Hello everyone, I have always been wondering. I purchased my 1984 mini from the U.K. on e-bay in 2009. It has drum brakes on the front and also it has the center binicle in the middle of the dash. My question is that from 1984 and onwards all mini's had disc brakes on the front. Now the only thing that I can think of is maybe someone switched it and took off the disc and put on the drums, but why would you do that. Most minis from that year, did not have the speedo in the middle of the dash most of them were over the steering wheel. But someone did tell me to look at the latch on the boot, and it will be stamped the year of it, but anyone can change that piece, and put on a diff year. How would I be able to find out truly what year it is. CHEERS.

 

I agree with you that it sounds older than an '84. You can also look for a date stamp on the wiper motor (I think this is less likely to have been swapped out.) Pictures will go a long way. Also, have you been able to determine what engine you have? While it would not be shocking to have an engine swap at some point, it could also provide a clue.

 

what did the boot latch stamp say?

Just as you say "why" to removing disk brakes, why change the boot latch for the date when simple re-vin is so easy?

The car came from the UK? Did you get any UK documentation like MOT inspection stuff?

You can sometimes find a 1 year variation in UK documents - the MOT form (from 90's anyway) asks when the car was first put into service rather than when it was built. My car's MOT documents say 1980, while the build stamps show a 1979 ... UK documents I rec'd with the car like repair invoices (incl some to fix MOT failures) vary with some saying it is an 80, and others 79....

 

Hi..your concern about your mini with drum breaks on the front..............all mini had drum breaks on the front till 1989 unless you had a mk1 mk2 mk3 mini cooper or cooper S 61-73 had 7" and 7.5" disc set up with 10" wheels, 1989 onwards all mini's had 8.5" with 12" and 13" wheels.......

 

Hello, thanks for the reply's. The engine is a 998 cc A+ that came in the mini. As for the wiper motor I have heard that before, but I have not been able to find where it is stamped. As for the boot latch it says 1984. Also there was not any MOT stuff. The mini came with a ownership & a bill of sale, and of course all of the shipping info. As for the disc brakes anything that I have read or heard about says all minis from 1984 on had disc on them. Also what year did they switch the center binicle to the ones over the steering wheel. All & All I still like the mini better with the way it is. The disc would have been nice though. Any time that I go to cruise nights or car shows people who have had minis say that it is older than an 1984 they all say it is a 1970's mini. While I am on here. I am in the process of stripping down a 1275 A motor to get it magna fluxed to see if it has any cracks in the block or the head, before I buy any new parts to start the rebuild. Does any one know if this will bolt up to my existing transmission & clutch etc without any issues. People here tell me that it will without any issues, I just want to make sure. Cheers.

 

after 8 years of car shows with my Mini

I find most car show walk up experts are anything but . . .

Listening to them helped me mis-identify my block and dizzy and thereby add several months to my ignition re-fresh . . .

I violated a rule of command at sea: trust but VERIFY

don't forget that folks in the UK modify cars too . . . refitting a newer Mini to a centre pod is not uncommon. Mine has that and a MK1 front end, and a MK1 boot lid (with plate hanger), and MK1 tail lights . . . . all done 'over there'

 

And a center binnacle is a relatively easy modifications so I would be surprised if it was converted, as well.

 

yes your correct as from April 1984 8.4" disc set up became std.......

 

If the boot latch it says 19 84 it means it was made 19th week of 84 which would be first week of May. Although April of 84 is when Mini announced the conversion to standard 8.4 disc brakes, it always starts with the top end model and works its way to the bottom. Old stock will be used up on the lower end models during the process.Since you have a 998, which was the base model, it's very likely that the drums are stock. Also the center Speedo was still an option for a baseline model with no frills.

BTW here's the location on the wiper motor to find the date.