No idea why my last post didn't show up......hmmm

This is definately not a 79.

Early 90's Jap import

Looks like the cat converter has been removed which may make it tough to smog if needed

Nice looking MINI...love the interior

The 1.3i badge indicates a 1275 fuel injected....they just rounded up

KD, thanks for the reply and the tip.

I did have my email in my profile, but I didn't have it checked to be displayed in the forum settings.  I tried to update this, but it didn't work.  My email is [email protected]
I will continue to try and update my profile to show this, thanks!

As noted, I realize that the VIN is not formatted correctly.  Do you think this may be an issue for title/registration...As noted, the current title does state this number as the VIN.  To me it does not look like a motor swap, but a car that is listed incorrectly.  Again, this seems to be common with these cars for some reason, but not sure if it is "acceptable"

This is a re-vin. The serial number is not even close to what it should resemble. Please put your email in your profile so that you can be contacted directly.
It is definitely much later than a 1979. SPI did not exist in 1979.
Early 1990s....

Hi MiniMania!

My name is Dan, I am from MN, and this is my first post here.  I am hoping that this will lead me to several more and someday I may be able to contribute to helping someone just as I am looking for some guidance from Mini gurus today.  

I have negotiated a deal on my very 1st mini.  I have used this site to look at cars and to research the one that I have negotiated on, I am amazed at the quality of information that is found on this site.  That said, it seems that the minis are not always what they may appear or be listed as.  I have learned that many of the components from one Gen (Mark) can be fairly easily interchanged.  So, I am hoping that a few of you may be willing to take the time to look at the car on the following link and give me some insight. 

To answer your 1st question, yes I have seen the car in person.  I was in FL on a recent family trip visiting a few friends.  I actually had these guys go into this place and look at a VW Squareback a while back and they thought I would be interested in seeing what they had...one thing led to another and now it looks like I will be buying it (not for the listed price BTW).  If you are wondering, we did find a Squareback, which made me desire another small car - I also have a Buick Roadmaster Wagon that was going to be a project that will now be for sale (I love square cars/wagons)

So, what are my concerns. 
1:  This is really not a big deal, but I want to point out that from my research, there was not truly a Cooper in '79.  That said, most people, seem to think of all minis as Coopers.
2:  The VIN:  This car has clearly been re-VIN'd, with a Car No of 8030184 (see pic)  This clearly is not in line with the VIN system used and this is actually the VIN on the title.  This leads me to believe it really may not be a '79. 
3:  The dash is not correct for the '79 era either, but I believe that most classic minis can be easily "upgraded" to this newer dash.  Is this correct?
4:  The seats appear to be out of a newer mini than '79
5:  The engine appears to be a 1275 SPI.  The car also has the 1.3i badging.   I didn't think the SPI engines arrived until the late 80's or early 90's.  
https://www.justtoysclassiccars.com/vehicles/441/1979-austin-mini-cooper

The car is solid, clean and from what I have seen - and had my buddies go back and check it further - it is rust free.  It runs well, shifts well.  The only noted thing that my buddies saw when they were in is that there is one crack on the driver rear fender flare so that the screw no longer holds in that spot and the white paint on the back of the mirrors is chipped quite bad, unlike the rest of the car.  The mirrors, I would probably replace with the torpedo mirrors anyhow.  

The speedo is only KPH.  I know that there were some Japan built cars that have a slightly different spec.  I am hoping that some of you may be able to see something that would provide some insight to what this car really is.  Yes, it is a mini, but what year, what spec...?

Feel free to pick it apart and let me know what you see.  I am new to these cars as I mentioned.  I am excited to get the car, but really want to know what I am getting.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
-Dan