Your pictures show the sides of the car, not the underneath side.  Take a look under the car at the sills and reference the two pictures below.

The first picture shows oversills.  Note the raised squares/rectangles.  You'll see they are "closed" and that the sheet metal they are on extends pretty far under the car.


The second picture shows regular sills (car is on its side).  Note the panel does not extend as far under the car and that those raised square/rectangles are "open" on the bottom edge.  Oversills can trap additional water and make a rusty situation worse.  

I'll look closer.

engine compartment and boot were painted as well.
boot's very clean. Engine compartment not as much since it has some surface rust but not too bad i think.

will look carefully though.

thanks

So just sloppy overspray onto the rear subbie bits...either the sills were done separately or the Mini was painted sloppily.  Look carefully for other bits of overspray.  If the whole Mini was painted there should be some overspray elsewhere, engine compartment & boot may not have been painted.

I actually did when i first looked at it.
it's clean. The owner already addressed the surface rust that developed. I will check it again when i come over.

so the sills are bad?


thanks

Did you lift the carpets? I don't like the sills.

Looks good to me.

Have you taken out the rear pocket liners (they just lift out) to have a look at the normally hidden bit of the sills from the inside ...

Cheers, Ian

Here are photos of the sill.

https://postimg.org/gallery/j2cewk58/

Does not seem to be oversill. I could use some opinions please.
this was from the seller, but when i looked at it personally, was pretty solid.

thanks. Closing this deal soon, hopefully

Took a drive to Belmont yesterday and looked at that one. Very nice car but out of my budget.
i think the MK ii i'll get for $12.5.

Check the sills of this car for rust and make sure they are not oversills.

It looks like you're out of Nor. Cal area and I believe I found the 2 cars on CL that you're looking at.  I'd probably steer clear of the re-vin/MkIV for numerous reasons.  

The '69 has been on CL for a while now so there might be some give in the price. 

The '68 listed out of Belmont is owned by a MOASF member and you can probably dig up some more info via the groups Facebook.  

My choice in current CL listings that might be worth checking out would be the '72 Mini Leyland out of Berkeley listed as $8,000.00 but I'm partial to the Mkiii's having one myself and the price range is better suited for my personal budget and seems within yours too, I think you said $12K.  There is a good possibility it is registered in CA as a tried and true '72 and not a re-vin. 

Good Luck with your search, be patient, don't jump at anything too quickly and if it doesn't feel right another Mini will come along. 

It sounds like you are describing the fairly common tendency for the door to stick out past the rear quarter panel.  That is not necessarily indicative of problems and it is not the sill area I was referring to.  Google about Mini sills and oversills.  These are the panels underneath the car along the outer edges of the floor pan.  They run from the back of the front wheel arch to the front of the rear arch.  Oversills are a cheap fix that often makes problems worse rather than fix them the first time.  Sills are a part of the car that tends to rust out and they need to be intact.  Check the sills of this car for rust and make sure they are not oversills.

the body is solid, i inspected closely and saw no dents. felt around the bottom of the body and there were minimal surface rust (garaged and car cover helped, i guess). the owner even showed me the surface rust he cleaned out on the footwells. hinges were clean. i have to check that bottom companion box. i think it was covered if i could remember. the sill don't quite line up perfectly though on the bottom of both doors, not sure if the weather stripping is in the way or what. but seems like all the minis I've seen were similar. it's not really bad, probably off (sticking out about 1/8" at the most). the sliding windows were a little sticky but that's easy. passenger side ball joint needs replacing per the owner (he has the parts). seemed to be pretty solid mk ii.

and $12k is my max on this. the 3rd gear was a little touchy for me, i have to go pretty far right to get it in gear. not sure why. i probably could go ask 7ent.


thanks for the inputs

Here's a really nice, mostly stock 998 for sale with low miles, great provenance, and in excellent condition...

//www.minimania.com/cars4sale/14657/1978_Leyland_1000_Sedan_998cc

" I drove the mk ii yesterday and it could definitely use some newer shocks."

A Mk II would not have been made with shocks. The suspension was hydrolastic. Front shocks may have been added or the hydrolastic could have been replaced. Another thing to consider.

illfat3d..  you have to think the.  1380 cc cost at least $5k as did the 5 speed.. ( I have NEVER driven mini with  5 speed..  the jack knights were bad to break and high whine....STUPIC money for both in my black book..  th owner is just trying to get back the $10k PLUS he spent..  stick with the  $12k offer..  this is ALL I would offer. on it.. maybe Mini Mover.. aka big al guest will chime in..  as he is also a Lic dealer.and has owner minis with 1380ccc and 5 Speeds..  fyi.. might check out minis  ( austin or morris) in the uk on www.carandclassic.co.uk and then one of us Lic dealer can help you import.. later bc Monte Carlo Minis LTD.. earl nc..

yeah. i'll probably check it out just to see how a 5sp performs. any first hand experience on these things?

i made an offer to the mk ii for $12k. see how it goes. i honestly think it's still pretty high

i would also like to be able to drive the car on a long trip close to 2000 miles round trip. so having good parts by spending the least would be ideal.

Listen carefully to the warnings offered above about "re-VIN" cars and registering the car in CA.  You have learned enough to recognize there is something fishy with the car registered as an early car but clearly being a later car.  Buying and registering that car in CA... even if it is registered in CA now... is risky.  Personally, I would not consider it.

You don't need the 5 speed for around town.

The Mk2 car appears to be what it says it is... a 998 with a 1275 transplant.  Is it worth less because it is a transplant?  No, not really.  I don't know what the current trend is for pricing of a Mk2 non-S with a 1275.  Maybe $18k is OK but it sounds a little bit high for me unless the body is very solid.  Check the sills, footwells, and the bottoms inside the rear companion boxes for rust.  Look carefully at the A-panels where the front portion of the door hinges attaches.  Thru hole and blistering rust in any of these places is cause for concern but not dread.

As Bill (werewolf) said, test drive the Mini before you commit.  As for the ride, all Minis are going to be bouncier than you may be used to.  

I would stay away from the re-vin.  The other car sounds good may be a bit high in price.  It all comes down to condition.  If you can get the car inspected that would really help.

I'm in California. I drove the mk ii yesterday and it could definitely use some newer shocks. there's hardly any rust on the car (always been garaged and has provenance). external hinge and sliding doors. from the seller, it was a 998 that was restored to an S. 7ent engine/trans. asking of $18k. the mk vi (asking $18k), I'm hesitant and has not seen it in person yet. it's registered as a 68' but looks like an mk vi, though I'm not an expert. no external hinge/sliding windows. it was a local build by a shop. the 5 speed sounds good and expensive. I've looked it up as I've never heard/drove one, but these transmissions are very expensive. both cars are currently registered.

im only planning on cruising around town but would be nice to know that the car will handle well on the freeway. I personally have not drove one in the freeway yet.

knowing that this mk ii is a conversion, does that make it less desirable/valuable? all original is always good but im not a purist.
on the other hand, a dodgy re-vin is definitely a turn off to me.

thanks

some photos would be nice.. and price.. and btw.  go look and drive it in person.. do NOT buy sight unseen.. check US title against the vin plate..  btw. where are you?? this makes lots of difference in getting registered and tagged  later bc