Mini Cooper (classic)

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

Howiyes, would anyone be able to give me a bit of advice on what mini coopers (classic) are like to drive? I love the look of them and they must be reliable to still be flyin around the place, but what are they like to drive? Any advice would be nice! :-)

JimmyCrackCorn!

bumpy

mrfamilyguy

For all of your questions may i point you to..........


www.miniclub.ie

kona

I own a 1991 mini cooper:)

Ill tell you a few things that i think are relevant.

I wouldnt be able to afford to maintain it properly if i didnt do it myself, which i think is important to point out. Most are still flying around because enthusiasts own them and maintain them to the highest standard. If you neglect them mechanically the weak points are pretty much everywhere, the car has changed little in the 40 year production.

RUST!! forget about getting a late 90s one they are not the best, alot will be needing big work. try buy either one that is restored properly or one from japan.
The BMW input into rover had a huge affect on quality, IMO avoid the mpi and spi engines as you cannot get proper diagnosis for them. get a carb.

www.miniresource.com will show you all the issues with them.

having said that, a little tlc and IMO youl have the best fun you can have legally in a car.

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

I own a 1991 mini cooper

Ill tell you a few things that i think are relevant.

I wouldnt be able to afford to maintain it properly if i didnt do it myself, which i think is important to point out. Most are still flying around because enthusiasts own them and maintain them to the highest standard. If you neglect them mechanically the weak points are pretty much everywhere, the car has changed little in the 40 year production.

RUST!! forget about getting a late 90s one they are not the best, alot will be needing big work. try buy either one that is restored properly or one from japan.
The BMW input into rover had a huge affect on quality, IMO avoid the mpi and spi engines as you cannot get proper diagnosis for them. get a carb.

www.miniresource.com will show you all the issues with them.

having said that, a little tlc and IMO youl have the best fun you can have legally in a car.







yeah i was thinkin of gettin one but i dont have much money (2500) as im a student.. was lookin at carzone and saw a few but as you say the maintenance is fairly costly and i wouldnt want to get one and run it into the ground in a year or two... better go buy a crap car until i get the dosh! :cool:

kona

ya-ba-da-ba-doo wrote: »

I own a 1991 mini cooper

Ill tell you a few things that i think are relevant.

I wouldnt be able to afford to maintain it properly if i didnt do it myself, which i think is important to point out. Most are still flying around because enthusiasts own them and maintain them to the highest standard. If you neglect them mechanically the weak points are pretty much everywhere, the car has changed little in the 40 year production.

RUST!! forget about getting a late 90s one they are not the best, alot will be needing big work. try buy either one that is restored properly or one from japan.
The BMW input into rover had a huge affect on quality, IMO avoid the mpi and spi engines as you cannot get proper diagnosis for them. get a carb.

www.miniresource.com will show you all the issues with them.

having said that, a little tlc and IMO youl have the best fun you can have legally in a car.







yeah i was thinkin of gettin one but i dont have much money (2500) as im a student.. was lookin at carzone and saw a few but as you say the maintenance is fairly costly and i wouldnt want to get one and run it into the ground in a year or two... better go buy a crap car until i get the dosh! :cool:

there is a 94 cooper for 2k on miniresource, its red with sportspack arches, could be a bargain.

but yes a mini for 2g would be a deathtrap id say.

mine cost e5k and ive put another 2k into it, and its going to need some bodywork soon too.:(

worth it though:)

Eoin

JimmyCrackCorn! wrote: »

bumpy

But brilliant fun. I still miss my mini, and a nice cooper is a serious contender for a weekend car.

Parts are quite cheap and readily available. Lots of nice add-ons you can do to it without it looking like a chav-wagon. Torpedo mirrors, spotlights etc.

You'll get to know under the bonnet though. If you're near the Wicklow area, check out Evans motors in Delgany (I think). Rodney and his son both rallied them and know them well.

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

kona wrote: »

there is a 94 cooper for 2k on miniresource, its red with sportspack arches, could be a bargain.

but yes a mini for 2g would be a deathtrap id say.

mine cost e5k and ive put another 2k into it, and its going to need some bodywork soon too.:(

worth it though:)

i have a long way to go yet!! they are a very very sexy car though.

doubt there will ever be a car built again with so much style and class which is as retro and as comical all at once as well as having the ability to rally!

what a truly deadly car.

kona

ya-ba-da-ba-doo wrote: »

i have a long way to go yet!! they are a very very sexy car though.

doubt there will ever be a car built again with so much style and class which is as retro and as comical all at once as well as having the ability to rally!

what a truly deadly car.

