Ah it feels so good to be back in here. Well, today I went and looked at a 1971 Cooper S. Here are the specs:

Obviously a 1971
998CC A+ engine (fresh tune-up)
8.4" Disc Brakes
4 speed manual tranny
18,000 miles
Single SU carb with manual choke
heated rear window

Here are the pictures.


























So....What do you think? It ran fine, although we didn't leave the neighborhood. The hood sounded a little rusty opening and closing. So did the doors. It's a little rough, but I see it's potential. Now to tthe nitty gritty...

He's asking $4000. He said he'd take $3000 though Thoughts?

P.S. And no, this isn't the "Free Mini" from Florida

 

Needs some TLC (as you said).

Looks like more than a few mods, minor stuff, but makes me wonder what else might have been done to it (how was the electrical for the driving lights?).

$3k doesn't sound like a bad deal, but I would think it needs some metal repairs (not cosmetic, for structure) on the door joint. The dent on the rear driverside quarter panel looks like it could be a little more intense or mild than what the picture is showing -meaning: if it was structural, might be a major pain in the butt.

I want to love it, but for me, I'd panic over the repair list. On the other hand, if you are in the market for a restore or a vtec...it might be a damn good deal.

 

Looks like major rust. Hopefully you have restored cars before? Have your own welding equipment?

 

how are your body work skills and tool set? you've got some significant issues here. a couple of the areas you have pictures are FAR from simply cropping out some metal .... that door jam one for example. and it looks like you didn't pull the carpets to look at the floor pans (or they are all solid which is unlikely). if you need to pay to have this work done you'll quickly be doubling your investment.

according to "Mini Cooper and S" by Walton the 998 Cooper stopped production in November 1969 and after that only the 1275 Cooper S was produced in the UK; with the 1275 S ceasing production in July 1971. Other builds of course may differ (Innoc' for one) and this reference only covers UK builds in detail. you might want to research the true model if it matters to you.

IMO a drivable Mini should cost $6000 and up so your $3000 - $4000 is not unreasonable if you accept that $3000 may be needed to make the car just that...reasonably drivable.

Unless looking for a MAJOR project car, I'd keep looking.

 

That's a rough looking Mini...

 

THATS not a 1971 Cooper S as its not got a center speedo binacle, and it should have a 1275cc engine with 11 studs on head like pic............



looks moor like a 1980s + mini...........................

I would steer clear of this as your being duped into buying this..............Go to a liberary and look at John Parnels book Orignal Mini cooper & S

this is the Mini Cooper Bible...............

 

I had a feeling it wasn't all up to spec... Just quoting from the ad. I have no welding skills, BTW... My uncle on the other hand does, and has his own personal shop with lift, so I'm sure we'd have plenty of room to restore... How about a brand new shell? Would it be worth it? What do those usually run?

Oh, I guess I should be asking what would you be willing to pay for it?

 

HA HA! Yeah! Ummm... different trailer park! What's up with trailer parks and Classic Minis? BTW- did you know that she sold the fab 328i to get a PT Cruiser?

I have that book... 'er... "Bible" but no Classic yet. Looks like a pretty good project. Is it close to where you are... out in the corn fields? Does he have any history on it? Hope the Classic pros can give you some good info Skillet. Keepin' the dream alive! Good luck!

 

RUN AWAY!

You aren't serious are you?

Is this just another thread to put us all on?


That Mini is worth about $1,500-$2,000 for parts. It is a rusted POS. If you think about buying such a car, you need to stop, evaluate your skills, add up how much money you have, and how much time. You would easily put the same amount (or more) in it as asking price to get a somewhat decent car when you're done -MAYBE .

If you are a serious buyer you need to spend more time looking and learning about Minis. If you're just a troll, you need to go away.

 

With the rust that shows on the car and the work your are going to have to put into it I would say that even $3k is a little much. The door is in bad shape. It looks like your will need to replace the whole A Panel area. That rusted out spot just before the rear wheel is a good sign that you have considerable floor panel rust. Your going to be looking at at least $10k worth of body work to get this baby back on the road.

Oh and it's certainly not a Cooper S. It would have a right and left Gas tank if it was. That is a great Book to have on hand BTW. even if you don't have a Classic yet.

 

Not all Cooper S had twin tanks, mine didn't and it was an original 62 that I bought in 68........

I agree with the concensus that this car will need a reshell at the least.......

 

The fender marker lights and the a+ engine if they are orig. make it a mid to late 80's.

All said and done you are paying 10k for this terd. I suggest you save your money up and and your time for that matter and buy an already finished one. A new body really isn't economical just because it doesn't come with doors, etc. You can already see the hood is junk and I bet the doors are a mess too.

