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[EMD]

Anyone got some info on owning and running a mini , the older ones around about the 80s era . I know about rust and subframe rot but engine wise are they pretty robust . 

[minifreek]

Errrrrrrm yes....


I own and run a 94 1.3 SPi Mayfair.

Mini's came with the factory unoptional extra of rust and oil leaks. The engines are pretty much bullet proof and will even run on 1 cylinder...

Things to watch for are - rust - rust - rust and rust..

The rear subframes tend to rot, whereas the fronts are ALWAYS covered in oil, so tend not to..

The petrol tanks are very small (£20 to fill from empty) and will last around 180 - 200 miles but all depends how you drive it... I drive mine like I stole it TBH...

All depends what you want to pay... You wont get a road legal/road ready Mini for less than £1500 these days, if you do - be prepared to work on it...

Watch for the chancers who think that they have a Cooper and will even try to tell you that its a Cooper...

Also watch for it being re-shelled too. Not hard to do but an original Cooper (Mk1, Mk2 or Mk3) will command a high price and will be expected to be original. If its been reshelled into a more modern shell, they will still try for the higher price but it aint worth anywhere near what they ask....

Any questions, drop me a PM

[EMD]

Yes rot is the main enemy  Ive seen some that have been quoted as immaculate but upon closer inspection you can see things like the A panels bubbling and front wing corners . Good to know the engines are pretty decent though .
 Id be a bit put off by a 1980s auto though .

[Bigron]

It's the same basic engine as my old Austin A30, with a lineage dating back to the Morris Minor - itself a development of the earlier sidevalve engine - so long-lived and bombproof!
The only issue that I recall giving rise to basic Anglo-Saxon was the by-pass hose beteen cylinder head and block; conceived by a son of a bachelor. Some aftermarket hoses were convoluted to help angle the b*gger onto the pipes, but in my experience they were a lot worse!
Happy days......

Ron.

[minifreek]

Yeah the bypass pipes are a bugger to change, it was the main reason the A+ was designed, and doesn't have the bypass hose... Its the same basic engine but better...

The Minor came after the Mini, but does use the same engine..

The A series engines are a tad woeful on acceleration, especially in standard form, but plenty of tuning kits available.

The 1.3 (1275) is around 60BHP which doesn't sound a lot, but is plenty for a Mini (power to weight ratio)...

Theres lots and lots of spares readily available for Mini's so don't worry about getting parts...

You might be well to join an online forum like The Mini Forum or TMF. Lots of knowledgable people on there, and they really know their stuff too...

[hercules]

i had an x reg and loved it,i put 1100 special wheels on it with spacers and made the exhaust out of a 1275gt and a saab middle section to front pipe which came out at the centre haha i thought it was cool and it cornered like it was on rails

[Nick W]

Yeah the bypass pipes are a bugger to change, it was the main reason the A+ was designed, and doesn't have the bypass hose... Its the same basic engine but better...

It's not that bad to do; I loosen the water pump and use the kevlar hose from Minispares. Considering how cheap a new pump is, it's probably worth changing that as well. Problem solved.
I'd rather do a bypass hose than a speedo drive

[minifreek]

Not had the pleasure of doing the speedo drive yet, but that'll be done when I take the engine out next year...

Mine needs lots of bodywork sorting...

I know it needs a floor on both sides, both sills need sorting, inner sills will possibly need replaceing too. The rear subframe has a crack in it, I can possibly get away with a repair piece to be welded in but I'll take a proper look next year... The entire front end needs replaceing too... but at the moment its got an MoT until next March so Im going to use it up until then, then take it off the road to repair it and change the colour too....

[Varche]

Anyone got some info on owning and running a mini , the older ones around about the 80s era . I know about rust and subframe rot but engine wise are they pretty robust . 

They are positively new!

[TheBoy]

A mate did one up for his daughter to learn to drive in, then as a first car (now sadly baked bean tins, after she rolled it on the motorway).

