No thanks.

 

It really depends on how dear money is to you, and if you think you'll ever sell it anytime soon. Red is probably the most popular classic Mini color, so I'd be inclined to keep the body color and repaint the arches and roof black. If you don't want a black roof, do it white. Red with white roof is probably the single most popular color combo out there, which is why I like the more aggressive black roof variation.

Keeping the original color, especially a desirable one, will generally give you the best resale value. And it'll be the cheapest respray. There's nothing sadder than different colors of paint showing through every road chip and area of scuffed paint. Plus, do you really want to pull all the interior out to make it match properly with a new color? Then you're in for a major (and expensive) project. Put your money towards rooting out whatever rust is there, so it doesn't need another paint job in a few years.

I have no idea about the 'Red Hot' decals. I can't see repainting it without having to take these off. Then the question becomes, is it worth replacing them (if that's even possible) after the respray? I think probably not.

 

Thanks,

I think I'll stick with the red. The guy who sold it to me says he might be able to get replacement decals, but I won't hold my breath. He still plans on doing some work on it before I pick it up. At this point it won't pass inspection here in Germany.

Another question: The engine is not original. The last owner says the engine is a 1275 or 1300 cooper engine taken from a 92 cooper. But, I read coopers from '91 on were made with fuel injection and this car has a carburetor. Can anyone identify my engine to any extent?

Is it unleaded?

 

I have a 93 engine in my mini and it is a carb model. The FI engines were availabe but not in all minis until 96 (someone correct me if I am wrong). That is according to my handy-dandy maintenance book. My 93 mini runs on super unleaded and runs great. Good luck

 

That certainly looks like a '90's carb Mini engine. The serial number for the engine is just below the number 1 sparkplug. With that number you can figure out your basic engine info (assuming the engine wasn't rebuilt). Sorry that I don't recall where the engine lookup tables are, but if you post your engine number on the minimania.com forum, I guarantee you'll get specific answers.