71 replies to this topic

[Teapot]

I'm afraid we've knocked the fun factor out of Bromie's plan. Bromie, it might be better to concentrate on how much you're going to enjoy your mini. Get a 998 with MoT and tax, get it insured as best you can and drive the thing. Do it as soon as possible. It's an adventure, not an exercise in systems analysis. From the rusties to the Zcars, we're all driving beautiful things of absolute joy which in return frequently drive us to despair and make no economic sense at all. Long may it be so. Join us!

[Bromie]

Hmm...that's an interesting point. Never thought of it like that before.

The only reason i was going to get it next year was because i've applied for my student loan this year (£2600 in total), which i get in 2 x £850 installments and then the rest over the course of the year. I should get the last payment around June, hence my plans. But, now that you've said that TeaPot, it's got me thinking. I could probably save a bit each month from my job (i get around £350 a month), along with the first £850 and possibly get something decent that runs. Either that or wait till the next payment and get something a bit better.
This is the only reason i was going to wait - so that i'd be able to afford a decent car with no rust (not bothered about it not running well, i love fixing that sort of thing), and possibly the insurance for the year, so it's cheaper. Saying that, though, i've seen some old posts on this forum where people have sold good-looking cars (as far as i can tell looking at a screen) for around £1000 - £1500. Do any of you Mini experts think it's possible to get a rust-free Mini 998 with good paintwork and interior (i just mean tidy and complete) for around £1500? If it's possible, i may alter my plans. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Also, i'm OK with the criticism. It's just the way i do things - i ask a lot of questions in order to get as many opinions from people as possible. The criticisms make things easier, 'because then i know i'm not just jumping into this care-free world of the Mini, and they do actually break down once in a while, or may not be the fastest things on the road. So basically thanks to everyone on this thread - i didn't think it would go on this long and so many people would give so much advice! Ta!

Dan.

P.S. I think i've decided on what type of car i want:
any 998cc model in a good condition
either in a nice red or blue
possibly with bonnet stripes
Italian Job style leather bonnet belts (if i can get them - if i can't then just the small straps that attach to the end of the bonnet)
obviously some form of spot lamps (Italian Job style...?). Oh, and stone chip guards for all the front lights.
and maybe a customised dash - the standard centre one with big speedo, oil pressure and water temp, but with a Smiths tacho directly in front of the driver, with a Smiths voltmeter and oil temp either side of it (possibly switch the dials around a la GT40). Anyone ever done this the way i've mentioned? I've looked nearly everywhere on the forum but most are either just the centre speedo bit or the 3-pod style dash.
no radio - maybe a direct connection to an amp (hidden behind dash) for iPod?
finally, has anyone ever converted the switches to Lucas-style toggles? Much work involved? Or put one of those printed metal/wood plates under the switches telling you what they are (they look like white text on a black background)? Actually, maybe no to the plate - it might be better to just know what they are...

I love the openness of the inside of the Mini, and you can see how everything works. It's not hidden away behind centre consoles and dashes like modern cars. That's why i'd want to keep it as original as possible, but trying to stop the interior looking a bit like the Renault Twingo (anyone else think they are laid out in a similar fashion?).

And finally....

Sorry about the massive post, i just suddenly got all enthusiastic about 'my' Mini and couldn't stop typing. Anyway, if anyone has a pic of any of the above spec, could you please post it? I've looked everywhere for a picture of the bonnet straps on a car but can only every find pictures off the Italian Job movie. Also, what do people have on their car? Spots or fogs? Is there much of a difference between the two, and can someone explain the 'headlight conversion' (had something to do with halogen)? I can't understand what it is, 'because it looks like there were a few different types of conversions on the sites i've looked at.

[Jammy]

I wouldn't pay much more than £1500 for a near standard 998 whatever the condition to be honest. I sold my near mint condition Stage 1 998 for £2k, but then that had KAD brakes and race suspension and a full SD roll cage.

For £1500 you should easily be able to get a rust free 998, just need to keep your eyes out really.

[mike.]

Yeah, i paid a grand for my rust free stage 1 998. It'd had loads spent on it too. Just go and look at as many cars as possible.

[Bromie]

Ok, thanks for that. I didn't know that they were that cheap! I'll keep looking now. Thinking on now, maybe the cars i was looking at were Coopers. Are they about £2500 in good condition? Anyway, i'll get looking for a Mini now, as i get my first student loan chunk soon, and might be able to afford one. I'll have to wait a bit before i can afford some insurance, but that doesn't matter - it won't take that long, and now i know which car to look for the quotes should be a lot cheaper.

Where are the best places to look, do you think? I've looked in several magazines (including my massive stack of old classic car mags just for reference), and on eBay and sites selling classic cars, but in your experience where do you think the best place to look is?

[Mini_Magic]

You can pay anywhere between £200 and £8000 for a classic Mini!

[Bromie]

Just had a bit of a chat with another forum member and learned some useful advice. He answered a lot of the questions i was asking and made me change my mind about some things.

I've realised now that Mini's aren't as expensive as i once thought, so i'm going to keep looking for one around £1000 in a rust-free condition. I'm just going to keep hold of it until i get enough money to pay for the insurance, and then start having fun! I'll probably customise the car to my spec (few post above), starting with whatever parts i can get my hands on first. Has anyone here got bonnet belts? I've used the search function but can't really find anything about them.

