For reliability, cost effectiveness, spare parts availability, and a daily driver......... go find a nice KE10 or KE25 Corolla with a 1200cc motor and 5 speed gearbox....... especially if you plan on leaving it in a communal carpark during the day. You wont mind if somebody dents one of those..... and kids wont try to lift it up and move it while your gone.

Then again, $8000 will get you a nice '89 Rover mini (still the old shape, but imported from Japan) with a reliable low kilometer 998cc engine, auto or manual , unleaded, fuel injection, air conditioning, side intrusion bars.... the classic shape with all the modern comforts...... and they are generally much more reliable too. They'd use about 7L per 100km or so.


Steve at Brickworx Racing / Mini Worx Centre here in Adelaide is the guy to see.... he imports them, converts them to Australian Standards, and has sold them Australia wide

http://www.brickworx.com.au 08-8297-9494

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

[quote]I drove my daily driver to Mudgee and back from Sydney Wednesday without a hiccup. [/quote]


I saw that Steve - you were coming up past the racecourse towards the airport. I was heading into town on a mission otherwise i would have chased you down

I've found Minis to be quite reliable. I even drove a high milage Mini 1000 round trip Victoria British Columbia Canada to Davenport Iowa USA twice in one year. 4200miles each trip. No problems, just foot to the floor the whole time. I even burried the needle on the speedo coming down through the mountains with probably a tail wind as well. It was pretty fun, but I bet the drums wouldn't have stopped me for a long time. The best part was racing through the mountains with an SVT Cobra Mustang. Downhill through the twisties I would fly by him and wouldn't see him again for a few minutes once we were either going uphill or on a long straight.

Here's a pic of the speedo after I slowed down a bit after the curves. It was hard trying to get a pic while driving at that speed without crashing. Note: Big numbers are KM.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

Wow. I was expecting a few helpful replies but this is ridiculous! Thanks everyone!

Well - dare I say it - but a Corolla has been considered, but every time I start looking through the classifieds at those things I fall asleep... With cars, I find it hard to buy something sensible!

I'm really gonna have to think about this, but lets say if I decided on a Mini, then I guess it sounds like my best bet would be to buy as new as I can afford (i.e. Japanese import), and then get it checked out by the local mechanic on a regular (<5000km) basis. Would any of you have any sort of ballpark figure for the costs on running something like an '89 Rover - ie. $400 per month? Or is that the same as asking 'how long is a piece of string?'...

Spaceboy - naturally I meant 'real' minis - 'old non-bmw' does sound pretty derogatory now that you mention it

I can't really put down I Mini. I love the little buggas. But I did have a 1977 Corolla and I loved it. Not nearly as attractive, in fact it was really ugly. Those old Corollas are fun to drive they are rear wheel drive and nearly impossible to kill, even with constant abuse. So if you don't go for a Mini I would highly recommend an old 'Rolla. They are also addictive though, mine did end up with a 10pt cage and a 13B Rotary. Goodluck and keep the rubber side down.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

I drove my Cooper S as a daily driver in Melbourne with occasional interstate trips to Canberra and Adelaide for more than 10 years (1969-82). It was fast, reliable and seldom broke down. I rebuilt the motor and gearbox after that but after someone tried to steal it off the street (fortunately cops caught them towing it down the road at 3.00am - thank God for hidden battery switches) I decided it was just too valuable to continue with it as a commuter.

I later used my Mini van to as a daily driver too in Adelaide and it was great fun, and cerainly stood out in the crowd. But here again I considered it just too conspicous and vulnerable to unwanted attention. A problem with any classic car I guess.

With both Minis I would find myself actually wanting to take the long route to work - the one with the most bends and roundabouts ! A delight to drive and more than capable of keeping up with the bland, boring autoboxes that dominate today's roads. Everything else is just traffic !

I agree though, you really have to be a Mini enthusiast and have some mechanical skills to maximise your enjoyment.

