Hey guys,
I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce my...car. It's a '72 Mini, 850cc I purchased a few weeks ago. I'm a fellow wrencher, but prior to this car, only on Volkswagons and my daily drivers so I'm new to the Mini scene.

I've been gleaning information from you guys for a while now, so now that I own one, I thought I should join up and say, 'hello'.

I'm located in the Charlotte area in NC.

 

Welcome! And congrats on the new ride, you're gonna have a lot of fun, and you will learn a lot too, since you will be wrenching on it aplenty! It's just the nature of 40 y/o cars..........

Buy a Bentley manual.

 

Welcome! That's a cool, retro color. Nice to see something other than red, too.

 

Oooo it's almost my Classic Mini's twin! Love the color

 

Welcome!
There are a few of us Classic Mini owners near you in Columbia, SC.
Come join us this October 2nd for our club's British car show.
Here is more info http://www.bccmc.com/index.php/cbc-iv/
And try to make it to the Mini 51 located in Erwin, Tenn. October 13-16.
Minis are FUN!!

 

Where in charlotte are you? Theres a few of us around town.

 

I am actually in Gastonia, but work in downtown Charlotte. Please keep me up to date on the mini events as I would enjoy getting to meet some others.

 

Ok, thats not too far at all from me and another fellow classic owner. I live in the Steele Creek area and he lives SE of downtown. Both of our cars aren't quite on the road yet though, still undergoing restoration. I know there is several other Classic owners though. Unfortunately, no Classic club here in town, but sounds like alot more are popping up and may warrant a club in the near future.

 

Hey - Nice color combination!

 

I am just in the process of transitioning for classic VW's to classic minis

I can almost rebuild an aircooled engine in my sleep, but feel a little apprehensive about the minis inline 4. The first time I actually sat in a mini was about a week ago and I thought it had about as much room as a bug. Maybe more in the back seat. Couldn't belive the way it felt planted on the road, so much diffrent than a VW. I can only boil it down to in a old VW you are sitting above the frame. In the mini, you are sitting in the frame.

I haven't bought a mini yet (have a MINI). Any advice?

 

Scott,
Welcome into the classic mini world! I will say, these minis are just as easy to work on as the VW, but more fun to drive. I was a little timid at first to the mini scene, but don't let it intimidate you for sure. The other day I needed to pull the head on my mini, replaced a burned valve, and put 'er all back together. It took me all of about 2 hours to replace and put back together (nevermind the displaced lifter that I had to go and and put back in it's bore). I've not yet had the engine all the way out, but I would be no more concerned about that than working on a VW. These need to be put back together upside down is the only trick to them when talking gearbox to engine. I would give you the advice of getting on the MiniMania forum. It's not as good as the Samba just because it doesn't have the sheer volume of numbers that old VW's have in the states, but there is a lot of knowledge on there. Introduce yourself. I check that forum regularly. Minimania, the website is great for parts, although sometimes parts can be had for cheaper if you shop around (don't say that on the Minimania forum because it's run by Minimania). I could give you some sites to try. Before you buy a classic, definitely get the guide from Minimania on where to look for rust and such. These old mini's, much like the VW's, can get some rust is some tricky places. Also the identification of minis can be very tricky. It's tough to know what you are getting. There are some very tell-tale signs, but often you find cars are a mixture of parts from different years.
Good luck! and have fun with it!

 

if you don't already have the Haynes manual for your mini i would suggest that you either buy one or download it.

if you wish to download it,
you can get it from this link on my site:
http://joltfreak.tripod.com/id6.html