i am 16 years old and have saved up my money for a mini. i am looking for any classic mini in the $5000 range. is anybody willing to sell or know someone selling one in or around socal? I have been looking around for a while without much success so if anyone has or knows of someone who has a running mini for sale, or where to find one, could you please help me out...
Thanks!

 

ocminifan there is a shop in Costa Mesa just off 17th that works on new and older minis. Go check them out. Take 55 toward Newport Beach. Turn Right (north) on 17th you should just drive by it just past the trader joes if my memory still works. I forgot the name of the shop. Maybe someone here at NAMM can help. Also check out SCMM.org it is a local S. calif mini club with some classic minis in it. We have a large membership.

 

thanks for the help! i will try to get down there this weekend and check it out

 

Do you know about "cars and coffee" every sat morning in Irvine? There is always a bunch of us Minis there both MINI and Mini. Plus lots of Ferraris, lambos, gt40 etc. etc. Even seen a Bugati or two. It is right next to irvine spectrum at the Ford building. Do a little search for it on the web. Great for all car nutZ

 

http://www.cars-and-coffee.com/

 

yes i try to get down there as much as possible. i have been going for a few years since it was held at crystal cove. i am planning on going tomorrow and ill see if any of the mini guys have some advice for me.

 

Try members at
http://www.moala.org/

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

http://www.vancouverminiclub.ca/forsale/ads.html

talk to the staff at Mini Mania, 7 Enterprises and Heritage Garage

Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress....

 

there is an automatic for 3600 on www.minimania.com private sellers page.
btw: don't expect to find a gem with that budget.

 

thanks but i am not looking for an automatic and i know i am not going to get anything great for $5000 but i just want one that runs well and then i can keep saving and working on it. i am getting a summer job so i can begin restoring it but i want to start with something that is mechanically sound and runs good. so if anyone in the southern california area has a mini for sale wants help out a young guy by cutting him a deal i would really appreciate it! i will take good care of if i promise

 

THAT AUTOMATIC WOULD BE A START.
you can always change it to manual.

 

If all you have is 5k, I wouldn't be looking at a classic man. Your in for a world of trouble using a classic Mini in the process of restoration as a daily driver. But good luck.

 

Some advice, since you asked for it. Go look at the automatic. Buy the best BODY SHELL you can find for your price.

http://www.minimania.com/web/SCatago...3/ArticleV.cfm

The drivetrain is the easy part. You can swap for a manual later on. An auto lump runs okay (actually quicker off the lne). You can run it while you build the motor of your dreams. Look at the long term and don't fall for a rust bucket with a 1275 and some geegaws added on.

 

thanks everyone for all the advice. i will keep my eyes open for a good deal in the $5k range but i might just have to wait and save a couple more grand to get a better one. but in the mean time if anyone has one for $6k or $7k and wants to cut me a deal i could probably scrape together just under $6000 and i would pay cash if that helps any!