There seems to be a lot of worry about keeping things original... Sure it has its merrits, financial being a good one to start with. But original resoration is just one form/style of car preservation. We each have to love our cars to put the effort in and keep them "alive". Why should anyone get upset if someone else decides that original isnt what they want to do with their car. As an exhample only, take mutant mini, personaly i reckon that that car is superb, and has lost none of its mini integrety. its instantly recogniseble to all that its a mini. whats more its out there to be seen, and is a great advertisement in that its eyecatching style draws attention to minis in general.To me that is worth more than a shed full of imaculate S's that the fastidious owner never lets see the light of day.
I think there is too much fuss made over things being genuine, unless your only in it for the money. If you build a replica with everything done like a cooper, then the only real difference is a missmatch of numbers on a tin tag(and the resale price tag). OK itwill never be quite the real thing, but there isnt enough coopers for everyone that wants one, and there is just as much merrit in any mini restoration or modification. Personally i wouldnt pick up a spanner and work on a car purely for money. its for the love of the car. choosing a car that you like and making it something you love is from the heart. If i love my car i dont give a rats that its got the wrong weld on the back of the brake pedal(or something equally as trivial)
If you believe that every car should be as it was exactly then that would mean every hotrodder should be driving a vintage car. there would be no expresion, or reflection of personality of the owner in any cars. In reality anything you repair is no longer original..
Almost any form of rebuild is a worthy cause if it preserves another car for the future. So if someone like Danielle chooses to paint her car a non Cooper colour, whos hurt by that??? the car will be in better shape than it would have been otherwise, and any future owner will get it cheaper and can put things back to original if they want to.
So long as the car is saved and is being enjoyed ,and hopefully seen ,and appreciated, its a worthy exercise.
Make your car something you love and you will look after it, be it original or modified.
Now give me a second to put my helmet on... then start the rock throwing LOL
Just my thoughts...

And a resounding `hear hear' to that..

Minis are to be enjoyed, IMO. Hell, it's YOUR car, do what you like. Not as if a Mini is rare or something, even if it is an S..

I wonder if many Beetle owners (for example) get as worked up over this issue..

OTOH, I do respect those who spend years searching high and low, scrounging for those elusive parts to make their baby original. But I'm sorry, I just don't have their degree of patience.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Hey Dani Dad agree with most of what you have to say except I also appreciate a fully restored "original" car or ones that have been in the same family since new etc

I couldn't give a rats about the debate to tell you the truth except to say that if you want to preserve the value of an original "anything" then think carefully about any departures from how it was built.

If this bad vibe is coming from a QLD Mini CC then I hope to hell we in the ACT never get infected!!

BTW Dani has a wide range of colours to choose from if the car is a MKII S - a hell of a lot of them were painted to the customers order....there is a Black shell for sale down here (not my cuppa tea but ya get the picture...). I don't tyre of seeing white over BRG or Red but some certainly people do!

Someone has to preserve original examples and someone will always be into modifying or racing......should we leave it that?

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"Show me the Mini!"

We are all individuals.....If we were all the same it would be very boring. If some has the trained Eye and tell you that weld is not original (good on him but it’s your car)
Anton and I found the original paint colour on Marcia Yesterday (Nice Grey) and had a quick picture of what She'd Look like.... but not me. I'm not changing my idea's (Purple Yer I'd Love to)
Some Make Original Cooper S
Some Don't, Some Mod
And some just drive them

I find it all rather "You'v got a bowl Cut"
I Love Original Cooper S and I love non Original especially those parts that make your car go Faster..
We are individuals and so are our Mini's

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

so true.. the mini is probably the most individual of cars, and the most human. each one while on the trailer home got attention every time we stopped. people just come up and talk. Even got the neighbours out of the boxes they live in to come and have a look and a chat, both young and old. I doubt it would have been the same response if the cars were well worn Jappers.

R yes I Know this.....I call it the Friendship of the Mini
When we moved into our present Home we had One Mini and three neighbors that had something to do with mini's when they were younger (one even work's on my cars with me). If your driving up the street or in a car park...their is always someone saying these a Mini and has a smile on their Face.......Jappers Cars..Yer big deal Duf Duf Man

were rear subframes painted Green..Dam I paint it an orginal colour.. No..Thank God for that.

