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May 18, 2019 21:27:26 GMT
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Whilst looking at various pics of minis ive come across some of the concepts. I'll be honest, its a damn good job BMW got their hand on the mini because this was one of Rover's intentions. Authough wheels and lows might help. A bit. Getting there Somebody, somewhere, needs a good hard slap for not building this.
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May 19, 2019 10:32:58 GMT
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Whilst looking at various pics of minis ive come across some of the concepts. I'll be honest, its a damn good job BMW got their hand on the mini because this was one of Rover's intentions. Authough wheels and lows might help. A bit. Indeed. Looks like a Smart car or Daewoo Matiz.
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May 19, 2019 10:45:47 GMT
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Interesting side note - the Daewoo Matiz was a discarded Giugiaro concept study for the FIAT 500
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May 19, 2019 11:37:36 GMT
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I would have thought someone would have done fibreglass front ends for these, ie clubman front or alternative looks similar to the mx5 offerings.
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adi
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,426
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May 19, 2019 19:27:51 GMT
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Having recently bought a nice facelift R53, here's my 2 pence...
If you're a hater like I was and haven't driven one, I strongly suggest you do. I promise you WILL change you're opinion if you keep an open mind and FORGET about the classic mini.
The handling is incredible, especially with factory lsd and good tyres (not runflats).
If you need practicality, forget it. These are massively style over function. Storage is ridiculous, the back seats useless, and even I hate the centre speedo, but you can have the speed displayed on the rev counter.
You'd think with a clamshell they'd be easy to work on. Wrong.
Face lifts pop and bang for fun. Brings out the inner child.
The seats aren't very supportive, my only saving grace is mine has heated leathers.
They're actually faster than you'd expect, but not that fast. But that's not the point of them. On a back road it induces a huge amount of fun.
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May 19, 2019 19:42:55 GMT
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Interesting side note - the Daewoo Matiz was a discarded Giugiaro concept study for the FIAT 500 I got learned here. Thanks.
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May 19, 2019 20:26:31 GMT
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Actually, I think that MINI prototype resembles an Aston Martin Cygnet, which is, of course, based on the Toyota IQ.
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brachunky
Scotland
Posts: 1,314
Club RR Member Number: 72
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May 19, 2019 21:49:03 GMT
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I had a 2010 1.6 diesel (don't laugh!) as a company car which in itself was amusing to colleagues at work as to why I chose a hairdressers car. The facts though were different! 95000 miles of brilliant problem free driving and used to thrash the thing on the b roads. Yes, only a 110bhp diesel but an absolute hoot. Would I have another? YES!!
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pobsey
Part of things
Posts: 25
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I’ve owned my r53 from new, getting on for 16years, it stayed stock for about 12months then the modding bug bit, I’m currently on my 4th set of suspension and 3rd set of seats🤣 At the time I was looking at a be lupo GTI, but it just didn’t push the buttons, where as the mini sounded fun with the supercharger whine and handled well straight out of the box, hit it with the lowering stick and there’s very little that would keep up in the twisties!
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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This thread is relevant to my interests! And thanks Grizz for the link to my build thread. I used to be a classic mini guy, I had about 10 over a few years and it's through Minis I met the long suffering Mrs Horney and many of my now best friends. My MINI journey started 2 years ago tomorrow when I bought this as a daily: IMG_7395 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr IMG_7381 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr IMG_7378 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr It ticked all the boxes. Frugal, enough room for the rents in the back, quirky and an absolute hoot on a B road. It's surprisingly nippy for a 1.6 Derv as well. This car opened my eyes to what I had been missing and I then bought an R50 cheap on eBay to use for Autosolos. Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr It was a cool little thing and drove brilliantly, but it was just too slow for me. By now the bug had bitten, and hard. I could go on, but my build thread of the Cooper S I then bought is above so go read that. I'll just post my fave pic of it and my fave video of it. IMG_1094 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I was a BINI doubter back in the day and as someone involved in the running of a Classic Mini forum I found BMWs approach in those early days as deplorable but I'm older and wiser now and I can understand why they did what they did. The hate is still very strong in parts of the classic scene which I find a shame as the BMW platform cars are the ones keeping the shows going with their attendance. Anyway, I've waffled on for long enough.
