g'day guys, my name is Mickey D and i'm glad to be introduced to the world of MINI'S! I have been re-searching for the last 3-4 months about purchasing my first project P-Plating car and i think i might have found it but i need help! The car is a Morris Mini Minor Deluxe (sp?) and i was told its an 850cc. I cant say i know what i am looking for when it comes to problems, but hopefully from this you guys could maybe steer me in the right direction:

*850cc motor and the engine bay looks really dirty, the cloth at the back was teared down over the motor, but i saw that it hadn't seized up.

*the body "i was told" though it did seem fairly straight and true, had surface rust, i was told it needed to be sand blasted.

*the interior..... well i might have to buy a milk crate to sit on for a while, the front seats are messed right up and the it just looks a bit sad inside.

*the wheels were not stock and looked like they could be bathed in a tub of chrome.

Basically i'm after a project car that i have 10 months to rebuild on a budget of betwen $2000 & $4000 grand including paint. Is there any key points i should look at for bad rust or problem area's?
These forums are fantastic, i've already learned quite alot that i didn't know and i'm really pumped about getting into the mini community, cheers guys, Mickey D

Hi Mickey.
First things first.... You need to work out what the car is before you buy it.
Is it an 850 or a Deluxe? (deluxe had a 998)
What do the badges say?
Does it have an id plate under the bonnet near the master
cylinders? (the type number will tell us the model)
What is the engine number? (the first bit of the number will tell us the size of the motor)
Does it have wind up windows or sliding windows?

g'day

it says Morris Minor (mini) Deluxe on the boot. It has wind up windows in the front and those funky pop out windows in the back, i'm sure they will be great for a sercurity system.

I havent had a chance to check it out again, i have a viewing on thursday (tuesday today) & so if there is anything else i should look for? its definetely a project but i'm all up for hard work and looking for geuine results to show off! thanks guys, mickey d

Mate, if you dont have the tools then your behind the 8 ball.
Look in the front foot wells for through rust
Look where the door hindges connect to the body for rust, outside and inside the wheel arch
Look in the boot for floor.

Good luck, I would suggest getting an experienced mini fan to look at it for you.

A stuck engine isnt necessary bad but rust can be.

ararat thats about a hour from wodonga is it not offer sskgn some cash for fuel and see if he will pop over
makka

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

Ararat is sorta western Victoria - towards the Grampians. Bit of a way from Albury/Wodonga I think.

Have a look at this site for any tips that may help you
http://coopers.itgo.com/index.html

Hooroo

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Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/

dont buy one with rust, thats the main thing, try to buy one with an interior thats not totally screwed, you'll probably want to rebuild the engine/brakes anyway.

Found it, this is the minimania page about where to look for rust etc...

http://www.minimania.com/ArticleV.cfm?DisplayID=613&SCatagory=PANELS&DisplayType=Technical%20Information&CarType=Mini

Hope it helps

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

thanks guys, that was a great read ^^^^ and i have a bit clearer idea now, i wonder if my mini is a 998 not an 850... that would be killer, a slightly larger engine

Ararat is near the Grampians in Victoria, its 5 hours away from Wodonga, but my brother in-law comes from there.... frequent visiter to wodonga too, maybe i could catch up with some enthusiasts later in the year. cheers guys, thanks again, Mickey D

Great to see that you are already passionate about the Mini. Make sure you start with a good car if you are a bit inexperienced with Mini's and expand from there. Read as much as you can on sites like this and in no time you will be doing most of the work yourself. All the best for your future Mini adventures.
Ziff

Thanks mate, yeah i'm loving the mini's! my biggest plus about it is that i am a drummer and gigin a bit, i have quite a large kit......hehe the groupies ride with me and my gear gets stuck with the guitarists ute

I will be making a documentary about this construction process of the mini, so if i post pictures and engine numbers and all that who-harr can you guys help me figure out what beast i have bought? Thanks for the helpful replies, you probably get alot of stupid questions, i do try to search before posting though, cheers mickey d

MickeyD...no such thing as a stupid question on this forum...ask away....from what you have described you should expect to find a 998cc engine under the bonnet...get us the engine number and any other numbers you can and we can advice you....there is a number stamped into the body behind the radiator and usually a plate on the top left hand side of the engine bay that shows stuff like the original paint code etc

Welcome

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"Show me the Mini!"

With a small budget and no experience (no offence thats what most mini owners start with) and being busy with other stuff you'll be infinately better off getting a relatively tidy, registered, rust free driver. This is again due to your pretty limited budget and time frame (10 months is nothing to learn from scratch and put a car on the road, some very experienced people here go for years with projects).

It'll always work out much cheaper to buy a decent running example (provided you do your homework and are lucky) than bringing a desperate one to a decent condition. Anyone will tell you, regardless of the condition you'll have more than enough stuff to do on the car and plenty of material for your docu, but it'll also ensure that the mamonth task of fixing a non runner doesnt become your whole life at the expense of other stuff (like your 17yr old groupies) and that you dont run out of money very quickly and then become depressed and give up on the whole project like many people do.

It might seem like youre getting a bargain when you get a basket case, but youre really just commiting to spend much more in the future.

I totally agree. I own a '66 deluxe and apart from the odd mechanical hickup its been a joy; the most fun car to drive in the UNIVERSE! Anyway, if yer looking at a project car, make sure you have a daily that you can use in the meantime.

Get something cheap and nasty like an 80's mitsubishi colt (~$2000 in fairly good nick) or ideally another mini that you know is in good nick and wont cost you buckets to keep on the road, so that you have something that you can rely on while you are building up your project car.

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Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE