I have narrowed my search down to a mini that is located a few hundred miles from me. I had the current owner take some pictures of the underbody. I do not have any experience with mini underbodies. I do notice some separation in certain areas like the first picture, but I dont know if that is on every car or not. Can you guys take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think? There is rust, I can't tell if it is surface or more. I am looking to see if there is anything major you guys can pick out that would save me from wasting my time and money driving out to look at it.

 

There is a bit of work there but it is not too bad. If you buy it one thing I would recommend based on these pic's is to take it and get an undercoating put on it.

 

So when you say there is a bit of work there are you just talking reprepping it and undercoating? That is what I was hoping for. I had to do that with a vw I had a while ago. It is not that hard.

Do you picture any welding being needed?

 

What you are seeing is a new rear seat bottom that was welded from the inside to fix the gap. You can weld it from the outside for further reinforcement if choose to do so.

that's my former car btw

 

When I say a bit of work I mean some welding, mabe some pannel replacement and a lot of rust treatment. It is not bad it is just work.

 

Concur

face it, you can see rust holes as well as surface rust and some repairs that need .... finishing maybe ....

One good thing is there's no undercoating to hide problems, so you know what you've got - I had a think coat which hid a lot of stuff on my 'rust free 79'.

But if you undercoat b4 you attack all that rust....it will be back worse.

You might want to look into POR15, or EASTWOOD rust treatment products as well as deciding how far you want to go to 'make it right'. There's short paths and long paths. I started by taking a class "welding basics", followed by "Introduction to auto body repair" ....

This is repairable .... and the good thing is skills practiced here...don't show!

 

The pictures supplied are insufficient to make any rational judgement as to the overall condition of the car. The car should be inspected in person and with/by a knowledgeable Mini owner.

I would ask for many more pics including:

1.the floors inside (with carpet removed) & outside (up on jackstands or lift)
2. the boot floor inside & out (particular attention to the corners behind the wheels)
3. the inside bottom of the rear bins with the panels removed
4. the sills (front to back)
5. roof corners
6. A-panels
7. front/rear valences

http://www.minimania.com/web/SCatago...3/ArticleV.cfm

 

I fixed alot of the same stuff. I didn't know what I was doing when I started. You may think that you can just sand the rust off an be ok but I guarantee theres going to be holes after you grind off the rust.

I did have some screw up in my panel fit up, but I actually took the time and hid it with some fiberglass filler. You won't know it's there if you spend enough time sanding it smooth. But this is only after you have cut out all rust and replaced the metal.

That battery box will need replaced but thats a trivial job.

On a side note I would want to see where the frame members join together. If the frame is worse than some surface rust it's going to cost some bucks to get a replacement.

How much are we talking about for the car? You're talking about a good bit of work if thats all that wrong. Looking back I'd spend the money on a solid shell then try to make a crappy shell good.

 

The car is being sold for 16,500, but it has a vtec engine in it. Elprofe use to own the car and was the one that put the engine in and did the resto on it. He claims there was new panels welded on the inside. I am not sure why he didn't cut out the old panels. Assuming he speaks the truth i would need to cut/grind the areas that show rust and just clean it up, because there is a new panel above it. Then I could coat it and it would be fine. There are lots more pictures of the car at this address.

http://www.slide.com/r/UEvvwbherD8BLVcRmuL_EqKzNp0ef4tg?previous_view=lt_ embedded_url

 

If I understand right there are two panels on top of another. If thats the case it could be a water trap and rust from the inside out. Make sure that the top panel is still solid as well.

You really have to go see it, even the pics you have don't really do it justice. It looks to be pretty nice, its a shame that the floor is like that.

What is that white spot under the right gas cap?

 

Not any valuable pictures there concerning the problem areas of this car. The floor is completely covered in a mat, so no help. Welding panels in from the inside without removing rusty panels is the quick way out. It is not the best way to do the job. As was stated, the old rust is there to spread anew. Just that it won't last as long. A VTEC is a very expensive conversion. Looks like money/time was saved here.

If this is your first Mini, why a VTEC? Also note that most VTEC conversions are sold shortly after completion. This one is already looking for a third owner.

BTW, $16,500 would buy you a late model Mini (1999-2000) Sportspack, possibly with air.

 

Well....I went out to look at the mini last weekend and decided not to buy it. There were paint cracks all over the car, visible bondo in the cracks near both side mirrors, and rust starting to form at the rear of the roof. I guess I expected better from the pictures. I didn't mind the paint chips here and there from driving a car. It was the unexpected stuff that caught me off guard. If this vehicle was restored within the last 5 years it was not done properly. Not to mention that the replacement floors were welded right on top of the old ones without cutting out the rust. Needless to say the new ones had already started to rust. This car would have to be completely stripped down again if it were to be made respectable, which is all I wanted. I wasn't looking for a show piece by any means. I wanted to use this as my daily driver.

Oh I forgot to mention the speedo didn't work properly and there was something wrong with the engine (possibly needed something as small as a better calibrations), it sputtered when you were heavy on the throttle.

 

5 yrs can do a number on a mini even if it's restored correctly .....just depends on the owner and how they take car of the mini after restoration

 

At least you didn't put money down on it without seeing it. I got close to 2 grand and a year in my mistake.

 

Looks like someone else saw more potential on the car.
It sold today, thx for your interest.

 

Are you stil looking for a Mini?

Where are you located?

If you've found another, lets see it.

Curious minds want to know.

 

yea i am still looking. i am living in san antonio. what are you selling?

 

There is a nice Moke in the DAllas-fortworth area.
Check MM private seller's ad.

 

Sorry pjku79, I'm not selling, and the only seller I know personally is in SC. That too far away for you?

 

A member of "Mini of Texas" is selling a couple classic Minis. This might be worth a look.

<quote>
1) 1966 Austin Cooper (true 1966 vin and shell)
Was told it was restored in 2000 with a new paint job in 2004
1380cc swiftune engine
Painted orange - no rust and in great shape
No rear seats
Includes corbeau GTS seats, custom matched roll bar, four fog lights, etc
This mini is very quick.

Here's a very interested thread that I posted (where a previous owner
noticed it was his old car)

http://www.minimania.com/web/threadi.../msgthread.cfm

The only bad thing about it is that there's a oil leak from the differential
gasket.

Price: $13k obo

2) 1988 Cooper (vined as a 1978)

Black with silver strips. Has flares and 13" wheels. The floor panels are
rusted and I have bought all new panels ready to be replaced. There are
some rust spots in the paint but the car still looks very nice. 1275cc
motor and the interior is black with red stitching (Jet black theme). The
car runs good and the only bad thing is that 1) it has rust spots and 2)
still runs hot. I'm not sure why but I am sure I can figure it out before I
sell the car.

Price: $9500 obo

Please let me know if anyone is interested. Thanks MOT!

Edwin </quote>