hi guys,

i'm a total newbie here and just got my Ps last month (so that I could get a mini)!!! i'd like some advice on whether I should get a matic or a 90's auto rover.

i've come across a '68 minimatic on sale for $5000 (not sure about its condition, have to call up and ask) , and i'm just wondering whether i should save up another $7000 for a rover instead???

Opinions will vary. If you have to drive an auto, and really want a Mini, get a Rover Jap import. Make sure it is legal, has papers and is registered in NSW.

Of course that depends on how long it takes you to save the extra cash.

i would NOT get an auto mini, the gearboxes
are meant to be VERY hard to fix, and one would
assume, very expensive. if you want to buy a
mini as a first car, why not try a clubman??
(the later style with a "flat" front) they are generally
cheeper. i personally would love a rover mini, but at
$7k it souonds very cheap and i would look into it very
carefully before buying... hope that helps

if you go an original matic, dont expect a lot of power or acceleration off the line. and they can be quite expensive to fix.

although in saying that i cant imagine a rover auto would be much cheaper.

J_A_M is right, if you HAVE to get one, try find a jap rover import model. its likley to be the most reliable (if there is such a thing )

also do a search on the forums there should be a bit of matic info on here by now.

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'68 Morris Mini Matic (GF's)- complete!
'68 Morris Mini Deluxe - deciding on specs..
'63 Morris 850 - On the Shelf
Other various mini parts cars

thx for all of your replies!

i'm after an auto because i'm on my Ps and not too sure if i can handle a manual ... i can be a little shocking sometimes, being a female driver and all (not saying all females r shocking) .

probably have to save a couple more thousands for a rover then and investigate a bit more!!!!

if you just got your P's driving an auto, then I assume that is all you can drive...yea?

68matic on here lives in Sydney and has an old school auto mini, maybe contact him and ask if he will take you for a drive. That way you can see what the old matics are like.

There should be a few car yards selling auto Rover mini's that you can test drive too. Then decide from that.

are you on you auto P's?

apprently when you switch to green P's you can automatically drive a manual

i got my matic when i was on auto red Ps, didnt really convince the 'rents i could drive a manual so i went with the auto mini

then when i was on my green Ps i started to drive the moke

i was lucky to find an excellent original 30Kmile (hmmm) mini, it still runs, has had no problems gearbox wise. just electrical, but all cars are like that

honestly ask yourself: are you good practical wise? do you have trouble with coordination? can you imagine clutching, shifting, and accelerating?
thats for the startup
once you get goin you're fine.

advantages with a matic:
foot on go, and it goes
very relaxing crusing
much rarer than normal minis (and perhaps even vans)
price more exxy in the future (not now though, not many people would want an auto mini)
normally owned by old ladies and found in good condition
when driving a manual, you've always got to think in your mind when the traffics gonna start up, when youve gotta begin to get the gear in, where the friction point is, should you shift up or down when slowing, are you gonna go into the back of the car in front if you let the clutch out

disadvantages with a matic:
(people say less control of the vehicle, eg up hills - i dont notice)
much less acceleration
not many mechanics would like to touch an auto mini
you rely on the 30yr old gear box (30 yrs ago, american auto cars had 3 gears at best - and had a few problems with them)

if you want, you can come over to see my matic, or moke
i live in cabramatta and will be home most of this weekend
0412 680 389

where abouts is this other 68 matic? was it advertised on the MCCNSW website? maybe i can have a look at it with you to compare with mine...

_________________
Inconspicuously Conspicuous
Appreciation without Depreciation
forever chasing clearer skies...

Go the Old Skool route, get the Mini Matic, old Minis rock!!!

If you need a reliable daily driver id be proned to go for the jap import........

On the other hand however old school minis rock! If you can find an older model in good condition i say go for it. If not go for the import.

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[Maverick] 1971 Mini K

I've only just dipped my toes into owning an Auto (putting an 1275 A+ Auto into my Moke), so I'm not speaking from a huge amount of experience. But a couple of mates love 'em. Yes, new parts can be pricey, but so's everything mechanical (new) for a Mini these days.

If an auto is looked after, they are very reliable. That means servicing it regularly - old and filter change every 3000 miles MAX. Most of the bad press Autos get relates to people not maintaining the car properly. A manual Mini will soldier on a lot longer if abused than an Auto.

Complex? Ever seen inside a modern Auto? That's complex for you!!!