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

I have an 1988 mini, and commute with it occasionally to work - on quiet days when I can afford to be running late. My car has recently had a series of problems that have been the same as Chopchop's original cooper S, so don't be counting on the later model ones to be that much more reliable. Unless you are handy with the spanners, a mini can only be used as a daily driver if you have a spare car as a backup for when things go wrong.

If you go ahead with it, I recommend that you sign up with a breakdown service, be prepared to carry around a basic toolkit in the boot, and always have at least $500 - $1000 in the bank as a just in case in order get it back on the road. When things go wrong, be prepared to accept that this is part of the "charm" of driving a classic on a daily basis.

As for your other options, for that price range there are plenty of fun cars that would be far more viable as a daily driver. Early 90's cars like an mx-5, Pulsar SSS, etc would have you on far less familar terms with your local mechanic.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

it doesnt sound like you'll be asking a lot of it, 10ks of urban driving and deli runs..
i've used a mini as a daily for 5 years, every time i drive something else i wanna jump back in my mini.

I really don't know what people do to/with their cars. A few years ago I paid $25 for my Daughter's school transport. It lasted just on a year before we needed to redo the engine. That cost $1600 including a newly serviced 295 head and it ran fine for the next couple of years. Given a moderate amount of TLC a Mini is a very reliable daily commuter. In almost 30 years mine have NEVER failed to arrive at its chosen destination (including a couple of Sydney/Townsville trips).

Cheers, Ian

Mike the trip to Mudgee was a lot of fun and glad we were spotted.

Back on reliability if you don't throw a mini back through the gears and hammer it around corners it will go for a very long time.

I take my cars off the road to fix little things at the first sign of any issue, I have never (fingers crossed & touch wood) been stuck anywhere in six years of daily mini driving.

But I am lucky if I take one off the road I have a few others to choose from. They also play chinese whispers and are all on or all off very strange.

steve

Steve, you know how my car is driven..it's driven like that daily for 3-4years now and it's never not got me to work

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

You and pot joint have a special relationship and you are about to do an engine conversion. Lets strip down the motor and have a look see once its out. I would assume you'll replace most mechanical components in the process.

Pot joint looks like its never been off the road. Some of these cars people are getting into have sat forever and are then tarted up sold on for stupid dollars to the unsuspecting and pushed back into daily service being driving like sports cars as opposed to cheap and cheerful 40 year old budget motor cars that they were and still are.

First thing to go is the head gasket if its not beaten by either or both master cylinders followed closely by a gear box, cv's and or wheel bearings. But I forgot to mention that most clubby's have been rewired badly several times before you got it using red wire, don't no why but usally red for everything and the prince of darkness LORD LUCAS will get you at the best of times.

How many times have you seen someone go through this? Over and over again they buy a car for way too much, spend even more silly money then desparately try to flog it off to the next unsuspecting new mini person trying to recoup their expenditure.

steve

i drove my van daily for almost 8 years, and my commute is a 10km round trip to the railway station. The only times it failed to get me home was when it ran out of Petrol due to a busted fuel gauge. But I got sick of it being damaged at the station, and there was always "little things" going wrong and I was spending every weekend working on it just keeping it on the road and ready to drive on Monday. Small electrical faults, seized or leaking wheel cylinders, gearbox issues, there is always bloody something!

So I bought a 1980 Corona Liftback for $2,000. It's a low mileage minter. All I've done is service it and it has never broken down. It doesn't attract attention like a Mini or handle like a Mini, but it sure is more comfortable and reliable.

Now the Minivan is confined to weekend fun.

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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

Thanks again everyone. Perhaps the Mini will have to wait until I'm not doing stupid hours at work and actually have time for a life and a few hobbies (i.e. working on a mini...) At the very least I think I'll be having a word to Steve at Brickworx Racing.

Anyway, when I get one (oh it's definitely happening this lifetime - I just hope sooner rather than later!) you'll all be the first to know, because I'll probably be inundating you with more questions!!

Cheers,

Rob

Pity the same can't be said for your motorbike!
But's that another story hey?
Cheers
KB