I am an ex-MINI owner I am looking to buy a classic mini soon and saw this beauty for sale on another forum and wanted to see if anyone has any more info on it. I got a basic spec sheet on it and emailed seller, but no other pics...can anyone help?

 

I had one of these,

This is a INNOCENTI MINI COOPER 1300

Built under licence in Italy by innocenti,
they were buit with both 1000 and 1275cc engines,

The only differences were the badges,
the grille, the rear boot had a recess for a square licence plate
and they had a really nice looking dash ( 6 gauges in a pod)



Please do not hesitate if you have any other questions,
we would love to help you.

Victor

 

Vic - thanks for your reply - I think an innocenti is not necessarily a bad thing - they are quite nice. I think it has an innocenti grille, but could not tell if it is a 100% innocenti. Here is what I know from the ad and would love to know your thoughts of what to look for with this nice gem:

* 1972 Mini
- This is a left hand drive car
- 1275cc engine with 12G940 head that was magnafluxed and honed,
- New seats replaced before installed on the engine.
- Has a brand new 32/36 two barrel down draft carb installed.
- LCB header with big bore system
- Crane Electronic Ignition
- Rear subframe was replaced and the front subframe was completely cleaned and painted
- Front and rear suspensions have been rebuilt and adjustable HI-LO's installed with brand new shocks and brand new brakes front and rear.
- Does not have disc brakes and is running the drum brakes front and rear
- The body was stripped down to bare metal and repainted and completely rust proofed and undercoated and bonnet stripes and checker board roof installed.

Thanks again for your input.

 

The only thing that I am concerned are the brakes,

If I remember correctly, all innocenti 1300 had disc brakes in the front, this is actually necessary when running a 1275cc,

How about the dash and the trunk, also if you have a serial number, I will be able to give you more info.

Seems that some parts are the right ones, try to get additional pics.

Victor

 

Vic - I will try and get this info - the seller I think is at the Gap this weekend with the car - and he seems kind of closed in providing additional pics to non-serious buyers , so once I get them, I will post here to get your gut check on this.

Obviously rust is my first thing to check into.

 

I saw this car and talked to the owner about it for about 15/20 min - I have a '79....

Want my 2 cents? He was driving it around with a for sale sign in it....it seemed to drive OK ... I did not see him run it ON the Dragon....in my opinion a good thing. What price is he giving you? It looked decent....it ran OK and the body looked OK altho I didn't look very close.

The carb is very non-standard as is the dash - I presume you have pics. The color didn't do much for me... pm me if you'd like more 'opinion'

 

Sending PM now....

 

C here !!!

http://www.minimania.com/web/id/6320/ClassDetail.cfm

 

Yes, this (Mini Mania) is where i pulled all the info from - I am looking for more info on this Mini - like if anyone has seen it in person, etc. Thanks!

 

Well, how does *he* determine if you're serious or not... I'd say that's a big red flag there.

Looks like a decent car. What's up with the (ERA Turbo?) Front "spoiler" though...

32/36 downdraft Weber...blech. What's wrong with the single HIF6?

 

beware that certain innocenti bits are hard to get.

 

Like what parts are now hard to get? At one time when I had looked into getting a classic Mini, grilles were hard to find. Interior parts?

First thing I would do it dump the carb and go with the original SU's.

I have left him 2 emails now - no reply - I guess I need to call him. Pictures would be nice and I wish I had one of the interior.

 

I really have not had a big problem getting any part I've needed so far....2 years of ownership. Other than distintive badges and some interior trim stuff, I have not seen references to special parts for an Inn' . 9 times out of 10 I've been able to get what I needed fm a US vendor, and the out times, went to UK supplier successfully.

That said, this particular car does not have an original engine or an original dash.