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 Posted: Sep 25, 2021 03:12AM
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Thanks Tony, I had forgotten the year of the donor car. 1980 it is.
That looks like a very fun project to me. Building up a new Moke from a British Motor Industry Co body shells is the best way to go because you know you essentially have a new Moke once you finish. I rented a 10 inch wheel Moke for 2 days back in the mid to late 1990's it it was the funnest time I've spent behind the while. Period  :-)

Cheers !
Decision time is very close now on Tony's saloon.

 Posted: Sep 24, 2021 04:24PM
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Darren, Hilda is a 1980 not 1973

90% of being smart is knowing what you are dumb at. 

 Posted: Sep 22, 2021 05:59PM
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You asked about on-going projects. This is mine. Starting with a new shell.

"How can anything bigger be mini?"

 Posted: Sep 22, 2021 04:49PM
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Hello gents ! Thanks for cheering me on in my quest to find MY MINI ! Yes Dan, I like your notion of getting myself a NICE present for my 598th birthday. I'm going to do it ! I've wanted a GOOD classic mini since I was 15 years young. I've had two ( just a quick recap ) , a 69' mk2 that was my very rusty first car and first car love. Simply not a realistic proposition to restore it at that time in my life. But the pace was set, and good, or even decent classic mini became my number one automotive obsession.  This obsession thankfully has not dulled over the years. My second mini was the mid 80's LHD JDM mini, that helped me find this site and you great friends. But without going into detail, my family ( as with most I think ) is at least a bit dysfunctional, and basically one of my brothers scr*we'd me out of that nice mini. It DID need a bit of work, but as was mentioned, this isn't unusual and really wasn't very much. But these things happen, and mini number two slipped out of my hands. I saw it for sale in KIJIJI Nova Sctia just a few weeks ago for 18 K $. We win some and we loose some. This very nice silver JDM was a loss.Not a spec of rust, factory paint etc. Oh well.
Now on to the mini I went to St John N B to look at/buy last week. It was better than decent...but not worth the 24 large $ that the seller wanted. And would not budge from. So that was a nice holiday after this damned Covid19 stuff ( but that appears to be on the damned rise again ) , but that was all.
Thanks for the information Willie. Also hi to everyone.  Special Hi to you Big Al, it was great to receive your hello message ! 

So the hunt for mybirthday present has shifted gears. There is a distinct possibility that some of you may even know of the mini. It is registered as a 1973 if I rember correctly, but was reshelled with a BMC Heritage Shell a few...err 14 years ago. The owner is Tony Peter called. Actually Big Al, I have a photo of you and Tony at a car show ! Very cool stuff ! Tony's mini has me on the very verge of purchase, as it has soooo much going for it, and nothing going against it. I have large omount of pictures of Tony's car and his build. Very nice...in fact he came first in this show and you Big Al came second. I don't know where the show took place or when, but Tony lives in St Catherine's Ontario. The mini is painted a very nice light blue with a white roof ( and blue fender extensions ). It has a 1293 swiftune built engine and trans with a sw5 camshaft and 1.5 to 1 roller rockers etc. Only a few more than 5,000 miles on it. The chassis is perfect too imo. Blue coil springs and adjustable trumpets, perfect paint, subframes...everything really.
It's more money than the St John car but worth every penny as far as I think. It's virtually like a brand new mini. The only very minor thing I would have done differently would be to iether leave the dashboard open or use a wooden dashboard instead of the carbon fibre trim, but that is a nothing issue. I could change it if it really wasn't my thing, but I like it a lot,  but I would likely choose the wooden trim. Certainly not unattractive AT ALL. Overall this is a very, very nice mini. I've got a couple of driving videos and a bunch of photos too. Once I reread up on the picture resizing method I'll post some pictures here for you friends to view. I'm on the verge of sending the bank draft, but I wonder first if any of you  ( I know you know Tony and his mini Big Al ) know of Tony's car ? Perhaps there are too many in southern Ontario to rember, but that certainly isn't the case here on PEI ! I only have known of one classic mini on the Island for many years now. So tragic...I've got to improve that number !