I'd pay $1000 for the engine, title and the odd bits and have them scrap the rest.

 

Run away!

 

It is being eaten alive by rust. Run Away! And it's certainly not a '71. Waaayy too much metal work would be needed to bring it back to resonable shape.

 

Hey Skillet.....

I would move on from this Mini. There is a ton of metal work on this car. One of the things I struggled with when I bought mine was how to much to spend and how much work would be involved. I decided to spend more $ and look for a decent shell and reasonable mechanicals thinking I could get help with bodywork and painting and do the rest myself.

I paid high $5's for mine. It was imported from England with lots of pictures and detailed repair/service/MOT information. That being said - I understand why many classic owners say there is no such thing as a rust free Mini. I took my car down to the shell and had it media blasted. I found more than I expected. However, 2 doorskins, 2 outer sills, 1 inner sill, 2 A-panels later and I have a car that I know is clean. There was still a lot of work straighening out the bodypanels, taking a dent out of the boot lid and fixing up the bonnet -- about four to five times with slick sand primer and sanding it out.

Here is a link to an advertised "rust-free" '79 RHD after media blasting....

http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/q...asted%20Shell/

Here are some pictures of the original car and the bodywork and rebuilding in progress...

http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/q...ld%20progress/

Here is the car coming home....

http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/q...20Paint%20Job/

Good luck with your search.....

 

Troll....? TROLL...? Are you kidding me? Rethink that statement before you open your mouth. I came in here with a legitimate question! You try and find a Mini in Indiana. There's probably only a handful of them, let alone for sale... This is only the second one I've seen in person. The only one I've actually touched/sat in... What I know isn't much, so I was purely asking your opinions. You could've just stopped at "RUN AWAY!"

Now as for the "Is this just another thread to put us all on?" comment. No it's not. Yes, I was a fool for believing that there was potentially a free mini that some nut job was giving away. But you know what? I wasn't the only one who responded to her...

To all the others, thanks for your inputs. I value them enough to walk away from the Mini, and look for something else. From the ad, it looked like a decent car, but once up close, I saw what was in the pictures. I've seen others for sale that look to be in worse shape still selling for $3-4K, and thought this might not be a bad deal.

MINIOLA, as for the history, the kid is being shipped out over seas for a second time, and wants to sell it. He found it on ebay last year while he was over in Iraq, and his dad drove to Michigan to pick it up. Supposedly, the guy had two of them. The other did have the Cooper S motor, but was having engine issues. From the gentleman in Michigan, he imported it from England, and updated a few parts to make it more "up-to-date." That's all he knew and could tell me.

Again, thanks for all your inputs.

 

Troll... . Oh Minimad... that was funny! Apple was the Troll. BTW- If I remember correctly, I think you might have applied for that Free Mini with the rest of us. I offered PJ's but you had a trailer!

Skillet- I know I've seen those seats somewhere before but can't find it in my books. I was thinking this was at least a late '80s model... although looking at what you just said about the history of the car... I imagine that probably the seats and the dash were included in the "updated parts" . I wonder if this car would come up on a search on EBay? Wonder what the guy paid for it? Wonder if it had the "Alabama Title"? Anyway, it's hard to find Classics. I often see them for sale from some guy in Ontario/Niagara Falls area on EBay. I've wondered about those. That seller's descriptions are always really long and every car he has is always (in his words) the best Mini you'll find.

I'd read somewhere that one of the biggest mistakes that buyers make is that they spend a good amount of money to buy a "daily driver" car and end up having to spend WAY more money than they would have if they'd just bought a POS and rebuild. Personally, I'd feel better about buying one that's been stripped to bare metal... even if it's rusty... at least you could see what you're getting.

There's another book that I have (in addition to the one mentioned): "Complete Classic Mini 1959-2000"- written by Chris Rees. It has quite a bit of good info too.

Minimad- Do you fix Mini's for people?

 

No offense to any of you and I personally don't care but I hope you figured out by now that a few of classic mini talk regulars are irritated with the whole free classic mini thread. I doubt any of minimad's comments were directed towards any person, just a general frustration/irritation. They probably should have moved that thread to off topic or something. Everyone calm down.

 

The only thing connecting this thread and that one is me, but I didn't type anything about a free mini now did I? I'm sorry that thread has caused such a stir, but those who are left didn't create it, and don't have the power to move it. If you want it moved, put in a request. I don't care. All I was interested in was wanting to know what the "experienced" had to say about this non-free mini.

