At the IMM2009 I found the quality of some of the Midland wheels to not be as good as the other suppliers, but when I looked at the wheels at IMM2014 they did appear to have improved and now are a similar quality to the other suppliers. Just my preference.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

It's off topic but does anyone know if angel eye headlamps are legal over here? Specifically Queensland. I've looked on the government websites and whatnot but all it goes on about it HID lamps and mine wouldn't be. Just halogens and they would definitely be within the light limits. I really like the look of the angel eyes but I don't know if they are legal. It has a bit about LEDs too but not much to go on.

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

People on here have fitted angel eyes before. AFAIK they are legal if halogen globes.
Don't put 100W globes into the plastic ones, they melt...

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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.

Haha yeah I'd assume so. Nothing more than 55!

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

mini sport are ok guys
while in SA on holidays I called in to pick up some door rubbers .i spent 45 minutes there talking and my young bloke and I got a tour of the place
can't get that online !

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11/1973 (Clubman look alike)

My experience with Minisport SA -

I bought 4 new Yoko 008s from them and had them fit them to my wheels which were already off the car.

The price for the tyres was OK, but not terrific. Fitting was extra.

2 of the wheels were bare rims, the other 2 had tyres on them with near new tubes.

I wanted tubes in all 4 so was expecting to buy 2 more new tubes.

When it came time to pay I was charged for 3 tubes because 'one got pinched by the fitter' - lets be realistic, his incompetence is not my fault.

I couldn't be bothered arguing and paid the bill.

In addition the fitting charge was to me excessive, the same as if I had driven the car in and they had to remove and replace the 4 wheels and 4 tyres.

Because of this experience I wouldn't recommend them, and certainly will never go there again.

I find I get great service and prices from Minispares UK, and did so from Lindsay Siebler before he retired.

Lindsay Siebler has Not Retired just has moved on to other projects

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65 panel van Sprog
73 panel van Iggy

MInisport SA are fantastic to deal with. I always get my parts the next day, even though I am in NSW. Yes the prices are fantastic, but you know what you're getting and the process is simple. They are always willing to give advice and offer help.

As for the UK shops. I prefer minispares. They are easier to deal with.

Karcraft is unbeatable for price, but if you are a bit mechanically challenged like me and aren't exactly sure what part you need, they can be a little bit trickier to deal with.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

But does he still sell parts and accessories?

No, now run by Ben. Just ordered some pistons from him.

I had good experience from MiniSport in SA with a large order, mate had bad experience with previously loved engine.
I prefer MiniSpares UK if choosing.
Beware the 1k AUD limit on imports. The duty is on landed cost and includes the cost of the freight too.
Reputable company that I dealt with (understandable) wouldn't do a Mickey Mouse invoice and I topped up the coffers for Mr Abbott

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'98 Mpi Sportspack + 7 port alloy head

If you absolutely need your parts to be there as soon as possible, minisport SA are fantastic. Have ordered from Far North Queensland ( 100km from Cairns) just before 2pm and had parts the next day. Can't fault that.... and this turnaround is not a one off.

depends on what your after, if you live locally they can be cheaper on larger items, midlands were about $50 less for wheels & tires than me buying them locally from minisport so i just bought them locally to save the hassle of postage. but it may work out cheaper too buy from the UK direct for the same rims than from minisport as your essentially paying what MS pay too have the rims & tires shipped from minispare's UK too them+markup then postage up to you, sounds crazy but its a business so they have too make money too stay afloat so they have too charge a bit more than what they can buy it. id check out Minisport UK and compare the price it might be a big diffrence or a small diffrence which then comes down too how soon you want then, within a week or 2-6 weeks (depending on customs)

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I placed an order on Sunday, was shipped out this afternoon and StarTrack currently says eta 03/02/2015 will update when it is received.

I am really interested by this thread, and it is a bit presumptuous of a rank 850cc newbie for me to post a contentious posting.. but here goes...

I am here in South Australia and I bought everything for the rebuild of our Mini K from Minisport SA just because it was so convenient. All up, I spent around $10K Yes, a bit more pricey, a dollar here, five dollars there, but for me the ability to pick it up direct was a big factor, and one of the guys who works there was a huge help, giving good advice freely and generously to someone like me who knew nothing at all about the Mini and its traps.

But the place has me torn by the fact that while one of their staff has been an absolute joy to work with, another is an absolute nightmare. And you never knew who you would get when you walked through the door.

They also did some work on the car for me, it could have been a communication break down, but they failed to do some of the work I asked for, did a whole lot I did not ask for, and then charged an absolutely outrageous amount for the work they did, much of which was not done right anyway, and then when I queried their mistakes (massive excess travel in the front right brake shoes) they just turned around and told me the work I had done was crap as though that was an excuse. I paid, it was not worth the hassle to argue, and I could afford it, but I don't know if I will buy parts from them again. Maybe not doing so would be cutting off my own nose to spite my face, given the convenience.

I am trying to be balanced here, my experience is simply what happened to me, and like I say, it could have been a simple communication break down, but since it involved the nightmare guy, I was not all that surprised.

For online purchasing... they are great, I think the nice guy runs that part of the business. But I am using someone else to do work that I can't do on the car now. Oh yes, and asking for advice here on Ausmini, and getting great help, thank you.

Matt

Matt

I have been involved in the South Australian automotive repair industry since around 1967 - on and off. I ran my own workshop from 1976 to 1979, and was employed in TAFE SA, mostly as a lecturer in automotive mechanics from 1979 to 2006, with a little bit bit of part time lecturing around 2011.

From 2006 to 2009 my wife and I bought and ran a small country supermarket where without a high level of customer service you won't prosper. We did.

Some businesses give you the confidence that they know what they are doing - some don't.

Some are competent at what they do - some aren't.

Some are happy to treat you like a mug - some don't.

Those that pride themselves on their customer service - AT ALL TIMES - are the ones you want to deal with.

If not - don't go near them.

There are always other options.