BTW - Willie, I was amazed at how well that push pump worked for the windscreen washer...but I can understand how a 12 volt one would be more effective. I think it was the novelty factor that caught me. But it is in my mind/opinion a better set up than what my 75 Super Beetle uses...the pressure comes from the spare tire in the front trunk. So checking the tire pressure in the spare frequently would be important back when everyone who drove a Beetle in the winter would want to do regularly. 

Well I guess it's time to think about doing some reading and then some sleep, but I DO PLAN to post some pictures of the mini...if any of you have an opinion on it ( or already know of it ) I'd be greatful to have some opinions, on Tony's mini. Keep an eye open for anouther post in the next few days, and stay well guys. I'd love to attend a mini show up there sometime and meet you fellows. I'm also curious as heck how the Blue Box turned out with its 2/3 thirds of a BMW 4 cam cylinder head and all the mods that went with it. I've got a ton of reading to catch up on, but I'm here to stay this time guys ( and gals ? )

One more thing...I'm loving watching the mini million races from the olde country ! Those cars and drivers are more enjoyable to watch than formula one to me these days. Has anyone got any new projects on the go ?    And do any of you indulge like I do in the on line classic car auction site
   " BringATrailer" ? Highly recommend automobile fun ! Lots of classic minis pass thru there too.Even a VERY rare mini Sprint from the sixties went through there a while ago...unsold, which didn't surprise me at the top bid of about ~ 55 K $. Those cars where extreme  ! Rad ! Super cool !

 Posted: Sep 19, 2021 09:29AM
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Derwood: any news???

.

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

 Posted: Sep 15, 2021 05:33AM
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Ontario does not require annual safety inspections. I don't think they ever had. You do need one to license the vehicle for road use. They used to require bi-annual smog tests but gave up on that a few years ago too. So long as you don't get caught, you can do just about anything to a car... until you go to sell it.

Does that car have 10" or 12" wheels? If the brake disks are 8.4" in diameter, it would need 12" rims. Wheel arches were not modified until they started putting 13" wheels on Minis. For the wider 12" tires, they did stat adding plastic wheel arch trims to make up for the tires sticking out.

.

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

 Posted: Sep 15, 2021 05:22AM
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Derwood wrote "After all, I am 58 on October 8th ! This is one "want" that I really want to achieve! "


Awww.. go ahead and buy it. You deserve a birthday present. Tinkering with it will keep you from "running the roads" (as they say in New Brunswick).

.