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Danidad, i couldn't agree more.... i beleive that individuality is the key, because it is the main element in remaining passionate about these cars, and individuality is obviously open to interpretation........ for example just have a look at the members cars that have been posted up on this forum since it's inception? - I don't think that you would be able say that there are only more than a couple of cars that look similar to another in terms of how they have been presented.

In the end my thoughts are that irrespective of whether your mini is completely original, restored, modified or a hybrid like 13secmini's, when you look at the registration papers or open your garage in the morning, it is YOUR mini and that is the main element of individuality............. lets face it..... again referring back to Danidad, you will still draw a crowd no matter where you are or what type of mini you are driving

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I got nuthin......................

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

i agree with what you are all saying, and i think most mini owners will agree too. i know for a fact that there are only about 3-4 cars in the mini car club of NSW that are completly original, with NO modifications. So i guess what i am saying is that almost all people in the club don't take issue with modifing there cars. They may take issue with you modifing your own car... but that another story. I don't think that anyone should feel as pressured to do a resto to original of any mini, especially an S, they are by definition a "modified" mini.

Cheers
Aaron

Just get em on the road and DRIVE them. just like good wine, they get better with age, but it is only an opportunity not realised if you don't DRINK it

a friend of my Dad who drives a V8 supercar in the Konica series (too much money) looked at me quizzically and asked me why i would want to use my mini for motorsport in this day and age? my reply was simple. i have it and it wants to be used.

any "restored" car is not original anyway. like your grandfathers axe that has had the head changed four times and the handle changed 10 times, but is still the same axe, any 40 year old car has had anything that wears replaced by a non-original part (albeit the new one could be made to the original design) is still the same car eh?

michael

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the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page
66 Mini Minor sponsored by http://www.lifeonthehedge.com.au/ The Dog Harness Specialists
It was a pleasure ausmini. I'll miss all you misfits and reprobates

lol...yeah they keep them so original that they wont even cut the rust out.......
http://www.aussieveedubbers.com/forum/v ... ?tid=21773

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play 3d car games for free

jesus..... so much for watertight and roadworthy

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I got nuthin......................

in my opinion, any person that gives a
mini a second chance, and saves it from
going to the wreckers is a champion, this
was already bought up, many minis that are
modified and not original would have been
scrap metal by now if someone didn't go
to save them, so changing the colour or wheels
size or engine - who gives a crap? even back
in the hey day of mini's when they first came out
rights up until the year 2000 when they stopped making
the old shape they were probably the most modified
car around. back in the 60's everyone modified their
minis.

in saying that i think there is something special about
seeing a original looking mini as well. i am restoring
my sunshine back to original (sort of - everything
besides the engine and front discs ) and when it
is done i think it will be a great looking clubman (due to
the fact most people modify clubmans).

as much as people criticise those that harp on about
having an original mini... i think we would all agree that
it would be pretty sad if there was not a completely
original 's' in your club as that would be a shame.
at the same time it would (actually it is) boring to
see nothing but cooper s's at shows, so having the mix
between original and non original is great.

a mini is a mini is a mini is a mini.

I have to say hear hear too!

I like both - original and off-your-face modified and anything in between.

To me it depends on the car.

A mate has a beatiful black Austin Super-Deluxe 850 that is very original (not restored). It was actually one of our wedding cars. To modify that car much would be a shame, because it would lose some of it's charm.

My van was not very original when I got it. So I had no qualms about fitting whatever bits I liked.

My Moke - well in my opinion a stock Moke is BORING - they were made to be modded!!

My Traveller on the other hand is very original, but very battered! So it will be restored to original except the paint colour (maybe), engine (1275), brakes and wheels (Cooper S). The original 850 donk will be stored in case I every decide to make it original again. No problems!

EDIT: I get tired of going to shows and seeing rows of Cooper S or S replicas that look like bricks on your house, they are so similar.

Cheers.

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

Like this


We are all different. So R our Mini's

If some come to you and say "That not Original" Just say "nor are You And Wave

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It