Hey Guys,
I'm new here to this forum and I am in the works of making a deal with a guy that I have know for a long time that has a 1966 Morris Mini 850. The car is currently at my house and I will get some pictures of it for a visual aid, all I need to do is negotiate a price. It is a RHD car with only 42,000 original miles, red interior, revolution 10" rims, and the motor is a far cry from original (Tunned). It has twin su carbs (unsure of what size but will find out) K&N air filters, new clutch, and a whole bunch of old extra misc. parts. I have all the service records for the car, but I have not had a chance to drive it due to the brakes needing to be bleed. It has the original hydrolastic suspension and the drums have been upgraded to discs. The down side to all of this is it does have some surface rust and it needs a lot of cosmetic things such as new weather stripping for the doors and all windows. There is one part of rust on the left side below the door that has been rusted through but other then that it looks to be all surface rust.

There are many more this that need to be done to it (It is not a beauty Queen). My question is this I have been looking around at prices but I do not see many 850's so I cannot compare prices, what are 850's averaging roughly? I know that this is a very general question but a ballpark would be great. I have been looking at this car for 10 years as it had been sitting but now since the guys is moving and cannot take it with him I have the first shot, and if I buy it I will be only the 3rd owner.

Any advice would be great, Things to be aware of? look for? run away from?

Thanks

 

You're sure it's a 850 engine ? Dual SU Carbs were usually on the 997/998 Coopers - and the Cooper S's the 1071 and 1275 - Measure the throat of one of the Carbs and see what size they are - are they 1.5" or 1.25 ? Look for rust in the trunk area where the battery was or is- under the door sills - and along the seams on the body - check the door hinges (850's were on the outside of the door) Floor rust can be really bad - I sure wouldn't pay more than $7000 USD if the rust is minimal and only surface and the engine is is good shape. There are a few places that sell used Mini's on the internet check them also for prices. If you can't find them send me a PM and I'll get you some of the links.

 

There are a LOT of things you should look at... the car might still be a good deal, but the more you find the lower you can set the price (since after all you WILL need to repair the damage sooner or later).

Start here:

http://www.minifinity.com/index.php?...eq=getit&lid=6

Read this carefully, print the checklist and go over it point-by-point. Should take 1-2 hours for a true and proper inspection if you follow the checklist. Be sure to take lots of pics and post them here if anything looks bad or strange. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the great advice so far! I am sure that it is an 850 but I also know that it has a different head on it. I will measure the size and will get back to you. I took some picture and I hope to get them up soon, but all of the rust spot are mostly underneth the car and surface rust in between all of the seams of the car (herd to get picture but I will try again). It needs new paint for sure but it does not have any dents from what I have seen. I printed out the check list and will go over it hopfully tommorrow, Thanks for the link I really do not want to spend more then 6,000 but we will see. The guy is moving out of the country and cannot take it with him, so right now it is at my house and he does not want to move the car and all the parts again so I'm sure we will agree on a price.

Pics coming soon

 

Have a couple of friends that are doing panel and rust repair presently.

 

^ now that's the proper way to do rust repair. when I did mine we lived in a Apartment and had no welding abilities - did it with Galvanized Sheet metal , pop rivits and roofing tar - works but has no structural integrity at all - just covers the holes so your feet don't drag the pavement. If you were stuck in traffic on the interstate and couldn't get off the road ,the holes in the floor did give you a emergency place to pee if you couldn't wait

 

Unless you're looking for absolute originality, an 850cc engine is pretty good as a boat anchor. If it's already tuned though it might be a decent little thing to drive around. Look for either an engine tag by the #1 cylinder (closest to the radiator) or if you can see to the back of the engine (also on #1 side) you'll see a triangular tag sticking off the engine with the size printed on it.

It's good that it already has discs on it. That's a worthwhile upgrade to any Mini in my opinion. ...well, as long as they're the 7.5" discs and not the 7" ones! I've been told the 7" discs were only marginally more effective than drums.

 

WOW those are some great looking pictures How much rust did it have before you guys started fixing all of the trouble spots? The one that I am looking at may need that in the future, but not right away. How common is rust on mini's? Also I know that this could be a big fix but the doors are hard to close and I think that they are sagging, (and of course it is a mk1 so it has exterior hinges) any ideas with that? I am just putting out ideas and questions trying to decide what I want to pay.

Thanks and keep the advice coming

 

If it's a Mini, it has rust. Whether it's just surface rust or bodyrot is the real question.

 

You can replace the bushings in the external hinges, or if it's bad enough you can replace the entire hinge assembly.