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

 Posted: Sep 15, 2021 03:05AM
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Good morning friends  ! Thanks Willie for both pieces of information on your "Push pump". Older VW Beetles had their own version of this
device, but I can visualize virtually everyone changing these to 12 Volt pumps as soon as something was available. Just junk ( in the pee-poor amount of fluid pumped with each push ).
The one in yesterday's mini took two pumps and the windshield was ready for the wipers. Perhaps there still exists a couple ( or even one ) 
Canadian province that does not require yearly inspections  ? Alberta was without annual inspections for years but I have lost track of wether this has ever changed.
The only reason I mention this is because you don't mention installing a 12 V pump to replace the push pump. In PEI an inoperable washer pump is an MVI failure. Don't bother trying to sweet-talk the mechanic into "letting it go" as used to be quite easy to achieve roughly 30
years ago. No longer, and not for a long time now. A porterhouse steak dinner would not likely get the mechanic to...ahem...absent-mindedly check the "works fine" box. :^)
After an evening on u-tube last night checking out repair jobs and such, it hit me solidly that even though it had been a long time since my last time piloting a classic mini, it is still, by a giant margin, my most wanted car ! Bravo ! I had fears that maybe my enthusiasm had waned,
or I now realized I had been wearing rose coloured glasses to create my fascination with the mini ( I'm not going to keep typing "classic" as this is the classic site ). But it was no "miragie" as Bugs used to say. That wonderful feeling of mini piloting pulled a grin out of my time
sterned face and once I wasn't in dreadful traffic I was enjoying the experience immensely  ! Bravo #2 !
So even if I can't meet on price with the owner on this mini today, I know to skip over the MG's , Triumphs etc and just check for new ( to me ) mini adds. Knowing this alone makes my trip worth it. And honestly,  I've learned a great deal about driving " close to the limit" in any given car ! In the right places of course.
I'm about to sign-off and start to "shine up" for my final trip to the dealer today but I first repeat my thank yous etc for the very valuable input my sort of vague questions generated. AND...I wish to ask for a heads-up on any seemingly good minis for sale that anyone may come across. I have the time now to travel to Toronto  ( for example  ) on short notice if a VERY good mini should pop-up there or any other Canadian locale.
I hope you all have a great day friends. I also hope to own this mini today too, although I hope it is easier for you folks to get some mini-refresher into yourself today. All that is left for me today is to ponder my offer, my maximum offer, and check one or two more things that I
photographed yesterday and want to re-examine.
Of course I will report back on how negotiations went around supper time ( Atlantic time zone ) this evening. It IS GREAT to know once 
again that the mini is " MY CAR"; only now more so after years of safe ( but spirited ) driving. All the better to enjoy my mini !
Cheers pals! 
Darren.
PS- from my vantage point minis have continued to climb in price at an ever-increasing rate. I notice many more "looking for a classic mini"
adds than ever before, even if many of these folks are quite out from reality from what a good mini will cost. Has anyone else noticed this ?
One final comment/question before I sign off. I now know FOR SURE that a mini with 10 inch wheels is a must have for me. Is it easy to retro
back to 10 inch wheels ? I know the brake parts and wheels/tires will be pricy, buy what I REALLY wish to know is has the wheel opening
( aperture ) changed with the two wheel size growths, or does a larger diameter wheel ( 12 or 13 inch ) with a lower sidewall equal the same diameter opening, or are the wings actually different in opening size ?
Thank you all !
Darren.
PS- please add any thoughts you may consider to be important,  even if it is after this post. Any of the car purchases I have made since about 1981 have created for me the following regular purchasing method...after deciding that I WANT any given car ( such as this mini ) I always tell the seller that "I'm off to grab a coffee and think on this purchase.  I will be back with a decision in about a 1/2 hour".
Not only is this "method" equivalent to a new bill passing senate, but it gives me a chance to check anything I forgot about but want to check on the net without making the vendor aware, such as checking for any new posts on this thread, and virtually any other thing.
Just going to practice my approach method for placing an offer as I wait for the day to get going at full speed. I will be back...only very slightly like Batman.

 Posted: Sep 15, 2021 01:32AM
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Mine does have the push button pump for the washer. I took it all out when I got it. Have not missed it. 

Hope you work a deal and get this one. 

"How can anything bigger be mini?"