I say, go for an old Auto. If you buy and old school mini matic you can always upgrade to a stronger and faster 1275 Auto engine later. They are CHEAP used because hardly anyone wants them. My unleaded 1275 A+ Auto came from a UK 1990 Metro with 31,000 miles on the clock. The cost - $500 AU! We stuck it in a test vehicle and it ran beautifully in every gear!

Late Rovers are nicer inside and likely to have less miles on the clock. Some even have Air Con. But most of them are still 998cc and they have a lot more weight to carry around. They probably are no quicker than an old matic anyway.

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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

FWIW - I think you should invest in learning to drive a manual. It's not that hard, bit like learning to rub your head and pat your tummy, takes a bit of concentration to start with but then just comes naturally with practice and in the long term, you'll find it cheaper and much more fun.

thx for all of ur advice!

68 matic - the car was advertised in the trading post

i called up the person who's selling the mini and to my suprise it was an old granny!!!

i'll probably go and inspect the car and see what it looks like b4 deciding between a rover or the matic. but my parents were like when they heard me say "1968". they weren't very impressed as the cars nearly as old as them.

besides from ozcoopers, do you guys know of any jap mini dealers around sydney??

thx

I've has 3 of these autos (one a 998 MiniMatic, 2x 1275 autos in Morris 1100 cars- same basic box).

Yes they are reliable, parts are still available from UK, http://www.jpat.co.uk/

Karcraft told me once he can get in whatever bits I want.

Biggest problem is- people neglect the oil and filter changes, and then things like clutch plates and brake bands wear out. 3000 miles is absolute max, personally I would do the oil every 1500 miles and filters 3000.

I'd go for an old MiniMatic, if an auto is your thing..

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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.

Sounds like majority rules here, Go the Old Skool!!!

I reckon you should bite the bullet and learn to drive a manual, however, owning a mini isn't something to be taken lightly, they're small, cute, fun to drive and I love them to bits - often literally, most of us here are out doing something to the car at least twice or three times a month. They're old cars, they aren't cheap to run like you would expect, when compared to a late 80's japanese car like a honda, subaru, toyota, hyundai (yes, I know - Korean) whatever.... Minis take specialist mechanic skills to maintain, most times if you take them to your local corner mechanic to get something fixed, either the mechanic won't know where to start, or they'll break something else while fixing - read some of the older threads and you'll start to see the pattern. If you need parts, lots of things are available new, and they're more expensive than the equivalent japanese car parts, there are a lot of things that can't be bought, and I have, on occasion, had to buy a whole car to get the one thing I wanted...

most of us here have a mini as a fun car to hoon around in, some, like me drive one every day and I trust it more than I trust my wife's commodore, but only because I know every square inch of it. Most school holidays (for my kids) my mini is in the garage having major surgery, if I was to get a mechanic to do that for me, it'd cost me big time. Most of us have a backup modern car for WHEN something goes wrong - there is no IF...

I have 2 older sisters, and my father is into morris minors. When the elsdest sister turned 18, she got a minor because she lived with us, and dad could maintain it. The middle sister moved to Melbourne, and she got a subaru because it wasn't going to break down once a month - unless cared for on a weekly basis, a mini is gonna be just the same... I've been working on minis and minors since I was 13 (now 27), I went for a 6 month period after I turned 18 when I only had a mini, then I got a ford escort as a bash around car for when the mini was off the road for whatever was wrong or being upgraded

now, you can read this and tell me I'm an idiot and to get stuffed, which I'll understand, but I advise you to go on a night time mechanics course and get yourself some tools and a workshop manual. Or you can say to yourself "maybe I'll get something cheap to drive around in, and I won't cry if I prang it in the supermarket carpark, I'll hate it for a couple of years, then I'll get a mini"

the other thought on my mind is that I want you to be a lifelong mini fan, because I love it when I meet other mini fans, I have a fear that if you get a mini, particularly a '68 matic, and it is constantly needing money spent on it, you might turn against them, saying they are expensive, unreliable little shitboxes - I only completely disagree with the shitbox part

please excuse my tirade, I don't mean to lecture, but I see a lot of minis that get worn out and left to rot because the owner didn't know what they were getting in to. My first Mini, a yellow '70 Mini K, was a beautiful little car. I was 13, I went 50/50 with my dad using my paper round money. We kept it for a little while, then dad decided we couldn't keep it so sold it to a uni student - it very quickly degraded and went to the scrapheap

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?