If anyone has a suggestion please let me know. I am new to the mini world and just purchased my first one a couple of months ago. Just the other night I was doing some research on minimania.com and realized that my 1965 Mini may not be a '65 mini, but instead somewhere between a '74-'80 according to the commission tag. The vin and title show '65? The bodystyle suggests that it is a little newer than a '65 as well.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? What does this do to the value?
Thanks

 

Yeah, with as strict as the import laws are to bring a classic Mini in to the states, people occasionally change the VIN to one from a junked classic and do other things to make a newer Mini appear older (import fraud).

The value should not change much unless you bought (and paid for) what you thought was a collectable car.

What can you do? Nothing really. I've heard rumors of illegal vehicles being crushed at customs at time of import, but now that the Mini is in the US, you should not have any problem. It is through customs, right? And already has valid registration? In my opinion, you will have to live with it.

What does it mean to you? You'll have to figure out what year range your Mini was manufactured so you can purchase replacement parts as needed.

If you're looking for some identification help, a couple of pictures can help. Post some pictures of the engine, interior (door panels a.k.a door cards) and exterior (boot), then owners here can help you identify the Mini since it sounds like you aren't sure what you've got. Plus then we can all see your new Mini

Good luck,
Jeff

 

www.minitopia.com

 

have you looked here?

http://www.minimania.com/MiniID/

and http://www.malaysiaminilover.com/cla...mk1-generation

your first clue is your door hinges

a 1965 would be a MK1 I believe (59 - 67) and that means outside door hinges, the round grill, rounded tail lites and sliding door windows.

a 74+ would be a MK3 or MK4 and have inside/hidden door hinges, roll down windows, rectangular tail lites and the angular grill just to name a few very obvious clues.

The build year/month is also stamped on a few pieces & if they are original provide a good pointer. On the top of the boot latch mechanism .... and on the wiper motor .... and on the dizzy (harder to find) Picture quality stinks but here's my boot latch ... it reads "18 79" week 18, 1979. This is on my well documented 1979 brought across the pond in 2004 at 25 years of age


effect on value? depends on what you thought it was worth.....

what to do about it? if a recent purchase you might think about trying to "do something" but truthfully when buying a used car I think you got to follow "buyer beware"

p.s. don't be confused by my very modified 1979 which sports many retro mods like MK1 grill, boot lid and tail lites

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I posted a few pictures to my gallery.

 

Based on the roll-up windows (1st year was 1973), squared off tail lights, and bonnet Mini badge, it looks like a MK3 or MK4 Mini to me. The exterior looks a lot like my 1973 MK3 Austin Mini 1000 except for the later model side repeaters. The interior is a different story however with a later model steering column / steering wheel. Yes, I would think it would be in the 1974-1980 range.

Have fun. The community here is pretty helpful. Post any questions you have and you're sure to get an answer. Welcome to the Mini family

Jeff

 

The first year for roll up windows is a 1968, MK2. The side marker lights means mid to late 80s. The dash setup looks like mid to late 80s also, but dashes can be changed very easy.

 

I would agree with 80's model as suggested by Lil Pigg. The brake master cylinder has a cap mounted switch not the body mounted switch that I would expect from a late 70's Mini. Roll-up windows and the lights point towards MK3 or later. The interior looks to me more like it was modified from a 80's model. Capt-bj discussed the boot latch and windshield wiper motor as places to look for dates. The windshield wiper motor date stmp is on the cover that faces forward and is easy to read.

Unless the Mini is a rare version or an old hard to find early year model, my opinion is a function of what you want to pay or more importantly condition of the car. Condition can be a wide range and fixing one up can be handled on a variety of levels - driven by budget and personal capabilities....

Re-vining Mini's has been discussed on every Mini Forum I have read. It is a controversial subject and if you search on this site you will see that there are many opinions. I am not an expert, but I believe that the car must be 25 years old to come in to the US and be registered.

Has this car been in the US long? Did you bring it in or was it already here? If you are titled and registered it should not be an issue for you if you are putting it in your name.

Let us know how you make out on finding a year.... A Mini is what you make it, so don;t get too disappointed on the year. Its all about the car, motoring, and meeting other Mini owners......:thumbsu p:

 

Let us know how you make out on finding a year.... A Mini is what you make it, so don;t get too disappointed on the year. Its all about the car, motoring, and meeting other Mini owners......:thumbsu p:[/quote]


I agree, don't worry about it. if you love it then drive it and have fun.

 

Being that this car was de-seamed, I suspect that it was resto-modded at some point and the parts are probably from a few different cars of various years. It looks to be in pretty good shape and if you got what you wanted I wouldn't worry about what the title says. It's only a piece of paper. If you truly bought a mini for its value you missed the point anyway.

 

good catch on the de-seaming .... and looking more closely the drip rail is not standard either.

