MINI cooper modification project

I'm sure you consider your like of certain cars and accessories as very tasteful, and would never consider there being a link between you and tat ;)

Other than smoking tyres and sitting at speed on the motorway, what is the attraction with Carltons? They seem just another souped up barge to me. Nice, but not a driver's car nice.

No, it was a 2.0 GLSi. For big cars they're pretty good, and the GSi was probably better still, but they simply can't touch even a standard mini for fun in the twisties.

but mini's are horrible, and I hate sitting with my knees brushing my ears, I couldnt have any fun like that.

I'm 6', and have never had any problems with space in a Mini, even with the seat a long way forward. It's a myth your knees are around your ears, they should actually be either side of the steering column, so you can brace yourself when flinging it round corners :)

If you really insist on having the sad bastard "reclined coz it's racey like" position, then there's plenty of aftermarket seat brackets which bolt easily between the crossmember bracket and seat hinge, IIRC. As well as drop brackets for the steering, and various other mod bits. Anyone should be able to get comfy in a Mini, if they tailor it to fit them.

Other than that, why are they horrible? Good grip, good feel, many ways to make them go stupidly quick, good mpg, good parts supply, timeless looks.

noisy, seams on the outside ffs, small, s*it interior, vibrations, rusty, small etc etc, I dont want to f*ck about with a car tryin to get myself to fit, I much prefer big car ride everytime.

what are you on about?

Seams on the outside is a reason to not like them? Sad, very sad. Seams are great - Get a Mini for 200 quid, deseam it, sell it to a muppet for a grand! :)

How bloody big are you anyway? I knew someone well over 6 and a half foot who did Minis for a living, and drove everywhere in them!

I hardly think it compares :)

Post 84 Minis are pretty poor in terms of handling, post 1990 ish they're piss poor.

Unless you're going to really sort the suspension out, it's not worth having more than 10" wheels for the best handling you can get, but that really shags the ride comfort, which is at least part of the reason BL/ Rover kept pissing about, and why the later ones were s**te. A Cooper with 63hp, ffs.

The modified Cooper you mention may well not have been set up to drive nicely, depends what he'd done. You want powerful and driveable, find a couple of grand and get a twin cam 16v head, muchos power, many revs, looks cool, costs a shitload though!

Shut up Pug boy ;p

i must agree, the rallye is the most fun fwd hatch I've ever been in,