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 05:49PM
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Hello Willie and thank you for your contribution to answering my questions about the 1975 Austin mini I am currently considering buying ( if the price can be adjusted some in my favour, which I think it can ) !
You know, I never even questioned anyone about when the second speed was introduced. The wiper switch on the mini I am considering has two "detents" or
Positions aside from off, but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that the 2 speed wipers were introduced at this time. I shall do some research into this and report back to this thread. This would sure make for an easy MVI fix  if the car did not have 2 speed wipers at the time this one was shipped out ! I may just forget to mention this to the vendor when I make my offer tomorrow  ! And I certainly do agree that the items the mechanic mentioned are all quite easy and inexpensive to fix. I have wanted a really nice quality mini since I bought one at 15 years old, for 50 Canadian dollars  :^)   and directly against my folks instructions  ! That's the sort of thing the classic mini does to some of us ( ? ).
I will be trying hard to buy this tomorrow...I'm now almost 58 years young, and like virtually everyone,  I have witnessed far too many folks pass away shortly before retirement  ( grim stuff ).
While this mini does need a bit of work, it should be pretty easy repairs, and the car really is in eye-catching condition.  Red with a white roof. I sure hope to report back tomorrow that she has become my 75 mini !
BTW Willie, I find the push button to spray windshield pump to be a great hoot and it works remarkable well ! Is your 75 equipped with this push pump ?
Yikes, but I have almost LUSTED for a nice mini !
Stay tuned, and if you should have time I'd sure appreciate knowing if your mini has this push-pump too. And the glazing of the little rotors that Kelley mentions describes exactly what they looked like to me !
A big plus IMO to have this upgrade already completed and only in need of some tweaking! 
Please stay posted...tomorrow I will know if "she" is to be mine. After all, I am 58 on October 8th ! This is one "want" that I really want to achieve! 
Very best;
Darren. ( my biggest decision is now what to initially offer. I'll inform everyone of my results tomorrow  !
Cheers.

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 02:51PM
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My 75 mini only has one speed wipers. Not sure when they went to two speed. 

Overall the car sounds in decent condition. Most of the noted items are not hard to take care of. Value wise depends on location but my wild Ass guess would be 13,000 US range. 

"How can anything bigger be mini?"

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 01:43PM
 Edited:  Sep 14, 2021 01:50PM
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Dan ! Great to hear from you ! And great to have your very trusted advice/help ! After reading your very helpful reply I now tend to think you are correct about me answering my own questions. I suppose I should have figured that out by myself but it's pretty normal to dig for more info when considering buying a rather expensive 46 year young car ! ;^)
I AM glad to have the brake feedback from marchers and Dan both. Thank you gentlemen.  Especially knowing that I should be able to lock up the wheels is very helpful...it comfortably reinforces what I thought. Knowing this reduces the stress and concern somewhat because I now know that better brakes are only some workshop hours ( and maybe a few parts ) away. Brakes are quite universally non-threatening to most any serious hobby wrencher I firmly believe ( pre ABS etc...all very straightforward as on any contemporary car ). I guesstimate that most folks put off by brake problems on a non-ABS car will not stay in the hobby for long ( ? ). Mouchias gracias amigos  !

So...the PPI report...
Just as you suggested Dan I received no compression figures nor leak down numbers but I will say the technician did a very thorough job of 
inspecting the mini. I will never buy anouther used car without a PPI again. Too much knowledge for small $$$ clams. His summary : "LOTS OF
OIL LEAKS, NO SIGNAL LIGHTS,  LR SIGNAL LIGHTS UP WITH BRAKE ( poss a simple dual element bulb trouble but also a possible wiring error)
ONE SPEED ONLY FOR WIPERS, HEATER CONTROL VALVE LEAKING, RIGHT STEERING ARM LOOSE ON KNUCKLE". A very good way to spend only 62.38 taxes in !
DON'T HESITATE TO GET A PPI DONE FOLKS. Only my 2 cents worth,  but something I feel completely sure of. If no troubles show up that's 
great knowledge too of course.

So although I told the dealer that I would be thinking on this tonight  ( AND I WILL BE  ) I doubt he or the owner will want to even hear my offer. Shrug. Not much effort on their part when they don't have the initiative to fix a few minor electrical issues and the 2 speed wipers. The heater control valve MIGHT take a 1/2 hour to change out if we include putting the tools away and washing up ( SOMETHING I HAVE ADDED TO ALL JOBS FOR YEARS FOR ACCURACY AND TO ENSURE THAT I CAN FIND MY TOOLS ANY TIME I NEED THEM ).

