Hi guys. I lately have been very interested into Austin and Morris Minis. Here in Canada there are a lot of people importing the newer 95-00 coopers with RHD and more options etc etc.

One of the big questions I have is that the earlier mini had better looking and more classic exterior and interior. Is there some type of conversion out there like they do with the long hood Porsche 911s? I don't like the newer cars with big fat fender flares. I also prefer the older mini's (MKI) interior styling.

Any info would be great. Lastly is this difficult to convert RHD to LHD?

thanks

 

meanwhile this is what I'm reading. Hopefully find something useful

http://www.minimania.com/Mini_Identification

 

There is no kit per se that converts a later Mini into the earlier Mini look, but all of the early parts are still available thru a number of suppliers, so you can pretty much do anything you like....the body itself is mostly the same, tho there are a lot of detail differences once you get into it......but it would be cheaper and easier just to find a nice Mk1 car and buy that if that's the look you like.


Depending on the year, converting to lhd is a matter of buying a lhd steering rack, and moving the pedals and master cylinders over....however it gets a little more complicated in the later years. Again, all the parts are available but it can get spendy......


Again, if you like the Mk1 look, buy a Mk1.....

 

cool that's exactly what i want to hear. Time to hunt for that clean mki shell :D

 

highly recommend a subscription to MiniWorld

http://www.miniworld.co.uk/

the big fender flares you see on later cars are bolt on parts easy to remove change. My car is a 79 MK4 but as you see has been 'retro'd' with many MK1 bits and pieces inside and out .... easy to do (depending on your skill level) some just bolt in some require some body work (like cutting out later tail lite mounts and welding in readily available Mk1 mounts) .. some like changing later internal door hinges to MK1 external hinges are a bit more involved but doable. MiniWorld regularly runs features on doing mods like this . . .

 

Thanks for the link rikaro! There is a great deal available for Classic Minis here:

http://www.minimania.com/home.cfm

 

Hi..I turned mo 1990 Rover cooper into a mk1 cooper S look alike.....take a look here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-own-work.html

 

As our friends across the pond would say: Brilliant!

Let us know if we can help!