Once she started using it for work, it did need a fair amount of tinkering - silly things like the clutch pedal started to seize on its shaft.  And obviously, despite the restoration he'd done (and a really good job he'd done), the rust set back in once it was used as a daily.

I'd not driven one for years and years, so when I thrashed that one about testing something or other on it, I'd forgotten what fun they are.


Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

[aaronjb]

Part of me would love one..

..the rest of me knows I'd need to be a lot handier with the MIG welder!

[TheBoy]

Part of me would love one..

..the rest of me knows I'd need to be a lot handier with the MIG welder!

Yeah, my mate was always borrowing mine

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Cant stand the bloody things myself, but I know a lot of people love them.
Swmbos first car was a 64 mini (in 78) and she still swears it was a far better car than any of my cars she has travelled in since. 

[Bigron]

I once was a back seat passenger in an early one, for about 50 miles........the back seat space is small and I am not! 

Ron.

[TheBoy]

I once was a back seat passenger in an early one, for about 50 miles........the back seat space is small and I am not! 

Ron.

The clue is in the name

[Nick W]

Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

They do have more serious common faults: burnt exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, stretched timing chains(the 'tensioner' is a joke) although they'll run for decades like that.


Ensure that any Mini you intend to actually drive has ALL of the available engine mounts(many never had the lower O/S one to the subframe) especially the aftermarket one from the thermostat housing to the bulkhead.

[Bigron]

Aw Nick, I hate to disagree with someone as illustrious as your goodself, but if the Mini's tensioner is the same as the one on my old Austin A30 (by Reynolds?), it is brilliant.....self-adjusting with a spiral-notched pin pressing on the slipper so it cannot run back after it had taken up a "notches-worth" of slack, and pumped engine oil through a hole the tensioning slipper to keep the chain well oiled.
I do agree that it ran forever and never failed, so class engineering. 

Ron.

[Nick W]

Aw Nick, I hate to disagree with someone as illustrious as your goodself, but if the Mini's tensioner is the same as the one on my old Austin A30 (by Reynolds?), it is brilliant.....self-adjusting with a spiral-notched pin pressing on the slipper so it cannot run back after it had taken up a "notches-worth" of slack, and pumped engine oil through a hole the tensioning slipper to keep the chain well oiled.
I do agree that it ran forever and never failed, so class engineering. 

Ron.

what you describe is the classic hydraulic tensioner that works well.
What the Mini engine has is a spring-loaded, rubber-coated flap that works properly for about 20minutes. It's shit - like THIS

[Bigron]

Wow, that IS a joke; are you sure it has 20 minutes in it?
I'm glad that you approve of the tensioner I had in mind - it certainly impressed me. 

Ron.

[dbug]

Anyone got some info on owning and running a mini , the older ones around about the 80s era . I know about rust and subframe rot but engine wise are they pretty robust . 

The older ones are from the 60s - very simple and very easy to work on.  Main issue as said is/was rust, particularly around rear end    The old A series engines are pretty bombproof, and highly tuneable.  Regular servicing is a must, but easy enough, and cheap.  HTH

[New POD]

My Dad bought a brand new morris mini 850 in 1959 (aged 21 - just out of university).  He had 3 gearboxes under warranty.  rain came in through the floor.
He views Alec Issigonis as a Maverick and a Bodger.
He has only owned Fords since then - all purchased new.

I owned a 1974 1000 in 1988 - It was rusty and the brakes were almost impossible to service or get right.
My wife owned a 1978 mini 850 from 1989 to 1992 and an 1100 clubman in 1992.
Both were very rusty, and the brakes were arbortions.
The 850 was given to a friend who scrapped it (despite agreement to give it back when she'd finished with it)  The clubman was restored by a work colleague, who later scrapped it after the door fell off in tescos car park  leaving his wife and baby somewhat stranded.
None of these peices of rust ever broke down although the 850 did require a head gasket and later a replacement head.
Then in 2010 when my son was 17 and just past his test, I bought a 1988 mayfair.
It was the most unreliable piece of junk ever.
Parts from so called specialists are rubbish. I replaced most of the front suspension twice, the condensor twice, the dizzy cap, arm and points, the cylinder head gasket.
I sold it after a year.

