Anyone ever owned a Mini?

[ohheycheckmeout]

Hey guys,

Was wondering if anyone has ever owned an Austin Mini before on the boards, or knew someone who has. Curious to see what the up keep is like and how "affordable" the car can be.... not price wise, but upkeep.

Thanks

[scsponger31]

Hey guys,

Was wondering if anyone has ever owned an Austin Mini before on the boards, or knew someone who has. Curious to see what the up keep is like and how "affordable" the car can be.... not price wise, but upkeep.

Thanks
there is a kid who has one in my neighborhood. It super cool looking and he drives that thing like a mad man, but it is broken down pretty often. Dont know much about the car myself, but he would be a good one to talk to.

[g60racer]

I had a 67 Austin Mini Cooper Radford S 1275, one of only six built. First mini to have electric windows, interior done by Radford (a coachbuilder for Bentley), left hand drive, dual weber side drafts with velocity stacks, 12" Cobra wheels... great car. Sold it for a grip of cash to a Mini collector.

It did overheat like crazy if taken on the freeway, the radiator was simply too small and the radiator fan didn't do much. Needed a more modern fan, and also needed an overflow expansion tank. But I wanted to leave it period correct and original, so I never improved it.

[g60racer]

Oh.. upkeep wise, it was very cheap. Needed a major service about once every 5 years, cost a few hundred dollars. Not bad really. The only place around that is really good with them is British Automotive in Ramona, CA. I let them deal with timing belts and that sort of stuff.

[pocketrubbish]

Good friend of mine has one, you've probably seen it in the area. Bright orange with checkered flag airbrushing. 1275 engine with 10" wheels, suspension was all stock but new.

EXTREMELY fun to drive. Just a blast. 0-60 in 15 seconds but it feels like your going warp speed. Easy to work on, couple things broke but it wasn't bad considering it was a 1971.

He uses it as a daily driver and currently lives in San Francisco. He's driven it between OC and San Fransisco many times without major problems.

If I had the cash sitting around, I would pick one up in a second.