I'm feeling a bit glum today. It seems everyone thinks its a bad idea to keep the mini. I called a friend yesterday to see who he recommends for a mechanic and he told me he doesn't see what I see in the mini, it's a rough tin can and his advice is its not worth spending money on a car worth $50. He says he knows many better cars that are as much fun. My parents tell me to sell it and get a modern car. I went to the mechanic and he tells me while we are driving around the block that it's an f*cking old car, it's going to make some noises and generally doesn't look like he wants to deal with it. From experience I know that means I'm going to pay a lot.

It's days like these, that I just don't have the energy to argue back... that it's small, it's different, it's fun, sounds brilliant, we've gone so many places, had so much fun, broke down so many times, worked so many hours on it, wasted so much money. Why? Maybe I should just give up and get a toyota. I hate them so much. Why is it so hard for me to be "normal"? It's so hard to let go...

hg.

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Copper 4 lyfe!

What work does the mechanic have to do? I think if your going to own and maintain an old car you need to be prepared to do pretty much 99% of the work on it yourself.

But yeah, those new Suzuki Swifts seem like a popular car these days?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

think back to why you first bought the mini.

hold onto that moment.

tight.

THATS why you should sit there, stare blankly at people when they put your car down, and just silently think "f__k you and yuor opinion" in your head.

Thats probably why I still have my mini which was purchased in 1978.
And why I have constantly owned a mini since I first got my drivers license, except for 2 years when I owned a Torana. so I could save some money from repairing the 1st mini so I could by another mini.

Probably also why my 3 daughters all drive minis and my wife drives a new mini.
My eldest daughter became very distraught when I told her that her 1st mini may not be repairable and its about time to replace it. So then I had to find another mini which had no rust.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

If your mini is your daily driver and you cannot repair it yourself then you have a problem.
You should look at getting another car for a daily driver, BUT do not sell the mini. This car will give you a good basis to learn how to fix a car. Minis are basic and with a good workshop manual and asking questions then you can teach yourself. No-one was born with experience and we all learn from others and our mistakes.
At the end of it there is nothing more satisfying that knowing you fixed it .

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Research is the difference between speculation and investment. Anyone who copys some one else will always be second
www.minisprintgt.com

A mini kept in reasonable condition will always creep up in value.
What ever you replace it with will not.
But as Hanra said.... you're better off learning as much as you can, do as much of the work as you can. You will find ownership of the mini a whole lot more fun. The first thing you must do is buy a workshop manual...watch for them on ebay often for less than $20.
And you have the best mechanics in the world here, right at your keyboard
and all their help comes for free.
edit- David beat me too it

Now after those words of encouragement I hope you are feeling better.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

And if that fails, in my 5 years of being on this forum, I have lost count of the number of people that have come around to fix things FOR me FOR NOTHING or have popped by to tinker and lend a hand or advice.....

Find out who is close by and be friends with them.

There are some awesome people who know their poo on this forum......

Sounds like you need to find another mechanic! Or one who at leasts respects your car and your descision to own it a little more than the guy you've described!

You probably won't get much advice to the contrary on this website, but don't sell! My 850 cost me $475 in 1998 - it was rusty, non running and generally shite. Short of a full nut and bolt restoration almost everything has been replaced or repaired - but now I have a car that is very shiny, reliable and I would come close to recovering the many thousands I've spent on it over the years if I sold it today (But I'm not going to!). It has taught me basic car maintenance and how to fix things. I'm still no mechanic by any means but by speaking to club members, knowledgable mini owners and from experience it hasn't been that hard to get things fixed - and I did all of this without Ausmini! So you certainly have an advantage here!

David Rosenthal beat me to it as well - That last sentence really sums it up! What he said!

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Dave - 64 Nurburg White Morris 850 & 67 Morris Mini Deluxe (Bro's Car)
Previous Rides - 62 Morris 850 (Sold '03 - Now 'Lulu-62') & 76 Clubman S (Sold '99 - SFW-863)
+ Too many other classics

if you don't work on it yourself ,,, now s a great time to start !!
i'm sure the must be a friendly mini mechanic that you can go and see if you get stuck or need something done that is a bit out of your mechanical skills.. modern day mechanics may not want to deal with it but theres always going to be some that will. i' ve had people suggest that to me over the year s and i always think well selling it aint going to make me rich, i realy like the car, so what would be the point.
chin up mate

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PrOuDlY aSkInG qUeStIoNs FoR uR aMuEsMeNt

Take it home, and do the work yourself. Don't say that you can't, because you can. They are very simple cars and easy to learn on.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Feeling a bit better now. I have a lot of tools now and I don't mind spending on tools if they are cheaper than taking it to a mechanic. The biggest jobs I've done so far are a BHG and replace radiator, and clutch throwout bearing.

I need to use my brain and figure a way out of this. I think I need to go to bunnings and see what sort of lighting I can rig up for my new garage. It has no lights or power points, but I have a spare 12V battery I can use.

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Copper 4 lyfe!

Worry not about the haters opinon headgasket.

They just don't get it...

Unfortunately due to age of your mini constant maintaince is required, - however think carefully before you sell because it won't just be the car for sale.

These mini critical lemmings drive their efficient, boring, reliable 'coca cola cans' everywhere never experiencing the joy of a car with real personalty and classic style.

The mini is not just A to B transport, your mini is a handsome time machine which when activated takes you back to a less complicated era ... an era when people smile and wave at you in your mini - just because.. where rules were made to be broken, love was free and fun is not a dirty word.

So smile, ignore the poison tongue and be proud that your iconic little car is the grand daddy of the lesser motorcars your see today.


Good Luck

Chris

Do you have a workshop manual? If not I'll help out! Its literally just a couple of clicks on your keyboard to get one! (the haynes mini '59 to '69 owners workshop manual)
Let me know.

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

if you've done those three jobs, then you can do any other job on a mini... you've shown that you can use a torque wrench, get your hands into fiddly places, use a hammer and and make fine adjustments. Everything else is a variation on those skills - the procedures are in the workshop manual and in other peoples heads



extension cord to the house and a 6 way powerboard