Hi,
Anyone drive a classic mini and do you rate them?
I’m thinking of getting another one. Had one about 20 years ago and really have the bug to buy another…
I know they are unreliable and are rust buckets, but still seem to want one.
Thinking of an older clubman model or an early 90’s model.
Can you get a roof rack that a bike will take a Thule bike carrier?
our 1964 1275S, fresh from the restorers. though not for driving anymore :(. radiator grill is wrong and for some reason it has had latter model wider wheels fitted 
Still waiting for a small chrome 's' above the cooper badge. Fabulous car to drive, 0-30 virtually instantaneous and mid range power delivery makes over taking a breeze. Heater was non exsistant in the winter and needs to be run continually in the summer to aid cooling. Holds the road like a slot car but bloody twitchy at high speed with chronic trailing throttle oversteer, sometimes you have to keep that right foot planted 
Also suffers from massive front wheel understeer in the wet. All in All the coolest car I've ever had the pleasure of driving
This was my pick up with 1400cc engine. Went dangerously fast. Cooper S discs on the front, Minifins on the back, lowered with spax shocks. I regret selling it. Hankering after an unmodified '59 mk1.
I fancy one. The Shrew has some nice ones just now.
Every now and then, when wearing my rose-tinted specs, I think I wouldn't mind another one. But then I remember the hours spent lying on my back on a cold garage floor with rust flakes falling in my eyes and the never ending repairs and remember why I sold it.
It was an absolute hoot to drive though
Have owned close to 25 mins from standard 850 to my 1340 clubman amazing little cars. They are really small and you feel very close to what is rushing by. Actually I was amazed at how small they feel now, nothing handles like a mini 
1400cc engine
thats the standard capacity for 1275 after 2 rebores that long stroke engine eats piston rings for breakfast 
wish i had photos of the pistons after i failed to run the motor in properly after my first rebuild though it still ran pretty well !
some more pictures when I actually used it
I have a folder with about 70 odd phone numbers on notes with the message "If you ever decide to sell this car call me on...". They would be stuffed under the windscreen wiper on regular basis
1400cc engine
I think it had Triumph GT6 pistons and the bores are slightly offset. It used a 1275 crank. The 'head had huge valves and ports. I ran it with a single 1 3/4 SU carb, and an RC40 exhaust.
I sold it to my brother when I still stayed in Orkney. He drove it back to Edinburgh faster faster than his pal in my brother's Golf Gti. Nothing could catch it on the old A9.
Check out the shrew. http://www.theminiworks.co.uk/
Every now and then, when wearing my rose-tinted specs, I think I wouldn't mind another one. But then I remember the hours spent lying on my back on a cold garage floor with rust flakes falling in my eyes and the never ending repairs and remember why I sold it.
It was an absolute hoot to drive though
I loved my Clubman 1275 
My money pit:
Love it to bits.
Once you get a good engine and sort out the rust - no worries!
Drove mine to University in Aberystwyth from Norfolk once. Best drive there Ive ever had.
Not anymore, but i rolled my sisters in the snow once. 
What about the scars caused by the rad housing when changing the water pump??
Was my first car and ended up with 7 different ones, in various states of repair/roadworthyness..
Highlights? A 1293 1973 reshell that I had sorted out(ish) by Ross at MWA in Glasgow many years ago, so many stories.. Using borrowed fenceposts and two handy friends to jack the car up to change the wheel in a back road near Cumbernauld at 2am without a torch!
Got very good at changing head gaskets!
Been told I can get another one once I get my para ticket but that's not gonna happen for a coupla years- bah!
got me a 1980 clubman with a 1275 engine in, will see if i can find a pic later
I had a 1275. Got it rebored out, stage 2 rally head and a dellorto twin choke carb on it. Had to get the front brakes changed, the ones it came with were scary.
That was an awesome car. Handled like it was on rails and was great for giving Cosworth owners a real shock in the twisty stuff. Always fun watching Xr3i owners crap themselves when it left them at the lights too.
However, I did have to keep a stock of radiators in the garage for it's weekly replacement and the bodywork at the back was like cheese.
Sold it for an XR2 which was a silly thing to do.
So wanted another, but these days you pay £2K for an 'unfinished' project thats just a pile of rust and boxes of bits, or REALLY daft money for a runner with a ticket.
