So I'm not in the club yet...
 

But I'd really like to own a classic mini. I don't know much about them, but I have a friend that was an owner and he let me know a couple things. I'm looking for something that isn't gonna require too much work. I have looked through at a bunch of threads and minis on here and I am looking for something exactly like the car MiniManiac74 has. Of course, I am willing to paint and do some other work, but that is the body I want (The flaired fenders), and my friend informed me that some were fuel injected and some had carbs. I would prefer FI, but you guys tell me. If I want that body style, and something that's not gonna need too much work (especially interior) what do I need to be looking for?

I would recommend spending lots of time on the forums and purchasing a few books. For a good snapshot of what's available and pricing, go to minimania.com and look at their classifieds--both private sellers and dealers. If you haven't discovered this yet, there are lots of cars posted for sale that are actually late model cars that have been reVIN'ed as older cars which aides in sneaking them past customs as they enter the US. That said, it's probable that most of the fuel-injected versions are gray market cars titled as oldies. There are convincing arguments on both sides of the carbs vs FI debate. It seems like the earlier FI, referred to as SPI, is a reliable way to go, and the latest version FI, called MPI, is a complicated animal w/out US support. I'm not sure what degree of support you may have with SPI, either. Carbs, at least, are mechanical and can be serviced by a greater number of people, maybe including yourself.

Good luck!

Thanks. I am pretty car savvy. I have rebuilt (with my brothers and my dad) a 68 Mercury Cougar, and a 79 Ford Bronco. They are carb cars too. If the carb minis are reliable, I wouldn't mind having one of those. Honestly, I'd rather re-build a carb than have to worry about injectors and all that stuff. Is there a place that can give me pictures of all the different body styles? I know for a fact that I want one just like MiniManiac74's car. Can anyone take a look at his gallery and tell me what style or year I am looking at for that car? Something that can help me narrow down all the different mini choices I have. I know I'm looking to drop close to $9,000 - $10,000 for something nice, and then spend more on upgrades and what-not for restoring it, but I need a lot of help. haha. I'm a mini fanatic that's driving a big ol Dodge Ram right now. I'm hoping to have both of em in the stable someday within the next couple years. anyone know the dimensions of these little cars, I was joking that it might actually fit in the bed of my truck. haha. Here's some pics of what I'm riding around in now.

spend time looking.......thats the best advice, and get to know what to look for.......

Yeah, if you can work on cars go with a carbed Mini... I see TONS of mechanical threads on UK forums asking for injected engine help - since so many things can go wrong that are difficult to diagnose, it can be tough. The noie thing about the carbs is that they're fairly straightforward.

Check out the link stickied at the top of the forum for the MiniFinity Ultimate Buyer's Guide - it lists lots and lots of things to look for when buying or asking for photos.

Seth might get one here and tell you more about his car..

That isn't how my car started, but with a little work and $$$ you can have it too. I added some new seats to the inside so I will have to take some pics.

My advise is to take your time. Once I committed to buying, it took 6 months before I found my Mini. I bought it from DJ at www.djminis.com. I highly recommend him in your Mini search. He knows his stuff and he has integrity!

My Mini has the 1275cc with a 1.75" carb on it. It has the stage one kit which is a header and exhaust. It also has a mild road cam and different gearing (I don't know the specifics on the gears but it makes it run great at 70mph). Let's see......I added fully adjustable suspension at all 4 corners - hi/los, adjustable lower control arms, adjustable tie rods and the rear camber/toe brackets. It came with 13" wheels so I didn't have to modify the body to add the deep dish wheels. By the way, I still have the 13x6 wheels in my garage.

Here is how it looked when I bought it and how it looks now.


http://bluegrassminis.com/images_lg/...ber_Seth01.jpg


and now


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...medium/315.JPG

Dj is great.......he lives right down the road from me and i also design his website for him.........if you go under the cars for sale section you will see the 2 minis i posted 2 weeks ago for sale......(pick-up and Salon)......they are in great shape.......well worth the money

that is exactly what I want. In fact, I have loved that exact car since I was a kid. I even built a radio controlled car that looks exactly like it. I'll attach a picture. But I am wondering.. I have seen MINIs with the flat side (no flares) and yours with the big flares. Is there a specific year or style I need to buy in order to have those flares, or is it kinda just... whether the car has it or not? I'm in no hurry to buy. I'm a starving college student. haha. I'm just definitely going to get one within the next couple years.

I have the same RC car. Actually, I have a red one and a white one. I race them with my kids!

That's awesome. I love it. So is there a specific body style I need to be looking for in order to get those wide fenders?

It is the Sportpack arches. You can add them to any Mini.

depends on what look you prefer, generally purist hate arches.

I'm not a purist then. haha. I'm definitely an arches kind of guy. So it doesn't matter what min iI end up buying, I can just add the arches? do they sell just the arches, or am I lookin at like.. a whole body kit? any idea on prices?

You can buy the arches. The only wheels that look good under the sport pack arches are 13s. You have to do some body work to put those on.

That's fine with me. My dad and my brothers and I are all pretty competent in the garage. What kind of body work are we talking about? Like.. rolling or flaring the current fender or actually cutting and all that jazz?

ALl that's required is trimming a few inches form the front edge of the stock wheel opening, then re-folding the lip to give the arch its strength back. I've never seen a proper template, but I suspect you can just do the trimming manually with a "nibbler" or even a carefully-wielded Dremel and a metal cutting disc. The Sportpack arch will completely cover the minor surgery, so be sure to re-paint or seal the cut edge, lest unseen rust bloom in the darkness...

Yeah. I'll make sure and do the Job well. I know a thing or two about rust on older cars. The 68 cougar we did had some pretty bad patches. So do the minis usually have some bad rust? I have been on this forum non-stop for the past couple days and all the re-builds and projects I have seen have some pretty bad rust spots... I'd prefer to not have to deal with much rust. Is that a reasonable thing to look for or should I just expect to have to fix rust spots?

That would be an understatement. Rust is arguably the number one killer of Minis.