so im in 2 minds about looking at a mini its a 77 club man thats had the body & interior restored, the engine was rebuilt but has an issue with the build the guy who bought it after restored hadn't even driven it after he purchased it 6 months ago. black smoke out of the oil breather which points to a seal. its an 1100cc engine

paint work is fresh & hasn't been buffed yet so im kinda wondering if $4500 seems fair on a car that essentially needs a rebuild & a buff as im not knowledge in such departments i may have to pay someone else to do it.

so opinions & if the price is high what would be a reasonable offer

here's that ad.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/north-ha ... man-sedan/

heres some pics the owner sent me

The only person who could put a value on a vehicle such as this is you.

Check other Minis for price, how much is a good paint job ???

I always look at a vehicle and try to estimate what is it worth as spare parts
to me. what is the body, engine, wheels, trim, worth.

If you are happy with the asking price, take a chance ?? buy it .

Les

thats what whats kinda niggling as ive seen minis in similar condition anywhere from $2000 - $6000 so i guess a cars worth what someones willing to pay.

i was kinda thinking $3500 to be a reasonable offer which would make cost of the car around $5-5.5k for a fully running decent mini which seems realistic to me

Ummmm, no, grey smoke out of the oil breather points to no oil control rings... black smoke out of the breather points to something burning. I bet it's the current owner who said "points to a seal", right? and just what seal might that be????

"engine was rebuilt but has an issue" means the engine needs a proper rebuild, whoever assembled it can't have known what they were doing, or it wouldn't have an issue, would it?? (note, I didn't say "whoever rebuilt it")

If you buy it, assume the engine is completely rooted, and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Likewise with the bodywork, if they did a crap job of the engine, they probably did a crap job of the body. How much bog is in it? Been over it with a fridge magnet?

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

havent been to look at it yet was going to on saturday, the current owner bought it as is so all he's got is a stack of receipts & what the owner before him has told him and dosent really know much more. he described it as black smoke from the breather but either way would require a rebuild but i see what you mean if he did a half ass job at the engine most likely the same with the body, speaking to him on the phone he didnt really have much of a clue about mini's in general which he admitted so it was 1 of his mates who basically said "it could be a seal" lucky me ive got relatives who could suss it out better than i can.

this is why im in 2 minds about it, it could clean up to be a decent mini if the bodys done right, but the motor's cactus which is the way im looking at it as closer to a rolling shell rather than a car

You can always make a cheap offer allowing for repairs it may need, if the seller is not happy with the price offered to bad . Keep on looking there is always another better one cheaper just around the corner . Good Luck with the hunt for the Best Car for your Budget is fun Enjoy !!!

cheers, im actually kicking myself about another that was for sale the interior & paint was in good nick with gearbox issues sold over the weekend for $2k :-O only saw the ad monday rang & he had sold it already, i went & looked at it about a month ago and offered him 2.5k as it was advertised for $4k and refused

Simon speaks volumes, I agree with him 110% plus he's a better motorkhana driver than me!!!

Doogie

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I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

Nice paint + interior + rooted engine is the best buy!
My car had all the above and I got to work the engine as I pleased, and learnt a heap in the process. They are piss easy to work on so don't underestimate how much you can do yourself.
$4k for that seems very fair, but only you can judge that in person...

Minis are a constant time and money pit, every 40+ year old vehicle is. Don't be fooled that you are in for an easy ride when you pay $2000 for a heap of rubbish, you will spend thousands over the next few years rebuilding and replacing!

Worth every second and cent in the end though

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1975 Clubman
1152cc, 40dcoe weber, RE83 cam, GRed head.

i know about money pits, my tx3 turbo was 1 for sure, spent just over $10k on it in the 3 years of owning, rebuilt the engine with forged 20thou bottom end, bigger turbo, bigger intercooler, interior, rims etc etc....

i lost interest in the car after if was broken into and had bits of the car stolen/ damaged, sitting in it just didnt feel like it was my car anymore so i decided to follow my dream of owning a mini & passing the tx3 onto someone who will continue where i left it. might i add i will miss the turbo spool and having absolutly no traction in 1st & 2nd but i had managed a mild 130fwkw out of a 1.6L.

but there's always room to go in a mini after lurking around here, tmf, 16v & mini driver ive managed to obsorb quite a bit of info, aftermarket & NOS are alot better for mini's thanmy laser which required months of waiting on backorder bits for basic gaskets, read almost every how to on this forum.
i might build a 1275 or even going 16v path as ive also got a micra as my run around car that could serve as a donor.

I'd say so long as the body is in good order (there are degrees of good order) then it's probably only worth the body and mechanicals other than engine.

You'll have to go look at it and make a call for yourself. To Simmon you listen, I'd knock off a few hundred from his asking price to say $3500, that would be about what it's worth.

Having said that I've seen some pretty good, bog stock, honest clubbies for that price range... I'd be more tempted at looking for one of those instead.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K