Just a small note, my dad keeps calling me 'stupid' for getting a classic car, and thinks that i should pay the same price for a modern, more reliable car that won't cause me much hassle. However, i keep telling him to "shut it 'because classic cars are better!". He says that they always rust apart, cost too much to run, etc., etc. Even so, i still want to get a Mini because i know that classics aren't like that. The Mini does rust, isn't very reliable (lol just kidding...well, maybe not), and is cheap to run (hang on, whose side am i on again...?). Anyway, can anyone tell me, speaking from experience, is the Mini a massive rust bucket? I know they obviously are usually rusty, but if i get a car that has had a recent respray, new sills, etc., how long should i expect it to last before it starts to rot? Or is it one of those things that varies from car to car?
I never used to worry about things like this - it's all my dads fault!

[Jammy]

The important thing is how the repairs (if any) have been done. Oversills will cause the sills to rot out VERY quickly, as will badly prepped and painted repairs/replacement panels. A car that has been washed and waxed regularly will fight rust much better than one that just been left dirty and not properly maintained.

[G.T.M.]

Lets put it this way... you need to be good with a spanner to own a mini, also a big garage helps. Used as a normal car (daily left outside) a mini will start to rust within a year, due to its design, the absence of inner wheel arch guards, and all the seeming and spot welds.

Edited by G.T.M., 19 September 2007 - 05:22 PM.

[Bromie]

Bugger! That's where it was going to stay! Also, we don't have a garage (it's my room now).

Now, the thing is whether i can put up with a small amount of rust in a few places. I'm a bit of a control freak, so a small amount of rust would probably ruin the car for me, and i'd take to it with a sledge!

Has anyone had any luck with doing small paint jobs at home? I mean where you sand the rust away, use some kind of inhibitor, and then mask and spray the area in the same paint as the rest of the car. I've seen it done on Wheeler Dealers and was wondering whether polishing afterwards actually does make it look like nothing ever happened. If so, i could probably put up with it 'because it's only surface rust i'm worried about. I'd just look at another car if an advertised car had any deeper rust or something, as i don't have the garage space or money to fix that kind of thing.

I'm making a bigger deal out of this rust thing than i should, and it probably wouldn't annoy/bother anyone else, but thanks for the info anyway. G.T.M., if the car was washed all round and waxed and preserved properly, would it still have the same problem? If anyone has any tips on what they do with rust, please post!

Dan.

[G.T.M.]

Wheeler dealers is what it sounds like (cowboy) their quick shunt repairs, I work in a main dealer body shop, and done properly flatting down and polishing makes the world of difference, (if it didunt work we wudunt do it)

Yes rust can be repaired like that, useing 1 pac water based aerosole (mixed to match your paint colour) theres more to it than masking off a square and spraying tho, youv gotta think about where you can loose the line or blend it too match) also how far out of the area youv repaired you need to key to get the paint and clear coat to bond to.

The more tar, unbody seal and wax oyle the better. Fill your sills, fill every hole with the stuff, and if you try and keep it dry and clean it will last about the same as a normal car (8 years ish) befor you start seeing signs of rust. (thats if its free from rust and been done properly in the first place)

Driven like a normal run around... sticking it in for a service when it says to, and only that, and when your done with just parking it and forgetting about it. No chance youll be lucky to not see any rust in 6 munths b4 it comes back, damp gets in through seals, minis hold water in their seeming, inside and behind panels and all the C**p that flys up and hitts the underneith of the scuttel and shell around the subframe, all sitts there and rotts threw the shell.

Edited by G.T.M., 19 September 2007 - 05:51 PM.

[Bromie]

Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't just use when i need it, as i'm one of those people who would spend a lot of time and care in keeping their car in top shape. I'd like to make sure that the car isn't going to look like a swiss cheese after a few months, but can't afford to spend too much on new body panels and resprays. This is why i'm going to look for a car that has had recent body/paint work, and is rust-free.
I don't have a garage, so the car will stay on my drive, but i'd like to make an effort when cleaning, etc. to ensure that the car won't rust easily. Also, the question about Wheeler Dealers was asked because if i'm able to do that to remove surface rust, then i'd be happy about keeping the car in a condition that i find presentable.

What do Mini drivers around here do to preserve their cars, other than Waxoyl? (By the way, could someone elaborate on that. Is is as simple as injecting 'Waxoyle' into the hollow body parts?)

With this in mind, what do people recommend i look for in a Mini, i.e what parts need to have been recently replaced in order for it to stand up to rust, etc.?

[yorkshirechris]

My advice...

Set a budget. For a grand you can get a half decent, standard good condition 80s mini.

Do NOT go to a garage, at least not before you compare the prices to elsewhere. Garages are there to make money. I know this from experience!

Look in the For Sale section on here and also on other forums, possibly Piston Heads website too. Ideally it'd be good to get someone who knows Mini's well (a person 'in the know' about cars might not know what to look for in a mini). The main things you should check are rust, rust, rust, take a magnet to detect filler which looks like metal, rust, check the electrics all work, rust, check the service history if there is any, rust, check the subframes with a blunt screwdriver (sure an honest seller wouldn't mind this), oh and check for rust. Any rust around mounting points, door steps, sills & floors, even if it just looks like surface rust, can be costly to repair.

As for rust prevention, waxoyl is good on all of the underside. Hammerite painted on the interior floors and boot floor is also good, providing the surface rust is sanded away first. And generally keep the car clean, keep your eye out for water leaks , and make sure all your door seals are in good order. Mine aren't, which is why my doors are rusting from the inside, which is why I'm going to have to spent hundreds on new doors & spraying in a year or so or maybe sooner. Keeping the car waxed would be good too, although I doubt this will help and rusting that has already started.

[Kerrin]

Jammy.

Did I read your first response right

How do you get 15% off when phoning up HIC etc, is it just a case of quoting TMF.

I am after modified mini insurance as my normal broker where I live is a bit funny with mods, so looking to change.

Being an old G*T I hope it will be about £200 ish

[Jammy]

Yea, just tell them your a member of this forum and give them your username.