the headlight something to fit too lol and then sent her off for a MOT. clearly if it needs welding for MOT it will be done correctly.
I might not even clean the body work till shes on the road (although knoing me i will pollish the bodywork like mad in a attempt to make it look nice ish lol)

[Retro_10s]

sounds good mark do it!

[marksmini]

cant go wrong at that price. Can you? as long as its solid on main strucher of the car.

[Shifty]

Hang on though Mark......there are implications here......as a member of the forums admin will you not have to resign your position if you actually get a mini on the road????

[Tupers]

Sounds like a pretty decent car, even if the shell's knackered you should be able to get decent money for the engine and box (sounds like they're good).

[marksmini]

whahahahaha, no comment
my van is 95% finished after many many years lol but yeah, us admins are getting better at this 'haven a mini on the road' lark

[Retro_10s]

should be able to get decent money for the engine and box

Ever tried selling an auto? I had a hard time trying to Give the bloody thing away for free! But you're quite right when yuo say they sound good, - autos are great, just never looked after

[Shifty]

Few years ago autos were the best to buy. They tended to be bought by oldies who garaged them and cherished them, hence the shells survived well.

[marksmini]

are the bearing shells more common to go on auto Engines? (clearly if not looked after)

[Retro_10s]

really depends if the oil changes have been kept regular, they're more regular than the manual and have a drastic affect on the life expectancy of the box and the torque converter.

[ShoutforJoy]

There's nothing wrong with mini autos - but then I would say that because I've got one! Just don't try to race anything away from the lights!!

I expect you'll find it's a 998cc - I've only evercome across autos in 998 and 1275.

You can always convert it to manual but I'd not recommend it as it's lot of work and autos are becoming more and more rare.

Good luck with it.

[Stafford]

I have a mini auto too, been well looked after too, needs a bit of work but its all good.

[miniallsort]

sounds nice mate