Mini automatic (non-BMW)

tc20

Hi all,
we'll be looking for an original Mini automatic for herself shortly, and i'm looking for input from ye good folk here as to what the auto version is like.
We did have a 89 manual a couple of years back, and i know what a hoot they are. I'd much rahter have a manual again, but for various reasons, it has to be an auto. I know the self shifter is gonna detract somewhat from the whole Mini driving experience, but i'm just wondering if anyone out there has any knowledge of them.

Cheers

kona

tc20 wrote: »

Hi all,
we'll be looking for an original Mini automatic for herself shortly, and i'm looking for input from ye good folk here as to what the auto version is like.
We did have a 89 manual a couple of years back, and i know what a hoot they are. I'd much rahter have a manual again, but for various reasons, it has to be an auto. I know the self shifter is gonna detract somewhat from the whole Mini driving experience, but i'm just wondering if anyone out there has any knowledge of them.

Cheers

parts are a bollix to get for them,as not many were made as manual. you cant simply chande the box to a manual either as you have to get a new subfrme etc....

they also do a horrible MPG, what engine is in it??

a 998cc auto will be PAINFULLY slow,30 bhp, the 1275 a small bit better but they only have 50bhp or so.

tc20

Engine size is irrelevant, as its either gonna be one or the other. Had a quick look on carzone and only found two autos both 1.3 -

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/1.3i-auto/1051538/

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/quick-sale/955754/

Its for herself, tho you can bet i'll be trying to bag a go as often as i can, and naturally i'd plum for the Cooper

We should be moving on it soon, as soon as we sell the daily Accord

kona

tc20 wrote: »

Engine size is irrelevant, as its either gonna be one or the other. Had a quick look on carzone and only found two autos both 1.3 -

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/1.3i-auto/1051538/

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/quick-sale/955754/

Its for herself, tho you can bet i'll be trying to bag a go as often as i can, and naturally i'd plum for the Cooper

We should be moving on it soon, as soon as we sell the daily Accord

both of those are jap spec, so they have air con which is a pain in the ass on minis, as is the mpi engine in them, alot of the parts for the mpis are extremly expensive and rare due to the bmw invovlement in rover in the 1990s.

id advize you to get a carb engine if you can as they are easy to fix and more reliable, also the mark 4 shells are more solid than the later shells, i know some mini specialists wont work on the later shells because they are a pain in the arse.

any jap spec minis ive seen have been modded, and the mods have been done arseways.

for the price they want, youd get a 1380 mini in england, now thats were the fun starts;)


but they do look quite solid and nice, ive seen people spent more on heaps of **** minis tbh.

i dont think you will go far wrong with them, but bare in mind they do need ALOT more maintenance than a modern car, alot of those parts design is the same as 40 years ago.

suspension grease points etc.....

tc20

i gather you're a Mini fan/owner kona, have you actually driven an auto variant? I'm not being smart, just wondering are they a slushbox? 3 or 4spd?
Thanks for the info so far

kona

tc20 wrote: »

i gather you're a Mini fan/owner kona, have you actually driven an auto variant? I'm not being smart, just wondering are they a slushbox? 3 or 4spd?
Thanks for the info so far

ive a mini yes its only a 4spd manual, i think the auto is 4 too, ive heard its a strong enough unit, some lads used them in race minis???(read it in a mini magazine)
personally i havnt driven them, but i hear they are okay boxes compared to the manuals, but the manual boxes have faults such as weak synchros etc.

with them being old cars, your best buying somthing which is cheap to fix and easy to get parts for, no point in it sitting in the garden needing a new box and you can only find manuals.

they are old so you will have problems with them, and the engine bay of a jap mini is possibly the most cramped ive ever seen, you actually have to see it to believe it!
those engines are essentially a 50 year old engine designed with a primitive ful injection.

Max_Damage

They were the same auto 'box that was in the Austin Metro AFAIK, so parts from the UK shouldn't be too hard to find. Reliability maybe a issue though.

kona

Max_Damage wrote: »

They were the same auto 'box that was in the Austin Metro AFAIK, so parts from the UK shouldn't be too hard to find. Reliability maybe a issue though.

dont think so as the metro used a different subframe to the mini, so the mounts may be different, although a manual matro engine will go into a manual mini with a few mods.

the metro has to be a early A-series version, the one with the K-series will fit but you need serious surgery