9 replies to this topic

[Ryan Carter]

Hello Guys,

Firstly, let me apologise if this is in the wrong section, I've been um'ing and ah'ing as to which section to post in, but it's probably obvious and staring at me in the face!

I'm 17 and looking to buy a mini for my first car, (please don't disuade me, my hearts ruling my head on this one hehe) and I think I've found quite a nice Austin Mini Mayfair with full cooper trim, link here http://www.carandcla...uk/car/C368108# . It states 998cc (good for my insurance, thank goodness) but I'm not sure as to the BHP output. My dad has a load of old mini books from when he was rebuilding a 1275 GT, and it says in there a Mini cooper 998cc engine can output roughly 50 BHP, but the ad is very vague as to which engine the car has. The Mini 1000 (except cooper) can output 36 BHP. The advert doesn't say it's a cooper engine, so do I need to email the owner to get more information to determine engine specification?

Once again apologies if this is in the wrong section, and cheers if you took the time to read and reply to help a newbie like me haha!

Cheers

Ryan

[Ryan Carter]

Another quick question, I've seen a lot of mayfairs can be automatic? If the linked as above is an auto please help me out once again and let me know!

Cheers

[Bungle]

that mini is not standard

the cooper badging, sports pack wheels and arches all count as mods to an insurance company and being 17 you will find it hard to get insurance on a modified mini at a sensible cost

[Dan]

There is lots of history about the Mini you can read on this site and others but to help with this question in particular:

From the factory, Cooper engines are only fitted to Coopers. A Mayfair can't be a Cooper, they are different models. This has just had a load of later Cooper parts stuck to it by the owner. It's highly unlikely he will have also fitted a 998 Cooper engine. During 1988 there were no Coopers of any type in production. BL killed the Cooper off and it wasn't bought back until the John Cooper conversion packs became available in 1989 / 90. While a 1990 998 car with the conversion pack fitted is technically a Cooper, that wouldn't be referred to as a Cooper 998 engine. These engines are much older and more sought after and were dropped by BL in 1969. In effect there are no small engine Coopers of late production. This car will have a regular 998 A+ motor in all likelihood, and will probably have been originally producing around 38 bhp. It's a manual car.

And I'm moving this to Mini Chat.

[Ryan Carter]

Thanks for the reply, I realised it had a load of cooper parts stuck to it, and it looks good in my opinion! Also thanks for the information on the engine, that's probably why the insurance is £2000! Great speedy replies on this forum, feels like a good community of people

Apologies again for where I posted!

Ryan

[CMXCVIII]

It has a LOT of Cooper parts stuck onto it! I personally would want to ask lots of questions about the provenance of a 1988 Mini Mayfair to which someone had not only fitted all the late Cooper interior trim and extra instruments but had even gone to the trouble of fitting a late Cooper steering wheel with an airbag [do they fit the same steering column?] and had resprayed the car in a late Cooper colour!

Jon

[mini-luke]

It has a LOT of Cooper parts stuck onto it! I personally would want to ask lots of questions about the provenance of a 1988 Mini Mayfair to which someone had not only fitted all the late Cooper interior trim and extra instruments but had even gone to the trouble of fitting a late Cooper steering wheel with an airbag [do they fit the same steering column?] and had resprayed the car in a late Cooper colour!

Jon

Good spot, it's a ringer. Would like to see the engine bay...

[Bungle]

it would be worth checking the the VIN number in the bonnet drip rail

[Dan]

It's a strong possibility, although it's not unknown to go to such lengths to Cooperise a car. It needs a proper look over. If it is a ringer, the only reason I can think of to give anything a 1988 identity is to loose a stolen vehicle.

[alicetheauto]

Or hope to export to the States. That's a 25 year cut off isn't it? This year. Not looking good though. Anyone who knows minis will pick up on it being wrong straight away, so it's probably done by someone in a normal garage somewhere.