Talk me out of buying a Mini

Somebody, please! MOT runs out tomorrow (Wed). Seller asking 100 quid or offers and looking desperate. Rusty as hell on top - 2 inch hole in the front LHS corner of the roof leading to nasties below. One wing holed. Not too bad underneath. Rear subframe looks OK. Runs sweetly, though I didn't try driving it. It _is_ being used though. It's a T reg Mini 1000 with only a couple of previous lady owners and a sheaf of documents to back that up.

So what's the worst that could happen? If I'm hard nosed enough I can probably get it for 60 quid. Parts are dead cheap aren't they?

Erm...

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke
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So, How much will it cost to get it through the MOT? Is it not cheaper to by one with a years ticket? Jon

Reply to
Jon

Check where the subframe mounts to the body at the front, though. The subframe itself is easily replaced.

They are one of the most difficult common cars to repair structural rust on IMHO. Far better and cheaper to get a sound one - they're not exactly rare at that age.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

That's not really the point, I don't actually want one at all, it's just that it's there and ...erm... that's about it really. I'm sure I could get it through an MOT without too much trouble, but it would still be a heap. If I take it on, I'll do a decent job, replace a few panels and end with a respray. Then flog it for about twopence more than it'll have cost me.

I suppose what I really want to know is, are there any hugely expensive problems normally associated with knackered Minis that I may have missed; and if it all goes pear-shaped, is there anything on it I can flog for spares to recoup my costs?

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

Offer to take it away for nothing! Problem is it's a 1000 and isn't tax exempt, but if the worst comes to the worst you could get something back for the parts. The chances are that if it's rotten on top it won't be much cop underneath e.g. around the front damper mountings and up inside the front wings.

They're easily obtainable and relatively cheap compared with some makes. If necessary you can get a complete shell from Heritage, or use it as a donor for something else like a Domino or FRA Mini.

Reply to
Richard Porter

Damn, I only checked the easy to see bits at the rear.

This makes sense. Being so compact, I suppose everything is structural one way or another.

Ta, this is starting to work. Reckon I'll email her an insultingly low offer (40quid?) in the morning and see what happens. I'm too much of a coward to do so directly to her face! Then if she's desperate enough to sell it to me, I'll have fun playing with it while I decide whether to scrap or save it.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

With an aging mini, rust is probably the biggy followed by the brake system, then suspension ball joints. So many prone areas of rust in a mini. Inside the car.... Check for corrosion around the front foot wells (inside where the wheel arch meets the floor) and inner sill walls. While your there reach up and feel around the tops of the brake and clutch pedal where they enter the engine bay, any signs of brake fluid (taste your fingers) means the reservoir cylinders are leaking. Check behind the front seats in the well below the rear seat, check those corners as that is where the rear subframe is mounted, if that area gets picked up for corrosion in an M.O.T you will surely have to remove the rear sub frame to repair the mount point. I say this because (although a pretty easy job) removing the rear subframe usually uncovers a whole new host of horrors which you probably won't want to deal with. Pull up the rear seat and look for holes in the corners, it hard to see this area from under the car. The rear seat well pockets... pull out all carboard lining and checking the bottoms for bad corrosion. Check in the boot where the shock dampers mount points are (you will only s= ee one, the other his hidden by fuel tank). Outside the car...=20 The sills, rust hidden by underseal esp around the jack points and drain holes. Front wheel arches where the door hinges bolt through, and where the floor meets the wheel arch, rust usually hidden by grime and underseal. Rear subframe, forward-lower mount points (near where the suspension arm grease nipple is), check the body for rust in this area. Subframe needs removal to repair. Under the bonnet... In the corners, up the top, near bonnet hinges, check that whole area where the front, top subframe mounts bolt through. Repair here may mean front subframe removal /dropping =3D engine removal/dropping =3D pain in arse. Check the mount point for the upper engine mount on the bulk head. While you at it, grab the engine and try to rock it, the upper mount does wear badly and the engine will rock. If it does rock... check the bulk head directly behind the SU carb for impact damage... If there is any sign... take a clos= er look at the Carb for costly damage from where it has been bent from hitting the bulkhead upon every gear change.