Then in 2013 I purchased a 2001 BINI cooper for my wife.
I think it's probably the spiritual successor of the Metro Turdo.
Anyway, apart from throwing money at the front suspension, it's been great.

My conclusion classic Mini's are overrated, rusty, unreliable, over priced lumps of dog mess.
I can think of better ways of getting involved in classic cars.

I'd rather poke my eyes out with a dirty stick than own another.

[minifreek]

LOL

As above, but not exactly unreliable if you know how to tinker ..

The oarts described above that have been replaced are service items so not meant to last...

What was wrong with the suspension....? Theres not much that can go wrong with suspension on Mini's...

Coopers ARE very overrated, and also the most expensive to buy - because they are overrated... At the end of the day, they are just a Mini....

Dont get me wrong though. The Classic Mini - for its time - was a revolution in design... But they are uncumfortable, noisy, smelly and slow by todays more modern cars, but that the fun aspect of them....

The Mini I have at the moment is about the best Iv ever owned, its certainley the least rustiest Iv ever owned thats for sure. It will be coming off the road for a light restoration when the MoT runs out next year in March...

Sir Alec was ingenious in his design of the Mini and Morris Minor, and did a hell of a lot for the motor industry than people realise, whereas Henry Ford.... well once a Nazi always a Nazi I guess.....

[Bigron]

Ford was a Nazi? Was he? 

Ron.

[aaronjb]

I guess that relates to this:

By the 1930s, thanks to the wide circulation of his antisemitic literature, Ford was much admired by the Nazis. In 1938, Nazi Germany bestowed on Ford the highest honor they could award a foreigner. It’s no surprise that Ford wasn’t very enthusiastic about entering World War II. He did eventually start producing planes to aid in the war effort, but his plants in Germany were supplying the other side while Ford profited at home.

So in the end, not only profiting from war, but profiting from both sides of the war became Ford’s game. He chose not a political party nor even a country with which to be loyal; he chose only Ford Motor Company.

(Source: http://hollowverse.com/henry-ford/ found by a random google)

[Bigron]

Oh.

[tunnie]

Never knew that 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Yeah the bypass pipes are a bugger to change, it was the main reason the A+ was designed, and doesn't have the bypass hose... Its the same basic engine but better...

The Minor came after the Mini, but does use the same engine..

The A series engines are a tad woeful on acceleration, especially in standard form, but plenty of tuning kits available.

The 1.3 (1275) is around 60BHP which doesn't sound a lot, but is plenty for a Mini (power to weight ratio)...

Theres lots and lots of spares readily available for Mini's so don't worry about getting parts...

You might be well to join an online forum like The Mini Forum or TMF. Lots of knowledgable people on there, and they really know their stuff too...

The 1275 Mini Cooper  S had 75 BHP. Why did they put a detuned lump in the later (and much slower) 1275 GT?

[EMD]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

[Varche]

My Dad bought a brand new morris mini 850 in 1959 (aged 21 - just out of university).  He had 3 gearboxes under warranty.  rain came in through the floor.
He views Alec Issigonis as a Maverick and a Bodger.
He has only owned Fords since then - all purchased new.

I owned a 1974 1000 in 1988 - It was rusty and the brakes were almost impossible to service or get right.
My wife owned a 1978 mini 850 from 1989 to 1992 and an 1100 clubman in 1992.
Both were very rusty, and the brakes were arbortions.
The 850 was given to a friend who scrapped it (despite agreement to give it back when she'd finished with it)  The clubman was restored by a work colleague, who later scrapped it after the door fell off in tescos car park  leaving his wife and baby somewhat stranded.
None of these peices of rust ever broke down although the 850 did require a head gasket and later a replacement head.
Then in 2010 when my son was 17 and just past his test, I bought a 1988 mayfair.
It was the most unreliable piece of junk ever.
Parts from so called specialists are rubbish. I replaced most of the front suspension twice, the condensor twice, the dizzy cap, arm and points, the cylinder head gasket.
I sold it after a year.

