Hello all,
How much does it cost to restore a Mini? Hubby and I are going to make the Cooper a husband/wife venture, and a lot of you have seen the little beast, so now we need honest opinons on how much it will cost to get it to rego standard?

Thanks,

Lynda

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1978 Leyland Mini 998LS All Original *Sally*
2002 Mini Cooper *Coopa*

It depends on what sort of restoration you are doing. If you are doing it with good used parts it will obviously be significantly cheaper than if you were buying new parts.
I have been buying new parts from Karcraft etc. over the last two years for my Mini rebuild and I reckon at the end it will probably cost me around $15,000. That will not included any engine/gear box build costs as I was lucky enough to buy a good set-up from an ex BMC mechanic a few years ago that will go in. That's for a 67 Deluxe that I am doing up to be a fun car (as in no original engine, compliance plate etc.)
On the other hand, I have a 64 Morris 850 van that I will be restoring at a later date that I am happy to use good second hand parts on. This is going to be returned to original though as it has the original engine and plates with it.
As I said it depends on what you want.
Ziff
PS Sorry for being long winded, it's Friday night

Long replies are always good information.

We are wanting to restore her to use on club occassions at this stage, so we will probably be using new parts if they are available.
We will want to driver her every day tho so she will most likely end up as we do Junior and Sally...most days hehe

Any info on Cooper restorations is greatly appreciated.

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1978 Leyland Mini 998LS All Original *Sally*
2002 Mini Cooper *Coopa*

Geez, Lynda, you sure know how to ask the big ones... , It depends on how far you want to go and what state your car is in to start with. As a rough guide you should buget around 10 grand for the body/paint, again depending on the condition of your cars body and the level of finish you want for your paint( show quality or just nice).
The same goes for your drive train, up to and beyond 10 grand depending on wether you want just a reco'ed drive train or a high performance one..it just comes down to how far you want to go. I hope this was a little bit of help and don't forget if you do go ahead with the resto start a thread with plenty of pic's as most of us love to watch.....

Good luck Gerg

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May the fork be with you.

Yes I have finally decided what to do with the Cooper and it will be an interesting project. I decided on it once I managed to get hold of the original 997 engine for it which I was really not expecting to get, plus it came with a complete engine rebuild kit. I found out the car had a rebuilt Mini K engine in it so the 997 wasn't going to be finished anytime soon. Its going to need a lot of stuff thats for sure, so it will be a long term project.
I pulled the engine out of it tonight to go into my car so I'm already part of the way there.
Next step is to purchase a mig welder, tax time shortly......

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1966 Morris Mini Deluxe *Junior*
1971 Morris Mini K *Sophie*
1973 half raped Leyland Clubman

This will be a "ground up" restoration, so its going to be stripped to the shell and bead blasted before any body work is carried out. I have a bead blaster at work to do this and will take the shell to my uncle to have it all fixed up.
I think once the body is done I'll see a much clearer picture of whats going to be done. I work as an auto elec now so the wiring side of things will be a real cheap and easy issue covered.

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1966 Morris Mini Deluxe *Junior*
1971 Morris Mini K *Sophie*
1973 half raped Leyland Clubman

If you are looking at a "concourse" resto, don't expect much change out of $25.000.

Dogie

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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.

Nah it will be a stock, as close to the factory specs as possible resto.

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1978 Leyland Mini 998LS All Original *Sally*
2002 Mini Cooper *Coopa*

thats like asking how longs a piece of string

it can cost as little or as much as you want to spend
depending on what u want it to be

cheers bob

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1978 NUGGET GOLD 1275 LS

WOOF!!

Ps I second doogie's estimate
KB

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PMSL @ 1310/71

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

a resto doesnt have to be that much, you just need friends in the right industries.
if you take your cooper to a shop to get a resto, and everything has to be new or changed and your looking for hard to get bits, and you want it done asap then it will cost you a fortune.
if you collect everything you need, parts wise, then you'll spend the most on your bodywork and paint. your engine is the next big thing on your shopping list, followed by interior and so on.

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

$20,000 and still counting for me, if you want the correct carpet like me, budget about $900
mention Cooper or Cooper S and times the normal mini price by 3 (bit like GT's at teh moment)

depends how factory you want it.

cheers Brett

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i spent over $35,000 on my ute and i did alot of the work myself. ps thank's to AL at mini central and pete the sparkie

Sorry Bob

Twice the distance from the Centre to one End

To many factor to consider...how Much your going to do yourself, how much a good freind's, and what you already have to start with and to what standard, Rust Engine rebuild and Paint also a factor

Between 10 to 20k otherwise

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It