Most other areas can be seen clearly for obvious signs of rust, many cosmet= ic areas...like where front indicator lamps are mounted, around (and behind)headlamps. Tops of the front wings. where the wings meet the front panel. The front valance where the bumper is mounted. Around the wheel arch= es along the trim (if fitted). Bottoms of doors, and the door skin at the bottom. The rear valance, esp around the exhaust. The left and right boxed area of the rear valance, this is where the rear subframe rear mount points are near. =20 Brakes.... I always 'assume' all the brake cylinders are knackered and seiz= ed on my minis and prepare to pay for new cylinders or repair kits. If I have = to do this job... then I always assume that any of the short metal brake lines involved with removal of a cylinder will fracture and will require replacement. This adds to the cost.=20 If a rubber brake hose needs replacement, then assume that you will fracture the long metal brake line that crosses the subframe (on the front), two on the rear. If the car 'pulls' left or right under braking then you can assume you will be doing a brake job involving the brake cylinders for the M.O.T. (replacement of the metal lines , rubber hoses and cylinders should still cost under =A380 though)

Front suspension upper and lower suspension arm ball joints.... arggh EVERY MOT either replacement or shimming at least one of these (=A312-=A322 per b= all joint quid ,seems to depend on mood of the car part dealer.)

Check for holes and rips in the rubber boot covering the drive shafts, inner and outer. Will fail M.O.T, popular fault, not such a nice job to repair, b= ut cheap.

Rear suspension arms, these wear out on cars esp one owned by lady owners. When do you see a lady owner or vicar with a grease gun ? Jack the car and rock the wheel, if there is lateral movement of the arm at the pivot point..... prepare for replacement......of the whole arm, and therefore the brake fittings because these will have rusted up and will fracture.

I would say the worst are the (hard to see and get at) rear subframe mount points (not the subframe itself) and wear of the rear suspension arms.

Be assured a M.O.T tester will find something as a mini is a money earner to the garage folk :-)

"Willy Eckerslyke" wrote in message news:bnlq1f$12go3t$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-139649.news.uni-berlin.de...

Reply to
NoOne

Personally I'd buy it to break if the engine's good. Holes in the roof are bad news; the water runs down the pillar too and rots that. There's a photo of the damage at

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On a Mini I wouldn't bother repairing one like that as decent shells are easy enough to pick up. On something a little more unusual like an Elf or Hornet then it can be worth doing if the rest of the structure's sound.

As you will see from the pics on my site I have done it, welding in a second-hand roof. The original had already been patched at the front corners, almost certainly by a "professional", but had not been a long-term success - I'd say patching isn't a viable option. The headlining has to come out, and therefore all the glass. The Elf I did it on arrived ready for this, but even so the work took me the best part of a two-week holiday.

It's not a job for the faint-hearted. It needs a good donor roof available (I had a 74 clubby bought for its engine) as new roofs are about £300, and good welding skills.

But repair? A bog-standard T-reg? Forget it. Persuade the seller that the roof damage makes it worthless and that a breaker will charge them to take it away. Then offer to take it off their hands for £25, so you've saved them money. Strip off any useful parts and weigh the shell in for scrap value, you should make a profit overall!

Reply to
Chris Bolus

An excellent cut-out-and-keep article if ever I saw one. Thanks very much for taking the time. I had checked some, but by no means all of those areas. Too late for more now, I've offered a miserly 40 quid so will either get it or not and then perhaps see what it's really like.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

The front subframe mounts rot invisibly inside the sill - again, horror pics at

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They're OK to do as long as you're doing the sills. The heelboard often needs doing at the same time. Not too bad on a dry sub car.

It's only difficult if you try to do minor repairs. Treat it as a major reconstruction and its less of a problem! Any rust on the sills; strip them off and be prepared to reconstruct the inner sills (easily available and part of replacement floorpans).

Front end- any rust at all, replace the lot - wings are cheap enough (£25 for patterns). The inner wings will need surgery, especially if the car has air vents, it's rare to find these held in with more than underseal and filler! There are some indications on my pages, though at this point I realise that there are a lot of pictures I need to upload to update the site! Better start tonight... ;-)

Also check below the opening rear windows, as water collects here and rust eats its way through, leaving puddles in the bins. It's a near-box section and a bugger to repair.