Then in 2013 I purchased a 2001 BINI cooper for my wife.
I think it's probably the spiritual successor of the Metro Turdo.
Anyway, apart from throwing money at the front suspension, it's been great.

My conclusion classic Mini's are overrated, rusty, unreliable, over priced lumps of dog mess.
I can think of better ways of getting involved in classic cars.

I'd rather poke my eyes out with a dirty stick than own another.

I seem to remember that the 1959 model had external seams spot welded. So the front wheels pumped water in through the "join" . I had one (it might have had reg no MHG 324) and my cure was to drill a few half inch holes under the seats and have duckboards under carpet for the front passengers.

[henryd]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

Early ones have a chrysler engine which is shit and the reworked gearbox from a Rover 25 which also wears prematurely(it was ok in the Rover),06 on goes Peugeot mechanicals which are better

[Lizzie Zoom]

Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

They do have more serious common faults: burnt exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, stretched timing chains(the 'tensioner' is a joke) although they'll run for decades like that.


Ensure that any Mini you intend to actually drive has ALL of the available engine mounts(many never had the lower O/S one to the subframe) especially the aftermarket one from the thermostat housing to the bulkhead.

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

[Nick W]

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

They all had timing chains and pushrods. The chain drives the camshaft which is halfway up the block, then the pushrods transfer the motion to the rocker arms, which finally open the valves.

[TheBoy]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

Early ones have a chrysler engine which is shit and the reworked gearbox from a Rover 25 which also wears prematurely(it was ok in the Rover),06 on goes Peugeot mechanicals which are better

Rover 25 had the (chocolate) Pug box as well 

[Bigron]

Am I the only one to be amazed that the A series engine survived at all in the Mini, considering that it shared its oil with the gearbox? The opil specifications had to be a poor compromise of lubrication paramaters, being unsuited for such a dual role. Gears need an EP lubricant, engines do not.
Even the magical Duckhams Q20/50 could scarcely cope!

Ron.

[Bigron]

Um, there's no such thing as "opil" - just my big fingers on the keys!   

Ron.

[TheBoy]

It was hardly a finely tolerance highly strung engine.  I suspect many were run on barely any oil.  Certainly I refused to top up my Ital van more than twice a day, so that was frequently thrashed about with the oil light on.

[Bigron]

At least it had a constant supply of fresh oil, TB - must have been good for it! Who needs oil changes? 

Ron.

[minifreek]

Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

They do have more serious common faults: burnt exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, stretched timing chains(the 'tensioner' is a joke) although they'll run for decades like that.


Ensure that any Mini you intend to actually drive has ALL of the available engine mounts(many never had the lower O/S one to the subframe) especially the aftermarket one from the thermostat housing to the bulkhead.

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

ALL A series engines have a chain, unless its been converted very recently to belt... so yours would have had a timing chain.... even the B series has a timing chain fitted....?

[New POD]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

Early ones have a chrysler engine which is shit and the reworked gearbox from a Rover 25 which also wears prematurely(it was ok in the Rover),06 on goes Peugeot mechanicals which are better

I am a BINI fan, and ours has a SEPTEMBER 2001 Build sticker so it's pretty early.
The Chrysler engine has a power characteristic like the old metro turbo. Nothing below 4,000, but it loves to rev. The One only has 95 bhp, but both can be reprogrammed to have 125 bhp. I've never heard anything bad in terms of reliability of them.


