First time poster

BruceK · March 14, 2019, 04:05:33 PM

Quote from: MiniDave on March 14, 2019, 03:24:23 PM
Yes, but that will be a 998.....

I say go up to Phoenix and visit Wild Child's place, he has a bunch of different Minis and you can drive them and see whether /what will work best for you.

No, that's a 1275 in that Mini. I brought it up to give an example of what is available.

But if it was me, I'd take a more structured approach. The auction houses in Japan that deal with used cars perform very complete inspections on the condition of all the cars that go through them and grade the cars. And there are companies that specialize in exporting JDM cars to the US, such as the one listed below, which offer services for remote buyers such as the translation of the auction sheets and they can also arrange inspection of any potential purchases.

So, using a company like this can provide a better experience since they know what they are doing, and have a good track record. They have a YouTube channel where they shoot a 10-20 minute video of each car they are exporting.

http://pacificcoastjdm.com/

BruceK · March 14, 2019, 04:20:18 PM

A bit more pricey Mini, but it's already in the US. You may have seen this one.

http://www.japstarimports.com/detail/index.php?p=164

And this used car dealer based in Japan has sold many cars on Bring A Trailer including a Mini or two. He usually bundles shipping in the auctions of his cars.

http://amagasakimotor.net/category/car-stocks/

like this one: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-rover-mini-1000/

BruceK · March 14, 2019, 04:40:36 PM

Tomorrow I plan to list some lower price Minis for sale right here in the US of A.

jeff10049 · March 14, 2019, 08:01:34 PM

Welcome to the forum.

I bought a car about like that it's easy to spend $1,000.00 15 times or more during restoration.
My car was solid only needed minor metal work and I saved repaired everything I could countless hours to save parts most people would toss.
I wanted an early mk1 and nothing out there even in the 30k range was restored to any quality I would even consider when you looked close.

And I also wanted a project I did all the body and paint, rebuilt the engine even some of the machine work, rebuilt the gearbox had to make synchros and bore it for the newer style bearing, did all the suspension, glass, most the interior except the sewing/seats. Wheeled and dealt traded etc... for parts saved a nickel everywhere I could.

Point is it took 7 years and over $20,000.00 I/we are not trying you scare you away but I wanted to give an example of what you can get into even doing the work yourself.

As Dave said if like me you want a project go for it still it will cost more than what you probably think you can do it for... unless you think you can do it for 30k then your probably close.

Edit... to add I'm basing that on fully restoring to top notch you can certainly get a mini running and driving and decent for less but still stuff adds up fast.

My car thread is here if you want to see what it took http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=625.0

BruceK · March 15, 2019, 06:42:38 AM

Quote from: BruceK on March 14, 2019, 04:40:36 PM
Tomorrow I plan to list some lower price Minis for sale right here in the US of A.

MiniDave · March 15, 2019, 08:51:48 AM

Cheeze louise, spoiled for choice!

Sure are a LOT of Jap imports in that group!

BruceK · March 15, 2019, 09:11:40 AM

Quote from: MiniDave on March 15, 2019, 08:51:48 AM
Cheeze louise, spoiled for choice!

Choices, yes. The catch is that not not many of them, IMO, are good choices.

bokbfok · March 15, 2019, 09:23:57 AM

Bruce - Thanks for the leg work! I will do some looking

BruceK · March 15, 2019, 09:27:19 AM

Quote from: bokbfok on March 15, 2019, 09:23:57 AM
Bruce - Thanks for the leg work! I will do some looking

You're welcome. Pick a couple and as a group we can help you evaluate pros/cons on them if you want.

MiniDave · March 15, 2019, 09:44:53 AM

Quote from: BruceK on March 15, 2019, 09:11:40 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 15, 2019, 08:51:48 AM
Cheeze louise, spoiled for choice!

Choices, yes. The catch is that not not many of them, IMO, are good choices.

Yeah, a lot of 998 autos, and a lot of "normal" rust..... ::)

That Austin 1300 GT was interesting.

BruceK · March 15, 2019, 01:43:16 PM

Quote from: Whee on March 15, 2019, 11:49:05 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 15, 2019, 09:44:53 AM
Quote from: BruceK on March 15, 2019, 09:11:40 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 15, 2019, 08:51:48 AM
Cheeze louise, spoiled for choice!

Choices, yes. The catch is that not not many of them, IMO, are good choices.

Yeah, a lot of 998 autos, and a lot of "normal" rust..... ::)

That Austin 1300 GT was interesting.