The best thing about Minis though is that (unless its an Elf/Hornet/estate), everything is available and dirt cheap. Minispares is the cheapest I've found.

Reply to
Chris Bolus

I have to admit that this is part of the appeal. I fancy the idea of restoring something where I can afford all the panels to do it properly rather than having to buy sections and farbicate the rest.

OK, this is getting embarrassing now. I did spot that the driver's side one was seriously perforated.

I did ask to be talked out of this - it's working!

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

£5.96 + vat from Minispares.

AAaagh yes! Or the opposite, which is a siezed radius arm. My Elf failed its MOT on that this year; the bushes _can_ be replaced, but it's a tricky job as they need reaming. As luck would have it I found an A60 kingpin reamer is the exact same size! What was worse is that my car's hydrolastic, and contrary to what you may be told, it _is_ (just) possible to remove the radius arms without depressurising the system. It does take ingenuity and a strong assistant with a long lever though!

Reply to
Chris Bolus

Not trying to do that, but just making sure you take it on with your eyes wide open!

For what it's worth, I totted up the cost of my Elf resto when I "finished" it (still minor titivation to complete but the car's MOT'd and turns heads). It cost me about £750 all told. Plus £350 to buy the car. I now have a classic that (unusually) is worth more than what I've shelled out on it!

Reply to
Chris Bolus

I have been lucky and managed to work free the only few seized radius arms I have encountered Yes on the bush replacement...but never done it myself. I *think* when I enquired about buying you could part exchange your old arms for a reconditioned *new* pair. Though in the case of a mini, a scrap yard should provide at least one good pair to recycle and this has been the route I have taken. If obtaining from a scrapple, I would get the whole rear sub cut free and take that home to work on rather than just taking the arms.

BTW I admire your Elf project. Cool stuff.

Reply to
NoOne

keep watching, I have some more stuff to post, hopefully within the week!

Reply to
Chris Bolus

Seen in a back street in Cairo on Sunday - a complete bodyshell / doors / wings / bonnet / boot for a mini with absolutely NO rust. All interior trim and mechanics missing - packed up on banana boxes.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

Take a close look at the skin on your knuckles, if you buy a Mini and work on it, that is the last time you will see any.

Reply to
marc

That's a bit unfair. I've owned and worked on Minis and Mini derivatives since 1969 and I still have skin on my knuckles. Mind you I don't have to change bypass hoses on side radiator Minis in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain any more.

Reply to
Richard Porter

Brake clevis pin? That bolt at the back of the clutch housing? Engine mountings? Exhaust manifold clamp? Removing/installing SUs? Even taking the rocker cover off leaves you open to being stabbed by the heater cable.

Don't get me wrong I love Minis, but hand friendly they aint!

Reply to
marc

LOL soooo true. Manifold-exhaust clamp. Bottom rad hose clip. Starter motor on a fixed grill mini van. Fan belt change...ow getting it past that cheap plastic yellow fan.=20 I have the scars.

I also got knocked out by a mini. In my teens I thought it would be cool to do my first engine change by dropping out the front subframe complete with engine, suspension and running gear...even the wheels. Haynes Manual says y= ou can do it, lift off the body in a sense. Anyway I did it, but this lump IS impossible to handle and move without precautions. I thought aaaah the whee= ls are still on it I can wheel it about. WRONG! the wheel of course where free to flop independently as they are no longer attached to steering rack. But I didn't realise this, wheels where facing forward as they had been all along. So I grab the gear stick selector.. bend over.... and .... lift.....pushward..... wheels snap outwards...... How much force is behind a gear stick selector as it moves through a 5 foot arc driven by a raised off the ground "A series" engine flipping forward on= a pivot point (the wheels) ? Somewhere halfway through the arc the gear knob (I believe) made contact under my chin and followed through. Now I never have and unlikely to ever b= e, punched by a heavy weight boxer, but this mini punch had to be something close to one. The punch had the full wieght of the engine behind it.

D>=20

Reply to
NoOne

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