I blame BMW and the greens for that:pac:

Owen

kona wrote: »

I blame BMW and the greens for that:pac:

It has nothing to do with BMW. There is no way a classic Mini could ever meet current regulations. I've one sitting next to my desk, it's a 00 reg, and the bodywork is like something made by disprin - it dissolves in the rain.

There are cars being made today which are the Minis' size, but do conform to the correct legislation, the Smart Car, the Tata Nano, Toyota's IQ, but the original Mini would never ever have passed any of the current emmissions, safety, or ergonomic (Health and Safety) laws. And a lot of that is down to how it was produced with separate subframes, etc.

More interestingly while you're on your anti-BMW rant, there wouldn't have been any classic Minis produced from 1996 to the conclusion of production without their help. The MPi engine they included was a huge step up in quality no matter what you say, and is the perfect candidate for supercharging kits.

You have a tendancy to glorify the 91 model, with it's carbs, etc. But in a classic Mini, the only 2 I would consider buying is an early 60's MK1, or a very late production RSP, or MPi. Anything else inbetween just doesn't have any magic for me - apart from the Moke.

And even more interestingly, this year's 50th anniversary official celebrations at Silverstone which is being paid for by BMW has a huge push on classic Mini promotion, conservation, and heritage, with classic Mini racing at Silverstone, a concours show, an Autojumble, classic Trade stands, etc.

The death knell for the classic Minis was neither BMW, nor the Greens, it was just that the design of the car, while gorgeous and cheeky, had gone past it's sell by date and had to come to the end of it's life no matter what brand owned the rights to it.

kona

its called a opinion mate, we are all entitled to one.

ned78 wrote: »

It has nothing to do with BMW. There is no way a classic Mini could ever meet current regulations. I've one sitting next to my desk, it's a 00 reg, and the bodywork is like something made by disprin - it dissolves in the rain..

The 00 minis are well known to be worse for rust, I example being the windscreen seal that is a water trap, hence most needing scuttle repairs. If you look after the car IE Dinotrol or waxoyl then you will reduce the disprin effect, they really are not that bad at rusting if you look after them.

ned78 wrote: »

There are cars being made today which are the Minis' size, but do conform to the correct legislation, the Smart Car, the Tata Nano, Toyota's IQ, but the original Mini would never ever have passed any of the current emmissions, safety, or ergonomic (Health and Safety) laws. And a lot of that is down to how it was produced with separate subframes, etc

Thats crap none of those cars are near the dimensions of a mini, they are small but not that small. Ergonomic doesnt mean health and safety either.
Alot of the current emmisions regs are down to the green partys etc. If you read a bit about the mini history Rover(or BMW) had a prototype made with a K-series in it, which would have met the regs

ned78 wrote: »

More interestingly while you're on your anti-BMW rant, there wouldn't have been any classic Minis produced from 1996 to the conclusion of production without their help. The MPi engine they included was a huge step up in quality no matter what you say, and is the perfect candidate for supercharging kits.

Thats crap. The mini was apparantly "no more" after the clubman was introduced and then the austin metro, yet it out lived all of these. The prototype of the BMW mini was unveiled at the british motor show under the rover name if i remember correctley.
BMW acted like a venture capital company and raped rover of its brands and flogged the on, Range Rover, Jag,Mini. The germans only saw $$ they couldnt care less if the mini production ended.

The mpi engine is well know to be ****e to tune,(your looking at 80bhp max from a N/A 1275 tuned with ALOT spent on it) parts are getting rare, they are not as reliable. The saviour or the engine is mappable ignition.
Now a earlier block with a dizzy drive you can get well over 100bhp with the same mods.

ned78 wrote: »

You have a tendancy to glorify the 91 model, with it's carbs, etc. But in a classic Mini, the only 2 I would consider buying is an early 60's MK1, or a very late production RSP, or MPi. Anything else inbetween just doesn't have any magic for me - apart from the Moke..

when i bought i researched, saved and planned for 3 years, i came to the conclusion these were the best cars due to them being prime models that had been attended to rust wise. hence my car has had a **** load done to it before i bought it.
What year is a RSP?? and what engine do they use??:rolleyes: The other reason i say early 90s is because its the only year where you could hget a carbed 1275 engine with a good cam in it. The 1275 mayfair and tahiti had a different cam to the cooper and produced less BHP.
Yes you can get a 80s one or earlier in 1275 but they arent original with a engine conversion from a unproven source.
The last mini to run a 1275 for the irish/british market before the RSP was the 1275GT and in the roundnose probably the MK3 cooper.

ned78 wrote: »

And even more interestingly, this year's 50th anniversary official celebrations at Silverstone which is being paid for by BMW has a huge push on classic Mini promotion, conservation, and heritage, with classic Mini racing at Silverstone, a concours show, an Autojumble, classic Trade stands, etc. .

