Hi,

Been reading and lurking for a while. I had a 850 when I was much younger and it was always great fun as a student but that was 20 years ago. So the question is... is a 850 or maybe a 1100 a reasonable option for a daily drive (about 5000km a year on suburban road)?

What should I look for?

BTW I'm handy but I have no mechanical training, happy to learn to do some basics (like maybe a general service) but I can't see that I'll ever be rebuilding engines!

Ta

_________________
sans mini

Welcome to ausmini!
I'm no expert but I have driven a mini daily for the last 4 years 66km's a day and have never had a problem. Two years in a clubby 1100 engine and now two in a Cooper S 1275. It's starting to blow a bit of smoke now so a rebuild is on the cards but that does cost a lot of money to get done and like you I am handy but not a mechanic. My advice to people is that driving as mini is the greatest thing but it is not the cheapest. If you are buying a mini because you think it is a small cheap to run car then I wouldn't advise it. If on the other hand you accept that they require loving care and some $$$ then you will drive with a smile from ear to ear! Ausmini has been terrific to learn more and get advice on how to do the odd thing or two by yourself. I think an 1100 engine is fine as a daily drive. I would advise buying the best car you can afford at the start instead of one that needs the most work cheap. Good luck, you will have plenty more advice to follow and be warned, ausmini can be addictive! Cheers.

_________________
Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

Well I just clocked up 7000km on my car in a year (rego due this month).

Most of that has been freeway at 100kph. I have given it one service and will be giving its next one this weekend. The car was fully restored to as new condition as possible.

It is a 1275 but I did drive it as an 1100 before I started the resto and found it reliable then too.

You will need to keep your regular checks, oil and water weekly, tyre pressures etc. remember they are not "fire and forget" like the modern cars so they do need a little more attention.

I'd go the 1100 to keep up with the traffic, even a 998, but the 850s are rare these days so it depends what your intentions are. On suburban roads I think you would have no worries.

Find yourself a good Mini workshop to give you support and you should be fine.

Go for it.

Gig

_________________
67 Deluxe - Red and white
69 Deluxe - Sugercane Grey

Ive got a near enough stock 998 (exhaust and lumpy cam is all ive done) and its my daily. I probably do 10-15 thousand ks a year in it. Things break but its getting to the point where i can plan to replace things, not they break and im forced to fix them then and there.
The acceleration can be a bit slow, but a different final drive would fix that, once i get the engine out ill swap that over.

But i am one of those students lol.

_________________
Simplify and add lightness

I have a 68 deluxe I used to drive daily when I was working in Aus. 1293, HIF44, nothing fancy. 70km a day, no worries. Give it an oil/filter change every 5000 odd kms, and that was it. No smoke, no leaks. I do however always drive with some tools, water and a little spare fuel. I have total faith in it being reliable and can just jump in and head off on a 200km drive without worrying about whether it will get me home! I do also have Total Care roadside assist

There are a few minor mods you may want to do to make it a little more comfy as a daily - install H4 conversion kit and relays for headlights, install retractable seatbelts, install some sound deadening, a nice comfy steering wheel, and I also put in a fuse box with blade fuses to make things a little easier in the wiring department. The simplest things make the biggest differences! Come summer you may want to have a thermo fan installed.

Since I owned the mini, the wife's X-trail has spent about 2 weeks in the shop!

_________________
tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'

It's a car. It's what it was designed to do.

_________________

Hi and welcome. ausmini is an amazingly helpful and fast moving forum
with some truly smart and helpful people. But beware, there are some loonies here too.
I have a MG1100, almost the same as a Morris 1100 except for twin carbies and extractors.
It is used as a daily driver, about an hour and 20 round trip.
Don't buy one if you just want a cheap car to run, but having said that not expensive either. Dare I say, you would be better off with a Hyundi or Proton or something.
But you will look much cooler in a Mini and will actually enjoy the ownership. These cars just grow on you like an ugly wart and once attached very difficult to remove. (People even give them names )

AND... When you compare the fuel consumption of an 850 6.49L/100k, that puts it up in the top ten on http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/

And that's 50 years later.

