Buying My First Car And Its Gonna Be A Austin Mini

[Dinukap4]

Well I'm 18 and about to buy my First car and its gonna be a mini cooper as I loved this car since my small age anyhow I'm looking to buy a rusty cooper for few bucks and restoring it. So what Model should I be looking for ? And How easy are the spare parts to be found ? And How easy is the engine to medal with ? I hear its pretty simple to mend the engines on these ? Thanks in advance

[kelum_wj]

Whats your budget? a 1.3 EFI engine mated to a 5 speed gearbox would be fun to drive

[Supra_Natural]

Best piece of advice we can give you is... DON'T! That applies if you think this will be an easy task that can be done quickly and cheaply.

If you accept that it is going to be a hobby that will take up a lot of time and effort... then you should attempt a restoration.

Otherwise, buy a car that is in solid shape and is usable. Plenty to be found at any time. PM Forum member miniace for specifics.

[GMI]

If you're new to the subject do not even think of restoring one by yourself. you will end up losing lot of money with lot of frustration. It's worth buying a fully done up mini with genuine mni papers.

[miniace]

Yes I do agree with GMI's comments. Minis are never easy to restore especially when your budget is limited and a newbie. Enjoy a fully done up newer version Mini Minor (Mk4 and above). Scan weekend papers, there are plenty of good Minis for sale.

MINIACE

[Dinukap4]

Hell no I'm gonna buy a mini that has a decent engine on it but I don't really give a damn about the other stuff I Love doing stuff like this and yes I would Love the vehicle so I will obviously make it my hobby to slowly make it a great little car I just need to know what I should be looking for

[miniace]

Whats your budget? a 1.3 EFI engine mated to a 5 speed gearbox would be fun to drive

5 speed gearbox ????

MINIACE

[miniace]

Hell no I'm gonna buy a mini that has a decent engine on it but I don't really give a damn about the other stuff I Love doing stuff like this and yes I would Love the vehicle so I will obviously make it my hobby to slowly make it a great little car I just need to know what I should be looking for

Nowadays its never easy to find older version Minis to restore. My friendly advice is to go for a decent running Mini and keep on doing the weekend DIY to upgrade or continue pulse. If you own an average Mini, surely she will keep you busy during weekends doing the routine maintenance. Minis need loads of TLC. Thats more interesting than painful and almost impossible restorations.

MINIACE

[Dinukap4]

There only 4 Speed as far as I know

[Dinukap4]

Nowadays its never easy to find older version Minis to restore. My friendly advice is to go for a decent running Mini and keep on doing the weekend DIY to upgrade or continue pulse. If you own an average Mini, surely she will keep you busy during weekends doing the routine maintenance. Minis need loads of TLC. Thats more interesting than painful and almost impossible restorations.

MINIACE

Well mate i didnt get half what you said mate sorry for my noobiness.

[Watchman]

Well mate i didnt get half what you said mate sorry for my noobiness.

If I were to paraphrase, the man's saying that maintaining a mini is a hard thing to do, let alone restoring one.

And frankly, what do you mean you'll do it 'slowly'.. a couple of weeks? Months? To most restoration fanatics a 'slow' restoration would be a number of years, if not even over a decade. When you turn 18 and get your license sitting in a garage watching a welder or watching paint dry is not something you wanna do. You wanna get behind a wheel and drive. So you're better off getting a simple solid car;and trust me you'll love it just as much. That's why you hear countless stories of AL members loving to bits even some cars that'd never come on the cover of the H!t-ads let alone the pages of history.

Mini's have been around for a long time, and I'm sure there's be one waiting for you couple of years down the line when you have more grease under your fingernails.

[miniace]

in simple...as Watchman mentioned, you will enjoy good weekends doing routine running maintenance of an average car than getting busy with restorations.

MINIACE