Purely commercial and IMO BMW has little or no place with the classic mini. Definatley not to the extent of sponsoring 50years, they were making poxy bubble cars 50 years ago.
Where was BMW for mini 30,45, last years 49 etc etc?? no where and will they sponsor mini 51?? Doubt it.

ned78 wrote: »

The death knell for the classic Minis was neither BMW, nor the Greens, it was just that the design of the car, while gorgeous and cheeky, had gone past it's sell by date and had to come to the end of it's life no matter what brand owned the rights to it.

Again that very statement has been made since 1969 till 2001. Look at the market for small cars now, if you re-introduced the classic with a modern 3 cylinder 998 or a 4 cylinder 1300, it would wipe the floor with the competition.


Dont you know that BMW are suing classic mini parts companies who had been in the business since the 70s for using the mini name??

Saviour my ****ing arse:mad:

peasant

Now everbody turn east (in the general direction of Munich), bow and say "Thank you BMW"


Happy Ned ?

:D:D

kona

peasant wrote: »

Now everbody turn east (in the general direction of Munich), bow and say "Thank you BMW"


Happy Ned ?

:D:D

Ill turn east and give em somthing else:p


oh ned who runs diagnostic on your MPI??? because they are few and far between.

Owen

O'Learys in Ballincollig in Cork can do full diagnostics on MPis.

kona

ned78 wrote: »

O'Learys in Ballincollig in Cork can do full diagnostics on MPis.

first place ive heard can they do SPI too?

Owen

Hell yes. They just do anything Mini related, they also do Supercharger Kits, and they've finished building a Z Car too. They're both Mini and MINI enthusiasts, and they've a Polish guy there doing body work who's just incredible.

kona

ned78 wrote: »

Hell yes. They just do anything Mini related, they also do Supercharger Kits, and they've finished building a Z Car too. They're both Mini and MINI enthusiasts, and they've a Polish guy there doing body work who's just incredible.

thats great, are they compeditive?? You should point them to the IMOC, there are a few lads the with Issues on the spi ECU, good to get another name out there. do they do the M2M??

Owen

kona wrote: »

thats great, are they compeditive?? You should point them to the IMOC, there are a few lads the with Issues on the spi ECU, good to get another name out there. do they do the M2M??

No, none of us get involved with the IMOC I'm afraid. We don't do M2M, as it's very anti specific cars, and also it's a bit of a budget, no frills event. We do MTI instead, which is a much higher profile event, with better entertainment, for a very similar entry fee. We were the original crew who actually ran M2M from the start

kona

ned78 wrote: »

No, none of us get involved with the IMOC I'm afraid. We don't do M2M, as it's very anti specific cars, and also it's a bit of a budget, no frills event. We do MTI instead, which is a much higher profile event, with better entertainment, for a very similar entry fee. We were the original crew who actually ran M2M from the start

oh right there is some kind of "fued" going on:D didnt realise, such a silly thing to moan about. whats MTI?? never heard of it.

Owen

kona wrote: »

oh right there is some kind of "fued" going on:D

And it's a proper Deliverance style Fued. Even the Western Region left the IMOC as they had enough

kona wrote: »

whats MTI?? never heard of it.

Minis Touring Ireland, 3 day event, usually decent hotels, focus on driving, but also on night time entertainment. We usually have top bands, hypnotists, DJ's, etc. Won event of the year in 2008 from Modern MINI Magazine!

kona

ned78 wrote: »

And it's a proper Deliverance style Fued. Even the Western Region left the IMOC as they had enough



Minis Touring Ireland, 3 day event, usually decent hotels, focus on driving, but also on night time entertainment. We usually have top bands, hypnotists, DJ's, etc. Won event of the year in 2008 from Modern MINI Magazine!

sounds pretty cool, is it all back roads:D never heard of it before:o

Didnt think the IMOC was that bad, theres a alot of decent people in it.

Owen

kona wrote: »

sounds pretty cool, is it all back roads:D never heard of it before:o

Some savage roads the classics'll barely fit on, let alone the newer ones. You would absolutely love it. If you're anywhere near Cork, there's a run to Kerry on Sunday.

kona

ned78 wrote: »

Some savage roads the classics'll barely fit on, let alone the newer ones. You would absolutely love it. If you're anywhere near Cork, there's a run to Kerry on Sunday.

id love to but im in Dublin:( sounds like a great run though, test the suspention anyways!