Legend has it that the gearbox decision was against BMW wishes, and should have saved £150 per car, except many of them failed under warranty, despite an engineering led improvement project.
Now to me, that's not premature wear, it's poor manufacturing. We changed the oil on ours at 84K and there was a lot of debris on the magnetic drain plug. Seems to be fine though. Recon boxes are not that expensive - it's just labour costs that will kill it.
Also the electric power steering issues, can be resolved at a fraction of the cost when almost new.
If i remember correctly early metro turbos destroyed  gearboxes under warranty due to midrange torque and face lift models had less midrange and more in with a bang at higher revs.

Hence my comment that the BINI cooper is the spiritual successor to the Metro Turbo.

Our BINI had to have new front wish bones and top mounts
Our 1988 mayfair, had to have all new ball joints, and new front knuckle joints.
My Old metro turbo had to have all new ball joints and new rear knuckle joints

[BazaJT]

Had an old mini for a while back in the mid 80's,not a bad thing really but driving position not to my liking from what I remember.I still think though that the Hillman Imp[and its derivatives]was the superior car,especially after they'd sorted early production problems-ditched the pneumatic throttle for one.

[EMD]

Had an old mini for a while back in the mid 80's,not a bad thing really but driving position not to my liking from what I remember.I still think though that the Hillman Imp[and its derivatives]was the superior car,especially after they'd sorted early production problems-ditched the pneumatic throttle for one.

Theres one of those for sale near me .. i think the mini is a better looking car than the Imp  Have you noticed how much those early minis are fetching now  I'd be scared to park it anywhere but the drive .

[Lizzie Zoom]

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

They all had timing chains and pushrods. The chain drives the camshaft which is halfway up the block, then the pushrods transfer the motion to the rocker arms, which finally open the valves.

Ah, many thanks, that explains it

[TheBoy]

I am a BINI fan, and ours has a SEPTEMBER 2001 Build sticker so it's pretty early.
The Chrysler engine has a power characteristic like the old metro turbo. Nothing below 4,000, but it loves to rev. The One only has 95 bhp, but both can be reprogrammed to have 125 bhp. I've never heard anything bad in terms of reliability of them.

When you get a replacement car due to the long term reliability of the one you have had from new, BMW make you sign a form to keep schtum.  Or at least the 3 people I know who have had their MINIs replaced within 3 years.

Legend has it that the gearbox decision was against BMW wishes

Whereas the actual truth is the Rover designers specified the uprated box (the MINI was entirely a Rover design, and was due to be launched via the Rover brand (like the original 1 series)), so had the full BMW penny pinchers on it.

It was also due to get the 1.8VVT and 1.8 turbo K series initially (both far more powerful than what they got), but BMW didn't want to keep Powertrain going once they decided to close down Rover.

[BazaJT]

If I recall correctly the very early Minis were badged as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin se7en.Although[as they say]beauty is in the eye of the beholder I'd agree that the mini is better looking than the Imp apart of course from the coupe versions of the Imp-the Californian and [I think]the Stiletto[?]

[Lizzie Zoom]

If I recall correctly the very early Minis were badged as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin se7en.Although[as they say]beauty is in the eye of the beholder I'd agree that the mini is better looking than the Imp apart of course from the coupe versions of the Imp-the Californian and [I think]the Stiletto[?]

Yes, you are right, apart from it was a Austin Seven Mini; the Austin Seven was the much older "Baby Austin" that I wanted when I was a child.  They were so cute

They were also great cars for passing ones test in

[Kevin Wood]

If I recall correctly the very early Minis were badged as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin se7en.Although[as they say]beauty is in the eye of the beholder I'd agree that the mini is better looking than the Imp apart of course from the coupe versions of the Imp-the Californian and [I think]the Stiletto[?]

I went round for years thinking the BMW 1 series saloon reminded me of something, but I was never sure what... Then I saw a Hilman Imp, and it all clicked into place.

[Bigron]

A little off-topic, but back in the 70s I had a friend who took the engine out of his Imp almost as often as he changed his socks! It was dead easy, of course, not taking more than a generous 5 minutes: the gearbox linkage was a different matter.....

Ron.