 

Skillet,

I posted on the "free Mini" thread for quite a long time until it was clear that the "seller" -- and I use that word loosely -- had a lot of issues. I, for one, am glad to see that you are searching for a classic. I owned an '02 MC and an '05 MCS, but always wanted a classic. I picked mine up in GA and brought it back to Ohio (at that time). It was been stored for a couple of years and "thanks to my wonderful wife's love and patience", I have a rebuild budget that will result in a fun driver. I have learned more through the process of working on this car than I could ever have imagined. It will be a big day when I drive a car that I rebuilt

The "free mini" thread is still going on and it doesn't bother me at all that its on this particular forum. People are having fun, some friendships have come out of it, and that's cool........

PM any time you want. I enjoyed getting to know a little bit about a lot of people because of what happened.

Keep looking - the worse thing you can do is jump into something out of haste or heart without using the old "noggin"!

Good luck with the search

 

Like I said I don't care either. I don't feel anyone owes anyone an apology. I'm just saying don't take it too personally cause theres still some negative sentiment floating around about it. Just trying to keep the peace here cause everytime someone gets ticked off here there seems to be a lull in the posts for a few weeks.

 

Some major stress points are def stressed....

Have an experienced body man take a look at first and get some idea of how involved and how much it will be to make it road worthy.

Chrome looks great - I like it !

 

Stratman the one thing these Forums have in common is people...people who L<3VE MINIs/Mini's!! People gathered to discuss a particular issue have the right to their opinion, you think the Free Classic Mini Thread has gone on long enough "we get that!!", you believe that Skillet has once again opened a 'can of worms' "We get it". As for the "regulars" who believe that the Free Classic Mini Thread has lived beyond it's years...why haven't they spoken up?? Those still posting to the Free Classic Mini Thread have bonded and become Friends...over a Little Car (New or Old) that WE ALL LOVE!! What's so wrong about that??!!

 

Skillet, did you somehow miss that part?

You (like me) are an anonymous voice on the web. I have no idea if you are for real or not. I have seen many put-ons on various boards I read. I have also seen many novices hurry a purchase only later to come back with horrendous tales of woe.

I don't mean to be flippant or condescending. I am afraid that you may be a candidate to end up with a bad Mini experience. No one here wants to see that happen.

I am happy to share my limited knowledge with anyone. I and many other Mini owners have posted enough information, links, photos, directions and leads for any novice to seriously educate themselves on what to look for on a Mini. Its just when something is posted like the car you refer to above, I simply am in disbelief. It is so obviously not what it is claimed to be. Likewise it is obviously a seriously rusted POS. It demonstrates that 1. you need to further educate yourself before buying ANY mini, 2. you may have an insufficient budget for a classic Mini, 3) your exhuberance to purchase a Mini is blinding you to the reality of the car. I would hate for you to as a novice to get saddled with something that will absolutely frustrate and bankrupt you. Are there no Mini owners near you that you could visit and learn from? No clubs?

It doesn't matter that there are no Minis for sale conveniently local to you. That's the case for most of us. I have bought and sold Minis all over the USA and imported several from the UK. You do what you have do to get the best Mini value you can. It suggests that if you can't afford to travel to get one, then you may likely not have the resources to own/maintain one? You appear not to be a bodyperson/mechanic? How will you restore/maintain it? Do you have a garage, tools, etc that will be required to do so? That is another investment you must consider. Are you mechanically inclined? Otherwise, do you have the resources to pay someone to do it for you? Is there a British car mechanic close enough who can skillfully work on a Mini?

You've been given great advice from this group. Please heed it. First and foremost, BUY THE BEST BODYSHELL YOU CAN FIND! The mechanics are secondary. You can always find a running motor unit about if need be.
Second Mini buying rule: CAVEAT EMPTOR Be sure to do due diligence. If you don't know enough to evaluate a Mini, get someone who is qualified to accompany you. Third rule: PATIENCE Eventually the right Mini will show up at the right price. Don't rush into a purchase because you gotta have one. Fourth rule: Even a really nice Mini will need some repairs. Allow enough in your budget for this as well as the shiny bits you will want to add on later. Don't bury yourself in the purchase.

on this particular Mini:

RUN AWAY< FAST
---------------------------------------
Miniola, you are correct, yes, I would avail myself of a free Mini. (that's a no-brainer) While I've not seen one for free yet, that possibility may exist. I have seen some stellar acquisitions of rarer Coopers & S's....

You can't afford me... No, I don't. I have enough to do on my own two. Maybe when I "retire" from my day job? In a past life, I turned many a wrench on foreign cars. Minis & MG's are my passion.

 

Skillet, are you aware of the 50th Meet in Mn? If you can, go there. You'll meet lot's of Mini owners, see tons of cars. There also will be cars for sale.

http://www.minimeet09.org/