I guess I'll be back to watching "auto trader" and KIJIJI. That OK :-)      I check out Bring a Trailer ( BAT ) regularly ytoo, so if I have to fly to Montreal or Toronto,  or buy on BAT in US dollars, that's fine. I can afford that now. One very important thing this helped me solve...I want a classic mini for my hobby car. I got a small road trip with this too, and that's a good thing any day for me. One last thing...I'll be watching this 
( great ) site for a good mini too !
VIVA LOS VEGAS  !
Many thanks my friends. I'll be in touch much more frequently from here on. I only have eyes for a classic mini  ;^)

Darren.
" GOT SEVERAL MANUALS; JUST NEED THE CAR !  :-)   "

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 11:07AM
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Concerning the brakes. There is a good chance that the discs are glazed. On a car that hasn't had very many miles in 5 years a small amount of surface rust will appear on the disc and be polished by the pads each time it's driven. You mentioned they were shiney which makes me mentally picture glazed discs. When the discs glaze from rust the pads tend to get a similar build-up on them which compounds the problem.

Kelley

"If you can afford the car, you can afford the manual..."

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 09:20AM
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Hi Derwood (Darren),

Good to see you drop by!
It seems you have been thinking it through and have answered most of your questions.

Physically the car body sounds good.
Engine: it is a 998 and is probably due for a tune up  and fresh fuel followed by what we used to call an "Italian tuneup" in which you take the car out on the road and work the engine hard to clear out the cobwebs. 4th gear up a long grade to make the engine labour, repeated hard acceleration runs with the engine fully warmed up. Yeah, I know PEI does not have any long grades, but you should be able to find a quiet country road for the acceleration tests.

Transmission/shifter: I think a 1975 era Mini should have a 4-synchromesh transmission and a remote shifter (the one with the aluminum housing). Those shifters could be as vague as the magic wand shifter in MK 1 Minis. Have a look at this thread Rattle in Shifter  Of course, you may be used to the beetle's shift characteristics which would be better than a Mini.

Brakes: yep, you summed it up. Even with the small disc brakes and no booster, you should be able to lock up the wheels. I too would suspect stiff calipers and fluid overdue for flushing and bleeding.

I doubt a Canadian Tire garage would do compression and leakdown tests on a pre-purchase inspection. They won't have specs in their computers! But they should catch any suspension and brake issues.

Can't help you on pricing. When you get the PPI results and put them together with a list of the problems you observe, you could have  deficiency list that you might be able to put an estimate on for repairs by paid pro mechanics. That could knock the price down some. Since this is somewhat of an estate sale, and the  car has been on their hands for some time, they may be wanting to move it off inventory.

Sounds like a good prospect. Good luck... and keep us posted.

Cheers,
Dan

.

