29 replies to this topic

[Yoshii]

Hi all, I might be finally getting a mini soon and it's 1992 rover model.
I've read a lot of people slating these for their poor build, my question is (to those with knowledge) do they really rust worse than the earlier models despite being maintained?

Thanks

[OfMini&Men]

In short Yes

 

Due to metal being thinner and not of a quality grade. also poor painting and rust proofing from the factory never helped.

[rally515]

If you're not wanting rust repairs or limited ammounts get a carb'd mini, the mpi's were/are the worse for rusting because of the above production oversights

[Turbo Nick]

In my experience anything after a B reg will rust for fun, they got even worse when the 90's carbed coopers came in for some reason. 3 of us have had those and each one was a rotten nail.

[KernowCooper]

Agreed they wont be many Rover Minis that have not had serious rust issues, and its not uncommon to find pre-82 cars more structurally sound then 90s cars when looking for a Mini

[Ethel]

I really can't see the steel being any thinner:

 

The bodies would be lighter.

Any structural / crash testing would be voided and need redoing.

 

It may be the paint is thinner and less resistant to stone chips, but we should also bear in mind the rot boxes of the 60's & 70's just aren't around for comparison.

[Yoshii]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys!
Is a 1980 - 1989 the best year to buy then?

[KernowCooper]

BMC workers made them with good ole British Spirit   Rover threw em together and the steel may have been the same thickness but was most likely melted down Fiats

 

On a serious note I always thought pre-82 cars were less prone to the rot so fast

[Deathrow]

All I can say is that mine is an '88 and it was quite a bucket after 20 odd years.

[Tanya]

I always find this an interesting question. We have nine Minis (all on the road - well, one is currently accident damaged, but will be back soon) which fairly evenly span from 1960 to 2000 and I wouldn't really say that any are better or worse. Even the 2000 isn't too bad, although I do know of many very rusty late Minis.

With ours, I think how each Mini has been cared for before it reached us has been a more significant factor than what year it was produced.

[Ethel]

I remember our '75 Min being well into it's 2nd set of sills before the 70's were out & having all the classic Mini rot, from sand blasting itself with its wheels, before it was ten- it was ziebarted from new too.

 

There's very little chance any Mini you find now won't have several panels from the 90's or later. They all have to be judged on their own merits.

 

It may well be there were differences in steel quality, due to better technology and (on the flip side) tighter environmental controls on production methods.

[Yoshii]

Thanks for the replies, it looks like I'm getting mixed views
The more I look into it the more it seems that the way it was treated is a bigger factor
Should I just continue to judge minis on the condition they are in or, shall I also consider the year they were made?

[jonny95]

All minis rust

[ShaunaFTW]

Anything metal will rust eventually but from what I've seen a lot of late 80s/90s minis are waaaaay more rusty than older ones which have been around longer.

[Ethel]

There's also an awful lot of earlier Mins that aren't even around to compare because of rust. The supply of less rusty Minis stopped in 2000, so  we have to hang on to the ones we've got if we want a Minmin at all.