Hi, my name is Nick and I am new here. As you might be able to tell from my screen name I am more of a BMW guy but I have always loved classic minis. So when one of my customers told me he had a Mini for sale, I scooped it up even though it was the last thing I needed.

I know nothing about the car other than its a 1963, it 850cc, the front end is after market, and it needs some rust repair on the floors and rockers. The engine in the car spins freely as does the spare, and I think I have all the parts. So I ask, what exactly do I have and what could it be worth?

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Spare engine.

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Floor rust.

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

The seats are actually in good shape, I thought I had a better pic of them.

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

And heres a pic of it with my true loves.

Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

So I have the car, a spare engine and front end, set of 10" wheels, set of 12" wheels, full int., etc etc. So whats it worth/should I restore it?

Thanks in advance.

 

If you have the time and money and the desire, restore it.

Tom

 

Is it rare/special being a left hand drive panel van in the states? I havent seen too many in my search for info.

 

The Mini is cool, but the 2002's are more of my kind of car. I can never find a reasonably priced driver.

 

I would need some better pics of the interior load floor right behind the seats to know whether you have a panel van or a converted wagon, but either is not exactly common over here. I think you have a paneled-over converted wagon, actually......


What you do have is a project, with a capital P! :-)


As to value, the rust and the 850 are negatives and the rust can be a major headache on one of these, as it's frequently not just the floors, but sills, A panels, inner panels, companion boxes, boot floors and so on.


850s are so underpowered that even a 998 is looked upon as an upgrade!


Are you just looking to flip it or make it yours? Would you bring it back to original condition or custom?


What you intend to use it for will largely determine how you go about the restoration. I'd recommend "the Mini forum" in England for some real world examples of how these rust and what's involved in fixing them - lots of examples and help over there.


Also, some very knowledgeable people at Mini-Restoration dot com too, be glad to have you there!


BTW, I don't think those are classic Mini seats you have.


What part of the world are you located in?

 

I am just south of Atlanta. I think you are correct about it being a converted wagon, its also what the folks on minimania have said. I havent found a ton of rust except for the floors and the rockers behind the rear wheels(it came with replacement sheet metal for the rockers.) Im not sure what I am doing with it at this point, I was leaning towards flipping it but I doubt I would do better than breaking even at this point. My girlfriend loves estate sales, antiquing, and selling her handmade crafts at market days/flea markets, I might build it into her hauler for that. Maybe get it going and toss a honda engine in it at some point down the road. Ill get better pics of the seats.

 

going on what I see in photos...looks like a very early van upto 1969ish as the roof panel is smooth not ridged as with later modles but looks like the load floor is the folding rear seat like the travelers....some vans did have this option......

 

In these pics the side panels look fabricated, not OEM or stamped.


A Honda D-series can make up to 130hp and is a fairly painless swap, lots of support out there for these conversions.


So, you'll do your own rust work then?

 

Yeah Ill do all the work short of painting it, and even then my friend owns a bodyshop so I might paint it and let him teach me. I am almost finished with the rust repair on the white 2002 in that last pic. I built the rocker panels from scratch on that thing.

 

The most well known Honda engine conversion company is just a few miles North of you in Royston - MiniTec


Superfastminis.com is their website.


Replacement panels are readily available for all Mini models.....see Dan at Restoration-Mini.com for lots of threads on rust repair on classic Minis, he also keeps some panels on hand and can get any you need - he's near Tulsa, OK.

 

Thanks for the help, I will have to look them up.

 

Yes its a converted mk1 traveller
this is what a van interior look like

http://www.little-classics.com/News/...i-Interior.jpg

 

I got a better pic of the seats, besides being a little dusty they are perfect. Untitled by mpower5266, on Flickr

 

Thats what I think too.

 

that's a mini30 seat very rare set......

 

Yes, better pic than I saw before.....all I could see clearly was the very top.....

 

The previous owner told me they were rare, maybe Ill build a car around them.

 

I have a rear seat back and squab covers of a Mini30 if your interested I could post them to you from the UK

 

subscribed

 

If you need some help with your traveler, please check here:

http://www.minimania.com/Search_Resu...aveler/default

I love the wood kit!

 

if you ever want to sell these seats they are the exact seats I need. I have the rear, but previous owner swapped them for racing seats like an idiot.