_________________

I'm like the others....my mini is my daily, even though he blows smoke and doesn't like the cold mornings, doesn't have aircon, comfortable seats or a radio, but I love it!!! It's great fun to drive around in a mini every day.

_________________
"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

+1

I just stepped from the relative luxury of Subaru back into my Clubby, heaps of fun, and it gets heaps of looks i do about 40ks a day.
I'm a mechanic so mine is quite reliable but it still takes a bit more loving than a subie, thats ok, i love it and this forum is an excellent place to find the answers to your questions.

_________________
Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

Although potential abrasive the earlier post is correct: that's what they were designed to do.

I owned a Mini roundnose back in the early 80's when I was a student (in Scotland). I used it every day for 4 years, it never let me down in rain (mostly), snow (occasionally) and shine (rarely).

The only problem I ever had was the knuckle joints went clunky (easy to replace) and it was knicked once (but I got it back untarnished).

(fingers in ears and shout la la la) I even used to have sex in the back of it with my girlfriend at the time - ah those sweet memories....

They were designed as a low cost car for the masses when petrol was expensive and in short supply.

Mines was a bit different of course - I fitted flares, half inch wheel spacers, a fibreglass boot and sprayed the roof dark brown (the body was that orangy brown biegy colour) - man I was hot

Buy one and enjoy it....

_________________
Regards,

Mike
"He who dies with the most toys wins."

I drive my car daily and do about 10,000 miles / year. Never really lets me down.

I would buy the best mini you can afford, it will be easier that buying a dunger and trying to do it up while also trying to keep it on the road.

_________________
"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

I drive a Morris 1100 as my everyday car and it has proved reliable with just routine servicing for the past 11 years. The original motor has never been out of it and is 43 years old and still running fine.
I don't do 5000km a year though. I am only doing about 2000km. It is only a short trip to work!

I drove my 850 very regularly for several years - was fantastic and I had no reservations driving it everyday. While an 850 does need a little more persuasion to keep up with traffic, if you are in moderate peak hour traffic you'll be able to keep up fine anyway. Unless you like to floor it at every green light you wouldn't need much more than a 998 anyway.

As superseven mentioned there are some basic DIY mods that you can do which are easily reversible (i.e. do not compromise the originality of the car) but really improve the drive. My Dad used to have a 62 850 that he drove 50km each day - the car was stock standard apart from the following mods:
- Under bonnet original type fresh air heater
- Temp Gauge, Voltmeter and Tacho
- Radio
- Lots of soundproofing and carpet
- Retrimmed seats with extra padding in the drivers seat
- Right hand fuel tank (doing 50kms a day meant frequent refuelling on one tank!)
- Clubby retractable seatbelts
- Killswitches and green-knob battery isolator (any round nose mini is very easy to break into and hot wire )

A few other +s/-s we've found with our 850s:
- Dry suspension requires less maintenance than hydrolastic (although a bit firmer ride)
- Sliding windows not quite as good as windups (and slightly less waterproof, but you get used to them and you can still get reasonable ventilation).
- No synchro on first gear not good if you are in very heavy peak hour traffic at crawling speeds (although most round noses had 3 synchro boxes)
- A nice tidy 850 in original condition is a very good investment!
- Ridiculously good fuel economy.
- You can fit your bottle of flashlube, your club lock, street directory, steering wheel sunshade, 2L bottle of coke/water/darwin stubby, $25 in small change, jumper, car cover and tinned asparagus in the front door pockets. Plenty of room!
- Above average rust protection for cars of the era, both 850's had way less rust than many mid 70's clubmans we have seen.

Anyway hope this helps, I guess the main point I'm trying to make is that an 850 (even mechanically unmodified) can still cut it as a commuter!

BUT It is of utmost importance that you post pics and details ASAP once you buy one!!! Good luck!

_________________
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

Thanks everyone for the encouragement, advice and tips. This forum is an awesome resource. I've already learnt heaps just by reading old posts.


Yeap. Got that. Doesn't need to be cheap. Just needs to be reliable enough to get me to work most of the time.


Well I guess I'd better get my self a mini then.

BTW What year did minis get seat belts in the back?

_________________
sans mini