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

 Posted: Sep 14, 2021 08:13AM
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Hello everyone,  it's been a long while since I've made a post on here, but I could use any help offered today. After a one year trial of something "not British " for my FUN car I am selling my 74 super beetle and returning to my beloved Brit cars. The V-dub just didn't excite me. So I've travelled for two days to a city in Atlantic Canada that a private dealer happens to have on commission. For at least two years this 1975 998 mini has sat unsold. I decided to try and buy it as my 3rd and final classic mini , and am going to sell the VW. Looking for some advice on making an offer, etc please.
Yesterday I met the dealer and spent over an hour checking the mini visually.  The car was parked on short-cut carpet so it was easy to lay down and get a good look at the floor, subframes,etc.
The car was fully restored about 6 or 7 years ago but the gent who restored it passed away shortly after this restoration. 
And this dealers friend bought it ( I vaguely remember seeing it for sale and I recall it having an $$$ ask of about 15 K $ Canadian.  It has had an ask of 23,995 $ for at least these 2 years now. It presents very well with respect to the red with white roof paint, although a very close examination reveals a couple of paint cracks along the roof trough ( the upper, white part at the edge of the roof panel ) and slight cracks at the front wing panel where it joins the slam panel. Very slight, but on both sides. I should mention that the mini was last registered for the road in 2016. Quite a while ago !
The floor is quite good, with several small bubbles of rust that are about silver dollar size. But the floor is solid and rust free except for these few spots. Bargaining power for sure imo. The front and rear subframe are excellent, as is the trunk floor and front and rear apron panels. Overall nice looking but not at all perfect.  Mainly because of the rust bubbles in several spots on the floor. 
The interior is redone and needs nothing. Yesterday after I looked it all over the dealer drove it out of the showroom and shortly after this I got behind the wheel. The car ran rough until it had ran for about 10 minutes and then got "pretty good, but absolutely not 100 %. I suspect a good tuneup ( especially of the single S U carb, but I don't think the dealer has a clue about how S U's work, so more bargaining room imo. How much room I'm not sure. 
Next we have the brakes. Did they EVER require a solid push ! So I was very surprised to see that the front brakes were converted to discs. But why so little stop power ? The one rotor that I checked looked very smooth with no grooves.
The hoses were plain rubber, not braided. No brake booster. Could a good cleaning ( brake cleaner ) plus a check up on the rears make a healthy improvement...possibly even the caliper pistons may not be moving very freely. The E- brake works OK.
There is no way that the wheels would lock up no matter how hard the pedal is pushed. What should I expect, even roughly ?
I expect more stop power than is now available. New braided hoses, fluid flush and bleed, plus making sure the pistons are all free should make an noticeable improvement  ? ?? Perhaps sitting unused for 5 years has allowed some moisture into the brake fluid  ??
I found the gears difficult to find ( especially first ) until rolling and then I found the gears fine, but with a very loose gear shifter. Any adjustments that can be made or bushes that may need replacing  ? Or could it be more serious such as in the gearbox itself  ? Do you think it can be adjusted up a bit tighter ( gate wise ) ? No crunching occurred on up or down shifts.
Also before I forget,  there was zero oil on the carpet were the mini has been sitting and the dip stick was over max by a small amount  ( ~ 4 or 5 mm ). Does this tell us anything ? The oil was semi-brown and I would change it and the filter right away as well as installing a rare earth magnet drain plug.
With the above description,  I must add that a local Canadian Tire is going to do a PPI for me this afternoon. This should be quite telling I think ( ? ). Should I expect compression tests of each cylinder,  and leak down numbers ? What would be indicative numbers for a barely worn engine ? I will be checking back here around supper time to hopefully see some feedback and advice. IMO the ask is high, and he will NOT be getting his ask ( a large 23,995 $ Canadian  ). The drivability issues plus the length of time sitting unsold tells me to offer low...but how low I haven't decided.  Any advice,  or would some of you kind folks like my PPI results first ?I will post them later today asap.
Bear in mind that although some door gaps are not even, the car "looks great" , runs poorly as described,  I am fairly well versed in repairing Brit cars, S U carbs etc myself too. The loose gear shifter gate leaves me unsure about that, as this is my first mini drive in about 15 years. As mentioned,  first is difficult to find without going into 2nd gear and then straight up,  but I find the gears reasonably well when on the move.  But a tighter gate would certainly be a big improvement. 
I hope to get as many thoughts, advice, opinions etc as possible.  I will be reporting the PPI results,  but it would be kinda nice to know if anyone may reply AFTER READING ABOUT THE PPI.
Any help will be very appreciated friends.
This is to be my retirement toy. Very soon.
Thanks everyone;
Derwood aka Darren.
Atlantic Canada. 
Enjoy your day guys and gals...it's beauty here.  And one final thing you all should know...a classic mini is my favorite "fun" car, I have a large selection of tools and while I am totally amateur,  I like wrenching and improving hobby cars.
I am an electronics tech by trade,  and I almost forgot to mention that the wiring loom looks to have been completely 
replaced.
Finally, I'm NOT afraid to walk away even though it is hard to find ANY mini in my area, let alone one as good ( not perfect  )
as this one.
Should I keep the dealer waiting overnight to add some pressure, or not ?
Thanks !