Silly question - the body is metal right? I know a guy locally who just began working on a South American build ... all fiber body on those....

these factors bring me back to the grill and wondering is this a UK build or not????

 

I thought it looked a little bit different. I was looking at the tail lights, stuff that points out what year it is. I didn't notice the seams were gone. I had to look at the photos again. Capt, you might be right about being a UK build?.

 

Didn't even notice the de-seam and drip rail myself. Looking a little closer I think the VIN starts with MA2S which would be a Morris built at Cowley with an A series engine. However, the engine has a verto clutch (slave cylinder is mounted on an angle and has the bleed screw angled back towards the actuating arm) that indicates a 1980+ Mini. The alternator mount also indicates an A+ engine. The heater outlet indicates a small bore motor - 848, 947, 998, 1098cc.

The grille has a badge on it that is upside down - but it says EFI. I have not seen a grille like this......

 

sounds like a re-VIN so I don't know it is even worth decoding the VIN.


so grill suggests a Rover injected special edition ... (EFI badge and black..)

but the engine doesn't appear to be SPi or MPi based on the aircleaner ... I'm pretty sure that's hiding a simple single SU - I can see the side bowl and the oil fill pot in the center of the aircleaner .... could have been "de-injected" (convert back to a carb), or re-engined, or someone just liked the grill (why the upside down badge?)

Engine does appear to be a 998 or similar. It is not a 1275 or larger as far as I can see. Were there any injected Rovers on the 1000cc blocks?

silver paint in the engine compartments suggests a complete re-work there - standard would be for eng compartment to be body color. Wiring looks to have plenty of 'work' done to it as well.

looks like we've a positive id

it's a bit'sa bits a' this and bits a' that

 

Thanks everyone for the help. From doing my own research I do believe it is an early to mid 80's. Ok mini was right on the vin starting w/MA2S and I ran the engine number it is a 998 A+.
The body is metal and it has been de-seamed, evidence on the inner qtr's.
--
You guys are right, I love the car and am just going to enjoy it!

Thanks again.

 

OKMini,
How did you know what the vin started with? I checked it on MiniMania.com and it says anything after '69 the vin started w/an "X".

 

ah the additional things you see when you view the gallery pictures "large"

EFI upside down! Ain't that cute.... Fortunately I see an SU carb in there so it does not appear you've an injected model.

Pop riveted VIN plate is always suspect Plate is from MORRIS which went out of existance in?.....my 79's plate (know good) Austin Morris Group, British Leyland UK Ltd.

rocker switch set and heater controls match my 79 (4 rockers but the arrangement is different)

BUT glad to hear::::

enjoy it .... that's the right attitude

I had the same sort of buyer's remorse the first days of ownership. B4 I'd gotten the car home it had overheated, the bonnet had popped open at highway speeds bending it back ($500 right there), the brake lights were out and there was a significant fuel leak. Oh and my "rust free Mini" took a day or two to debunk that one BUT....which leads me to suggest:

Next step - get the rust finder sticky post here and start looking including getting the car up on a lift. Looking at the pictures LARGE I see some ugly bubbles . . . pull the carpets up and see what's under there....pull any trunk carpets ....

As Gomer says Surprize Surprize Surprize ... don't feel bad ... Welcome to Mini ownership

 

Capt_bj figured out my trick... you can see much more in the gallery pictures when you look at the large size picture. I figured if it was titled as a '65 the VIN plate would at least reflect a '65 Mini - that vintage would have a Morris VIN plate and would start with something other than an X. You can barely make out the start of the VIN # - but looking at what a '65 should have you can pick assume MA2S - the 2S often gets confused as 25.

The cars are fun and challenging. I just finished a total overhaul and the car was dead in 2 weeks. My new starter motor arrived last night so I will attempt to revive Nigel later today.

Rust is an issue and you have to decide how you want to handle it. I bought mine as "rust-free" and as capt-bj said that is a myth that doesn't take long to debunk! My rust-free was a bondo, sand and respray rust free.

I found rolled up expanded metal in the rockers with literally baseball size bondo attached. Now I have (2) new door skins, (2) new A-panels, some spot repairs, (2) new outer rockers/sills, and (1) new inner rocker. The floor pans were OK. Now I have a media blasted and POR painted underside. Mine will no longer see rain, snow or anything else and I am sure I will see some rust at some point.

Good luck with your car and don't be afraid to ask questions. I have had a lot of help from people on here and I had really never worked on a car before. It is a great car to learn on

 

I forgot to mention - I picked up my Mini at Atlanta airport and drove to Ohio over 2 days. I filled up every 150-175 miles as the gas gauge was not reliable. I had to add oil every stop because of a leak. The car needed a jump start in the morning and I eventually found a Mini parts person in South Ohio that helped me with a few running issues - plugs, wires, points, and a few adjustments - to get me home.

Welcome to the world of Mini!!!!!