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May 23, 2019 11:07:59 GMT
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Saw a 110k miles Cooper S in Auto guise for £600.00 with MOT to March on FB today.
😍For sale😍 or swap Mini Cooper S John Cooper works 110k on the clock Good engine Clean inside Nice alloys Nippy car Cheap to insure Good on petrol Has 11 months mot
Bad bits Has a small radiator leak so does need topping up every so often. Has some paint damage
600ONO OPEN TO SWAPS! Read less
Looked interesting.
And affordable.
AJ51GYA license number
But taking a look at the MOT history and description it seems to have the hallmarks of “Gonna hurt soon” In the description it says radiator leak managed with topping up and paint damage etc...... seems radiator is a weak spot on them and not the easiest part to replace (I could be misinformed)
So yes, I have started to look for a cheap Mk1 New Mini.
If I find something worth having, it would be nice.
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Last Edit: May 23, 2019 11:15:11 GMT by grizz
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pobsey
Part of things
Posts: 25
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May 23, 2019 18:16:04 GMT
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The rad isn’t too difficult to swap, 1/2 - 3/4hr max
Once the bumper and crash beam behind are off you are there, hardest bit is bleeding the coolant system.
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pobsey
Part of things
Posts: 25
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May 23, 2019 18:17:21 GMT
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If it is a JCW then it’s 200bhp or if it has the air box and blue injectors it’s 210bhp
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adi
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,426
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I'm led to believe raising the rear of the car helps with bleeding?
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OGDB
Part of things
Posts: 544
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. seems radiator is a weak spot on them and not the easiest part to replace (I could be misinformed) You have been lied to Grizz! I hate to say. My better half’s mini kept suffering with water loss issues last year, it was hard to trace due to dripping into the under and traveling. However it was finally pinned down to a leaky rad. A new rad, water pump and thermostat housing (which can also leak and is a pig to diagnose) was ordered from a general motor factors and received same day, which is always nice. One evening after work and the whole lot was replaced. I even replaced the serpentine belt at the same time as it has to come off to get to the pump. Don’t get me wrong. the whole front end has to be removed but I managed it in about 2 or 3 hours. It’s not that bad. I’m local to you Grizz, happy to help or even just replace the rad if you get it. Is also be more than happy to help look at any potential vehicles with you if that helped. Ideally if you are getting one you want the later facelift model. LSD box, Teflon Coated charger among other things and they don’t seem to suffer so many faults as the earlier ones.
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Last Edit: May 26, 2019 8:51:43 GMT by OGDB
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Sammo
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,461
Club RR Member Number: 103
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May 26, 2019 11:31:36 GMT
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I bought this R50 Mini One D about three years ago for £150. It was my friends mother in laws driving school car. She’d owned it from new and ran it round to 175,000 miles before it got parked up on her farm and left. I had to strip the whole thing and replace most of the bushes, the steering rack, power steering pump and the majority of the engine loom which had been chewed by a rodent. It’s only 75bhp but it’s still great fun to drive. I gave the car to my Mum when her Golf died and she uses it every day. It’s got about 189,000 on it now and still going strong, although the DMF is starting to rattle, one of the rear top mounts is banging away over bumps and the heater blower only works when it wants to. She’s probably going to look at getting something newer at the end of this year and I don’t really know what to do with the Mini. Realistically it’s worthless now but I would love to get it to 200,000 miles haha.
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Follow Me On Instagram - @parttimecartinkerer
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Jul 24, 2019 20:21:10 GMT
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Rust issues?
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Jul 27, 2019 22:07:43 GMT
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It's unusual to see rust like that, even on the very earliest ones - at least the several I've seen in my local area. Maybe that example had been knocked (judging by the section of bumper below it), and/or badly repaired?
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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It's a water trap there, I've had my 2002 car repaired and painted in that area.
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