24 replies to this topic

[Rich_M]

Hi ladies and gents,

 

Ive registered to this forum on behalf of my terminally ill father in law.

Dues to his ill health he has decided it time to let his mini go. It has been dry stored for 7-8 years, since then I have recently towed it to my house to tidy up and complete odd jobs to get it ready for sale.

Recent MOT and a good clean down.

 

Reason for registering is due to him not knowing what he wants for the car and me not knowing the value of minis.

I was hoping I could show you it and see what you guys/girls think?

Since working and driving this car its been a real joy.

 

Its a 1978 Mini 1000 with a 1275cc engine in.

The underneath is solid and subframes in great condition.

Couple of years back the head was skimmed with a new gasket set among other new parts fitted

Just need your personal touch to finish

 

If possible could you give a idea of what I should be advertising this car for??

 

Car check info

 

 

 

These were before detail and engine re piping etc (when removing from storage)

 

 

 

After a good detail

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone wishes to contact me regarding this please feel free to do so.

 

Richard - 07896031492

 

Thanks for looking

 

 

[Will16]

Has the car been reshelled?

[KernowCooper]

First observation is its a much later car than a 1978 model, its somewhere between 1984-90on so that will effect the price Rich, at first glance thats a 90s onwards car on a 1978 registration

[Rich_M]

Has the car been reshelled?

 

Hi Will,

I have no idea. For about the 10 years he has owned it I have always seen it in this condition. (this is one of the reasons I have joined so I can find out about the car)

[Rich_M]

First observation is its a much later car than a 1978 model, its somewhere between 1984-90on so that will effect the price Rich, at first glance thats a 90s onwards car on a 1978 registration

 

Oh, this is one of the reasons I joined so I can find out about the car.

It has been in this shell since his 10 year owner ship

Thanks for the reply Ken

[KernowCooper]

My opinion is that the only thing 1978 about the vehicle is the registration details, the list is so big why it bears no resemblence to a 1978

[Will16]

to be honest Rich, I'd do what you say, clean it up nice, MOT it, and put it on eBay. List it and describe the spec, and it will sell for what it sells for

[KernowCooper]

I think you need to find out what your selling, it could end up being looked at down the road as mis-selling a vehicle, something thats rife in the classic market

Edited by KernowCooper, 16 October 2015 - 08:44 PM.

[Rich_M]

Realisation had kicked in. Just got to explain this to the farther in law :-/
I told my wife after the first post. That the only thing 1978 is the reg. Lol.
Where would I find the vin number on the mini shell?
Its obvious the engine won't match and now the shell..... will be a worry to sell and will have to be extremely honest as I dont want any come backs from trying to do a good deed.
The car has passed its mot and exterior is clean... just a general interior tidy and its off. :-(

[KernowCooper]

The Vin and commioion plates are only pop rivited onto the front slam panel so they are easily changed over, where were coming from is you could have a rusted out 1978 way past restoration, aquire a later car (some are stolen for this) pop rivet the plates on the new car, swap the plates over and presto you have a runner again and ebay is rife with the very exact thing. If you father inlaw bought this car 10years ago as a 1978 he was misled.

Edited by KernowCooper, 16 October 2015 - 09:33 PM.

[CityEPete]

I don't think its as late as 90s No brake servo, other than the side indicators I can't see anything that might not have been put on during probably one of a few restorations?

[mab01uk]

I don't think its as late as 90s No brake servo, other than the side indicators I can't see anything that might not have been put on during probably one of a few restorations?

 

I agree....someone doing a VIN swap would very unlikely have removed the late type servo and replaced it with the old dual circuit master cylinder and pedal assembly, therefore it probably is a '78 Mini which has just been given a basic Rover Cooper makeover.......this was a very common thing to do to an older Mini when the Rover Cooper first came out as a new car in the early '90's. Also within a few months of the launch of the Rover Cooper I can remember upgrade parts, engines and interiors were on the secondhand market from recently written-off cars as always happens with new cars, especially the sporting versions.

Edited by mab01uk, 16 October 2015 - 10:35 PM.

[Rich_M]

Cheers for the comments. I think narrowing down the shell age will help advertise it correctly for sale.

[CityEPete]

 

I don't think its as late as 90s No brake servo, other than the side indicators I can't see anything that might not have been put on during probably one of a few restorations?

 

I agree....someone doing a VIN swap would very unlikely have removed the late type servo and replaced it with the old dual circuit master cylinder and pedal assembly, therefore it probably is a '78 Mini which has just been given a basic Rover Cooper makeover.......this was a very common thing to do to an older Mini when the Rover Cooper first came out as a new car in the early '90's. Also within a few months of the launch of the Rover Cooper I can remember upgrade parts, engines and interiors were on the secondhand market from recently written-off cars as always happens with new cars, especially the sporting versions.

 

I was big into minis around 1999-2003 and like you say this style of update was very common, new wings on a mini are basically like an oil change arent they?! Lol.

 

The first thing I would look at as a little pointer if I had just arrived to view the car as a 1978 would be to see how the side repeaters are wired in, if they look factory wired and original then either the loom has been swapped or the car is later and needs a closer look, if they look crimped in to the old wiring somewhere then that might be a tick in the 1978 box.

 

Others here will know more about the actual shell changes for certain years, that said they are never are black and white as we would like for putting an age on something, plus minis are quite fond of needing rust free panels welded in over the years!

 

Seat belts are normally age stamped but those red ones will be from either a limited edition mini or MG metro IMO.

 

No fog light and no switch panel by the right drivers knee are correct for 78 so is there evidence of holes in the rear valance where rear fogs would go or have been and are there any wires in the boot tucked away for fog lights? I think they come with left and right connections and pre drilled holes but the rear valance could be a new one by now with no holes, I doubt anyone would replace the rear loom on a low value car to try and hide its age though.

Edited by CityEPete, 17 October 2015 - 07:59 AM.

[Globule]

My opinion is that the only thing 1978 about the vehicle is the registration details, the list is so big why it bears no resemblence to a 1978

Could you list a few for my curiosity? These days most minis are far from original spec and so I am curious to know what the "giveaway" is, aside from the possible wrong wings.