There are two rotting away in a private car park near me - been there years now without moving. I'll pout a note on the windscreens if anyone wants them one older with a roll cage and wide wheels, the other more recent but a heap of rust
I used to have one of the last carb mini coopers before they went to fuel injection . Paid £1500 for it sorted the a panels and rust in the boot it never let me down only sold it when kids came along and sold it for £2500 wish I still had it now as have you seen what tidy ones go for!
On the road it felt like you were in a kart and at normal road leagel speeds is was so much fun, having such a tiny car with such good road handling meant you could make the most of the bends.
Went to a few mini meets one in Oxford was very good and had a lot of help from other owners keeping it on the road.
One day old English white mk1 stock looking
Great cars, nothing else like them. Mine had a lightly tuned Metro engine, was converted to LHD when I took it to Budapest for a couple of years then back again for the UK. Crap heater whichever side you sit!
There's a guy in Warks who is a genius tuner, builds competition and road Minis. Southam Mini & Metro???
Unfortunately they are getting more and more expensive.
Some great mini restoration/modding threads on PH at the moment:
carbon wheelarches and 2 litre engine (build details on pg 11)
1275 stage 1
very orange mini resto
Alas, have never owned one myself.
The bike engined specials on PH look well lairy
there was a guy at fod last time i was there packing him, his mate, and 2 bikes *into* a regular mini. He didn't have a front passenger seat, but it can be done
Dammit, I'm all nostalgic now.
I had a 91 cooper 1275 with 44 SU carb, I gave it the stage 1 - K&N filter, janspeed LCB, RC40 exhaust, rolling road tuned at an excellent little place in Milnrow.
Mental good fun, gave polarising opinions from passengers - either I want to get out or I want one!
Found some pics last night, wife was saying I never should have sold it.
I want mine back now...
Mini Checkmate, 998cc block, with Cooper S head, Dave Vizzard specced carb, nice minisport SS exhaust, janspeed LCB, Weller 8 Spokes, eleccy radiator fan. I learned a lot about cars, as it needed something doing to it weekly. The thing flew, when it was going.
Nah.. Rose tinted specs, I drive a new one, the big ****, it rocks.
All those years under them I even had a Wolsley Hornet, the posh one, it still rusted, ripped thru front tyres, span off in the wet, we even parked the office minivan in a florists window one Christmas eve.. A lot of fun at the time, but the new Kraut minis are so much better.
I learned a lot about cars, as it needed something doing to it weekly.
that would be the points 
No need to use "classic" in thread title. The new things are just small BWMs not Minis.
Briefly had a Mini Mary Quant. Bought for £1000, sold for £500 a year later after £750 of work. Doh! Still wish I hadn't sold it, but GF needed a reliable car for work and the Mini wasn't it...
OP - used to run Thule footpack / bars with a carrier.
Lottery win and I'm building one of these,
http://www.pro-motive.co.uk/R1KitInfo.html
with a bit of creative weight loss, down to say 500Kg (probably need a Mk1 and some carbon bits,Ti subframe and beam axle) and with a standard 164 Bhp R1 , power to weight would be 328bhp/tonne, for comparison a Lamborghini Gallardo 5.0 V10 Spyder is 324bhp/tonne
nice comparison, the Gallardo doesn't have the aerodynamics of a brick though
I recently sold this after owning her for 5yrs
I find them quite reliable - but they are most deferentially rust buckets!!!!
Oh the hours spent, de-rusting and filling, redoing ball joints, wheel bearings, water pumps, radius arms, drum shoes and slave cylinders, head gaskets (1340cc), dodgy solenoids/electrics, wet distributors, CV joints etc.
The way they would snap into horrific over steer if you really took the p*ss............
Would I have another, probably not, but thanks for the memories.
My 18yr old nephew has one & I couldn't wait to have a go in it when he got it last year.......Well,you really do forget how crap they really were,slow noisey pieces of junk.....End off !
you're missing slipping clutch from a leaking primary gear seal from that list typicals ming. Worse to diagnose was a tiny crack in the distributor rotor arm shorted out the ingnition took forever to find it.
sefton that is amazing.
True Clunk, but it would be a quick brick (well if the sites to be believed all the way to 125!! wouldn't fancy that in a mini)
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