448 replies to this topic

[Juju]

That decal looks ace on the car Juju! Black and red is always good are the only real colours in the universe.

Fixed it for you.

Thanks Mr James. I wasn't sure how the decal would look. I'm just hopin' it won't peel off now.

Edited by Juju, 12 March 2011 - 05:42 PM.

[minijawa]

Now that is one fine looking roof!!!! only way to look better is to be topless!

[Juju]

Now that is one fine looking roof!!!! only way to look better is to be topless!

Are you suggesting we butcher her with a tin opener?!

Nopes. Me no likes convertibubbles.

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

this has to be one of the most "interesting" threads ive seen so far lmao and matilda is beautiful , Reggie is in love now but is disappointed cus he is in a different country and he is off the weed now so he cant cheer himself up either lol and the decal looks brilliant

Edited by Mini Mad Drakeley, 12 March 2011 - 08:44 PM.

[minijawa]

Are you suggesting we butcher her with a tin opener?!

Nopes. Me no likes convertibubbles.

Who was talking bout Matilda

[Juju]

Oh dear.

Thinking about selling Matilda again.

I gave a her a full valet on saturday. Every time I wash 'n' wax she gets holeyer & holeyer (if that's a word).

This is her fifth year living in the gutter on the street & I'm now beginning to realise she needs about £2.5K-£3K bodywork doing to her before the winter attacks again, her windscreen falls out, her wings & valances crumble & you can see daylight through the cabin & boot floor again.

Not really sure what to do at this point. Invest & rebuild her or sell her & start again?

[gronkjor]

Oh dear.

Thinking about selling Matilda again.

I gave a her a full valet on saturday. Every time I wash 'n' wax she gets holeyer & holeyer (if that's a word).

This is her fifth year living in the gutter on the street & I'm now beginning to realise she needs about £2.5K-£3K bodywork doing to her before the winter attacks again, her windscreen falls out, her wings & valances crumble & you can see daylight through the cabin & boot floor again.

Not really sure what to do at this point. Invest & rebuild her or sell her & start again?

Just read the whole Matilda story - she is lovely!

You can't sell her! You MUST invest the money to get the bodywork done (If you have the finances). I too have an MPI Cooper but luckily i have minimal rust. Only the scuttle and one of the doors has a wee bit of rust. But my Mini has also only driven 60.000 KM. My next big investment on my wee lad is to get the gearbox rebuild - probably with a higher final drive. My second gear is quite crunchy

[Ethel]

I don't know that a nice comfy garage would make that much difference. It's the paint chipping & moisture holding road gunge underneath that does the damage. Apart from a bit of drive by spraying from other traffic, you get the same dose of that with or without a garage and poor air circulation and higher temperatures in an enclosed space could be more conducive to rust.

It's the daily driving that will have taken its toll. You're right that the rot can only accelerate once its got a foothold under the paint. I suppose it's a matter of balancing the cost of a renovation against the full cost of setting her free & buying and running an alternative - depreciation et al.

[Juju]

Just read the whole Matilda story - she is lovely!

You can't sell her! You MUST invest the money to get the bodywork done (If you have the finances).

Thanks gronkjor. She is lovely, but she's falling apart. She's running realy sweetly, though.

It's the daily driving that will have taken its toll. You're right that the rot can only accelerate once its got a foothold under the paint. I suppose it's a matter of balancing the cost of a renovation against the full cost of setting her free & buying and running an alternative - depreciation et al.

I'd only go and meself another mini to replace her with, so we'd go through the same cycle of wear 'n' tear and rot again.

I suppose if I have her rebuilt or buy a rebuilt Mpi I'd be comfortable in the knowledge that the body was sound to start off with. But with another car, there's always that risk of the unknown.

Not sure. Him indoors neither. Says it's up to me. I can't make decisions.

[Bean]

Get her re-done - It'll cost you less in the long run. If you buy something else, it'll need the same amount of attention - And all the work that you've done to Matilda already, you'd possibly have to do it all again to another one.

She's gorgeous & definitely worth it.

[Juju]

Get her re-done - It'll cost you less in the long run. If you buy something else, it'll need the same amount of attention -

Well, a rebuilt one wouldn't. Not from one of the specialists down here anyroad.

My fear is that I'll plumb 3 grand into having her bodywork done, only for her gearbox to go. It's within that time frame that Mpi chucklit boxes do turn to mush, so I'm really not sure what would be more economical at this point.

[Scallywag630]

Get it ebuilt. That way you KNOW what it is like. You could buy another only to find hidden rust and you would be back to square one. I would always prefer to know that everything is done to a high standard, thats why Larry totally rebuilt my car and the attention to detail was great....stonechip and waxoyl everywhee>

[mk1leg]

Take her off the road and take your time and do the a full strip down abd rebuild job that Mistress Matilda deserves....its cheaper in the long run........if you can not afford this get yourself a Cocoon http://www.classicca...com/index.phtml much cheaper then a resto and you can get outside versions............

[mab01uk]

Not really sure what to do at this point. Invest & rebuild her or sell her & start again?

You need to work out what the ongoing 'real world' costs are for both options if you wish to keep a Mini as a daily driver for both winter and summer.
Go look at some actual Mini's up for sale in your price range and see what you could get for your money and what you would get back for yours in its current state.
Then get some accurate quotes for the work needed on your existing Mini Matilda, especially if it is not to be a diy project. Also how long will it take to do if you will be without a car for transport. In my experience whether diy project or a specialist restorer it always takes longer than planned and costs more!
Either way you should also have a contingency fund for those unknowns...........you mentioned gearbox but this could fail on yours or any similar replacement Mini.

Of course in my past days of running Mini's as daily driver's, we fixed them up and modified them, drove them for several years to about the stage yours is now, sold on cheaply or in worst cases broke it for spares.......then bought the newest, affordable, good condition replacement Mini we could find, transferred all our mods/goodies over and got another 5 years or so cheap motoring. However in those days Mini's of all ages were plentiful and cheap.........

[Juju]

I'll get some quotes for Matilda's surgery & keep my eyes peeled for rebuilt bargains (do they actually exist?!!).

Time off the road will be a pain unless I can get a courtesy car.