Unless you have a new Heritage shell, Minis rust. They were designed as an economy car in the late 50s. If you strip them down and refinish them you can treat the steel so you don't have as many problems...but unless it has been in a dry climate all it's life I think you'll find rust on any un-restored Mini.

 

Well, I went for a rust hunt on the car and the drivers floor (under the carpet) there is surface rust and there is bodyrot rust. I have been tapping my fingers around everywhere to see if I find body rot but so far only below the passenger door and the driver floorboard. Also underneath the car it is covered in this black stuff looks and feels like a linner of some sort to keep water out, anybody know anything about this? the roof does not have any rust that I can see, it is mostly under the car.

Well it is good to know that all mini's rust

 

yeah - sounds like they sprayed an undercoat on it. Unless it's applied properly, that can actually seal in the moisture. Don't worry though - they have panels out there to fix everything on a Mini. Just depends how confident you are (or how deep your wallet is to have someone else do it).

Got any picutres for us?

 

I took some pictures of the car and they should be up by later today. More pictures will follow so you guys can get a better picture of what I'm looking into.

Thanks

 

Here are two pics of the car from the front that is all I have at the moment but more will hopfully be up tonight

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni_Pics002.jpg

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i_Pics0011.jpg

Hope they work

 

LMAO
I had a '79 Subaru like that, only with a plywood floor!!!

 

The grille would indicate (I think) a very early Morris car. I can't remember exactly, but i want to say that grille was only used for the first year or two of production.

Holy schnikeys those are huge air filters. I see ya have the brake booster too - that goes a long way in making the car more comfortable to drive. When I had two running cars (my 71 998 and 66 S) I'd shift back and forth in the same day. 998 was un-assisted drums, 66 S was assisted discs. I had to be careful, 'cause the first few stops in the S I'd mash the pedal like I had to in the 998. Damn near stand the thing on the nose if I wasn't careful!

 

The grill looks to be a Morris 850. The brake booster looks to be MK 3 era. The SU's look to be 1 1/4. The motor looks to be small bore (angle of top radiator hose). Definitely Hydrospastic car!



The A008's seem to be sticking out pretty far, either huge offset in wheels or disc brakes. Check the date on the windscreen wiper motor and the rear boot handle. The dates should be there, under the dirt.

 

Here are some pics of when the rust mainly is
This is under the the carpet on the drivers side behind the wheelwell
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni_Pics004.jpg


This one in the side of the drivers side, under it looks bad but it is not all rustmost of it is that coating that they sprayed on.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i_Pics0051.jpg

This one is the passengers side same thing ans the drivers side
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i_Pics0061.jpg

Well thanks guys for the help and tell me what you think
I do know that I am lowering my price

 

It definitely needs new sills, but it looks like the floor could be repaired without getting a new 1/2 pan or full pan. Then again, only the bare metal will tell you the truth.

Definitely salvagable, and worth salvaging!

 

Well that is a good sign I figured that it would be salvagable cause I see people restore worse off mini's into really nice cars. Any Idea of what it maybe worth? I know that it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it but just an idea? I'm thinking no more then 5k

Thanks

 

I'd have to see more photos before I could guess what I'd pay for the car. Any chance you could lob some up? I bet people would give 'ya some ideas then.

 

Sure I can get more photos, anything in particular, side view, interior...? All of this has been a great help for me cause I don't want to pay too much.

 

That'd be a good start - maybe the gauges, dash / parcel shelf area, side view, rear view. Make sure to check out the body seams - the back one where the gas tank is usually takes a hammering if fuel is sloshing out.

Interior general shots, a side view or two, and one of the rear (boot open also if ya can). From there we can direct 'ya to specific things if we need it.

From what I've seen so far it looks like a good little Mini. Yeah, it's got a few blemishes, but it's nothing that can't be fixed.

 

I agree, definately a mini worth saving. Like Latka said, bare metal tell the truth, and of course a little prodding to find out if surface rust has thinned the panels a bit too much. I replaced the sills on one side so far and will be replacing the other side as well, but in retrospect, with all the patches in the floor pan I am doing, (and the botched up job by the previous owner) I should have replaced the entire pan. On the other hand, I am getting much better at welding sheet metal.

 

Here is a pic of the top of the car Kind of a bad picture
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni_Pics009.jpg

A picture of the interior
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni_Pics008.jpg

Another interior pic
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i_Pics0071.jpg

A pic of the trunk
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co..._Pics00111.jpg

Rear of the car
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i_Pics0010.jpg

Sorry guys I don't know what happend to these pictures I may need to delet these and retake some The car is in the coorner of my garage and it is hard to get it in and out to take pictures. I looked at the gas tank and there is not rust or any damage around that area, which is good

I hope you can get some idea.