A good candidate for stealing the engine from if it were cheaper :)

Yeah, just like all the Austin Americas with the 1275 engines and manual transmissions were sacrificed to power Minis.

bokbfok · April 23, 2019, 01:05:57 PM

Hi all,

Figured I needed to update this. Thanks for all the input on this thread and in PM's.
I ended up buying the car and have had some time with it. And yes, a project is what I was leaning towards.
To answer some of the questions that were asked.
It had a hydrolastic suspension but has been converted to dry. It has a Weber dcoe 45 carb (yeah, not standard), the motor looks really clean on the inside through the fill hole. The oil was good looking when I pulled the dip stick. I drained the oil and replaced with fresh. The fuel lines were all gunk'd up as expected. I rebuild the carb and got a battery. I fired it up and it ran. 4.gif I will now proceed to clean the rest of the fuel system, replaced rubber lines and clean and re-coat the tanks. I also noted a leak between the head and block, so I will be replaced the HG. There is a lot of work ahead of me and I am really excited about it. I will keep you all posted on progress. I did get manuals to help.

Thank all!

MiniDave · April 23, 2019, 01:24:11 PM

Glad to see another Classic Mini get adopted by someone who will bring it back to great condition again!

What kind of oil did you use? Since this engine has a flat tappet cam be sure to use something with added zinc.
Here's the proof of what happens when you don't....look at the pitting and scoring on these lifters out of our Innocenti engine....

bokbfok · April 23, 2019, 01:33:38 PM

I just used stp 20wx50 for a "flush". I found some oil that has added zinc that I will use in the future, but also bought ZDDPPLus to add into the oil.

MiniDave · April 23, 2019, 01:35:34 PM

There you go.... 77.gif

bokbfok · April 23, 2019, 01:37:09 PM

Thanks for the heads up though!

gr8kornholio · April 23, 2019, 06:23:26 PM

Congrats on the purchase. Curious if the shell is Australian or if it just has the doors. 4 places on the shell have differences. The boot plate indentation is narrower, the roof drip rail has 2 holes in each corner, the cowl has indentations for the wipers and under the car would be long metal covers for the old hydro lines. Also, if it has the original wiper motor it would be stamped Australia.

bokbfok · April 23, 2019, 06:56:00 PM

Quote from: gr8kornholio on April 23, 2019, 06:23:26 PM
Congrats on the purchase. Curious if the shell is Australian or if it just has the doors. 4 places on the shell have differences. The boot plate indentation is narrower, the roof drip rail has 2 holes in each corner, the cowl has indentations for the wipers and under the car would be long metal covers for the old hydro lines. Also, if it has the original wiper motor it would be stamped Australia.

With that info, I am pretty sure it is an Aussie shell. It does not have the long metal plates, but there is channels and places for bolts.

gr8kornholio · April 23, 2019, 08:25:33 PM

Probably ditched those when they converted to dry suspension. Pretty cool to know another Aussie mini is being saved.

bokbfok · April 24, 2019, 07:28:31 AM

I am going to try my best to get her up and running and looking good.

Does any one out there know if or where I can find a lock set (2 door, 2 fuel cap and 1 boot handle) that all work on the same key? Second best would be to have two fuel caps that work on one key. I have emailed MM, Mini Spares and one other, they all seam unable to help.

Thanks

MiniDave · April 24, 2019, 08:50:03 AM

The gas caps will not have the same key, Ignition key was always different than the door keys, both in number and shape/style - at least on the later cars with a steering column lock. Only the very early cars may have had the same ign and doors/boot key.

So on 70's car you should have an all three - ign, doors/boot and gas cap keys.

Willie_B · April 24, 2019, 09:23:54 AM

Do you really need locking gas caps?

MiniDave · April 24, 2019, 09:52:18 AM

Good point.

I cut off the ones on the Inno and went to Monza caps.

I may do the same with my green car, it still has a locking cap.

bokbfok · April 24, 2019, 10:14:06 AM

Quote from: Willie_B on April 24, 2019, 09:23:54 AM
Do you really need locking gas caps?

I didn't think I did, but a work colleague's daughter had sugar poured in to her car tank. I am sure there is a back story. Maybe I will just have to play the odds and not piss any one off?

Willie_B · April 24, 2019, 11:13:13 AM

If you are looking for gas caps in UK sites be aware they are called petrol caps instead. You may be able to ask if they have some keyed the same.

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