I am wanting to buy a car for racing and have the approval of the Mrs (no idea how).

Should I go old school or new school for my racing mini? I am looking at speed, power and reliability for hill climbs.

Option 1 - 69 MKII 1380

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250241474925&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015

Option 2 - 2002 Supercharged 1.6

http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/MINI/COOPER/New%20South%20Wales/csn5679600.aspx

you will win more with the new mini.. but you feel like your going really really fast in an old one, even if your not

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Potato

I wish my missus would let me buy Nicks car, its a bloody beauty and I would buy that over a new Mini any day but I guess thats why I drive a 69 mini everyday and I guess thats why my missus thinks I'm nuts. I reckon go the historic car, anyone can buy a new Mini and turn it into a race car with enough money. He is selling his trailer and a 4WD to go with it. It was in the VMCI mag. Hope you get it. Good luck and safe racing.

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Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

go the historic not the hysteric

my 2.5cents (allow for inflation)

I really really like the older one ... but my biggest concern is reliability and maintainance costs ... i know the newer one will be a better car to race and win with and will be much more reliable ... and i dont really have good storage at the moment so if i bought the older one would have to lease storage ... where as newer one will be road registered ... ARGH

I am thinking maybe the newer one .. because then once my house is built I can begin my search for my dream car ... a genuine original ex highway patrol Cooper S ...

Also depends on which one will accept the offer I have submitted to them

THIS IS SUCH A HARD DECISION ... I wish I could buy both!

don`t be fooled,,, the NEW MINIs are quite a big car & also very very heavy... I`d go the classic lightweight hi-powered mini before i even thought about a new BINI

but that`s just me

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

....also much cheaper to repair, parts are cheap and repair/modification work from home is much more feasable than on a BMW mini. Tuning is easily performed without the need for laptops, aftermarket ECUs etcetera.

Plus, much more charisma.

But, we are biased...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

the new mini despite being heavier is a better car, better design, easier to drive, faster and much more reliable, parts are easy to get and all the big names make them etc.. he didnt want a biased opinion he wanted an honest answer. as for maintanence if its just hillclimbs and sprints your not going to be rubbing panels every outing and the motors take alot of punishment (believe me i know) whereas the historic car generally is going to need attention all the time for little issues and an engine rebuild pretty regularly. hillclimbs arent a death sport... i think the historic car should be kept racing properly.. not doing lower level stuff its too nice. unless you have future ambitions and a big pocket

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Potato

meeni
first to give an honest answer you have to know what you are talking about and people like Matt have vastly more experience when it comes to this subject than you, it is not biased just better informed by years of motorsport experience but I forget that at 16-17 you know it all and you better hurry up and tell everyone how much you know before you get old and feeble like some of us that have been doing motorsport for 30 plus years

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

^^^ True Meeni, although the racing heritage of that car is only four years old, it's not a sixties racer that's been preserved. Much like any readily available mini prepared for racing.

I'd like to know what the racing's like for each car. Which car is more appropriate for club racing, what's the competition like and so on. Panel repair (quite likely) is going to be much more affordable in the mini than the MINI, I would have thought. Plus spares and so on. However, asking a classic mini forum which is the better car is always going to elicit replies in favour of the classic car, and not the modern pretender.

For example, a Nissan Sentra may be a better bet than the MINI...

if your main thing is hillclimbs go with something classic.

Look at the economics of it.
You can go hillclimbing in a 3k+ mini, or you could go hillclimbing in a 25k+ MINI.
At the end when you want to upgrade, you will sell your hill climbing mini with whatever mods you have performed to it at a profit, or break even.
In the BMW you will have a thrashed modern car I wouldn't touch with a barge pole..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Having been down the road to the track, and raced for quite a few years, my advice is to buy a raced developed mini - a historic one. It would cost you three times as much to build it.

Stay away from a Bini because there are huge costs involved - like tyres at $2,000 a pop.

Back on to the historic mini, buy one that is specifically set up and log booked for the class of racing you want to do ultimately. Don't set your heart on the bestest fastest most horse power car because it will be twelve months or so before you learn race craft and its going to get broken or bent during the process.

You can always upgrade the car as you gain experience. Back in the seventies when I was playing with sports sedans, I can tell you it cost a $1,000 everytime I drove it - be a race, private practice or other motorsport event.

I was lucky a had a bit of a mentor in John Leffler who gave good advice. I wanted to put in a better bigger horse power motor to move up a cpouple of places in a race and Leffo said know. He said tell me how much you want to spend on the motor and let me fix the suspension.

He did and the first time I drove the car in a private practice at Oran Park it was five seconds quicker and felt so much more stable. So there is lot in chassis and suspension development.

Now - to be realistic - you can easily enough get within three or four seconds of the fast cars in your class but the there after you buy 10ths on a second in $1,000 dollar lots.

Mike

Just incase anyones taking any notice of me , I'd go the classic racer....

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May the fork be with you.

You might want to give john at miniking a call, was talking to him yesterday and he said something about there is a roundy they have there set up for racing that is being sold...not sure of full details, but no harm in chatting...