Anybody driven a mini?

[sandwich]

I'm thinkin about getting one. What do they drive like? The classic ones, of course, not the new ones.

[Sweeney921]

ask wouter, i believe he owns one

[Matra et Alpine]

I'm thinkin about getting one. What do they drive like? The classic ones, of course, not the new ones.

have you driven a go-kart ?
scale it up
Not sure what the pot-holes are like in Boston.
But my experience from New York would warn against an old Mini - you could get stuck in some of those potholes.
Seriously though, the suspension is rubber and fairly stiff and non-compliant. This means that compared to the normal US car you will find it very jittery, twitchy and somewhat bone-shaking.
Of course, that's part of the character - and the reason behind it's great handling
Not sure how it will go on 87 octane, compared to the 95 it was originally designed for. So I'll look to US folks to advise best on performance.
You will be surprised how easily big folks fit in the car. I had a boss of 6'3" who had one !
Not sure what US seats are like so can't comment on long journeys.
You sit low and that can be intimidating around larger cars - especially SUVs !
The body/chassis is a 45 year old design so it's not up there on safety, side impact etc.
I ALWAYS advise fitting a rally roll cage to any Mini owner. Sounds a bit extreme but it's saved my brothers life 3 times. Once on a rally - rolled it, once on a recce - ditched it and once at a busy junction when a truck jack-knifed and nearly took the top off the car !!
So think very carefully about your personal safety stance BEFORE you test drive it as after you will have fallen in love with it and won't hear the words of caution
It is a long way from the fastest accelerating car (!) but sure is one of the most fun, but be prepared to use the revs and the gearbox.

[sandwich]

the one i have my eye on already has a 1380cc engine, roll cage, fully upgraded suspension and brakes, and helical cut gears in the tranny, which is close ratio.

[Matra et Alpine]

the one i have my eye on already has a 1380cc engine, roll cage, fully upgraded suspension and brakes, and helical cut gears in the tranny, which is close ratio.

Did you mean straight-cut gears - that's the normal uprated performance optoin for the 1380. 4 or 5 speed box ( or esoteric 6 - some are available )
You are buying a serious rally/race-prepped Mini.
You'll find it tiring with the straight cut gears on freeways as they are very noisy. But a good loud ICE or headphones will cut out the whine
BUT that will be one great fun car, even if you only owned it for a year it would be worth the experience.
Check for rust on the subframes and bottom of A-post, top of wings at seam. Nothings terrible as all the parts are being remanufactured.

[johnnynumfiv]

Yea, they are pretty similar in performance to the MG midgets, the feel of a go cart, low, good handeling, but i don't know about the minis but midgets are pretty high matinence, always something wrong, but really fun cars.

Matra, do the floors on minis rot like the ones on midgets?

[UK CARS]

ever driven one? ive raced them.....
couple years ago i did junior ministox car racing ....
it had a 750cc engine, bucket seat, full roll cage, strenthening bars around the car (welded), no lights windows grill etc,.... driving a mini is like dring a big go-kart...the handeling is tight but competetive! it was great fun...ive driven various other minis too. go for it, buy the BEAST! you'll regret it if you dont!

[Alcomet]

I've only test driven one (a friend's 1981 mini! He is starting a collection of old mini's) and loved it!

I agree with impressions of the car stated in Matra and UK CARS posts.... must say the low sitting on the car IS INTIMIDATING around larger cars!!! It needs time to get used to ...

one last thing .... It's really fun to drive ... just switching gears on it gave me a enjoyable time .....

[Wouter Melissen]

Owning one, I can only say go for it. Make sure it's a good one, don't make the mistake I made. Getting the first one you drive. I just had to get it, because it was so much fun! It still is great fun and if you have some experience anything can be fixed by yourself. Do you happen to have small hands? That would be a big plus!


Mine:
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ead.php?t=3004

[Matra et Alpine]

Do you happen to have small hands? That would be a big plus!

Yeah, you kind of get used to grazed knuckles
I tore musclie in my back and was in traction for a week after trying to bolt the exhaust onto the manifold on a Mini.
Anyone seriously competing in Minis is adept at taking out the subframe bolts and LIFTING the body away from the engine to do the work and then put it back on. It's easy once you get used to it !! Rolling it onto it's side a-la the Monte service crews isn't advised

[sandwich]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...477639032&rd=1

he expects at least 8g's, which might be out of my price range.

[VtecMini]

Another thing to keep an eye out for is sills. They often don't look too bad, but are quite a job to fix, cos they're rather structural. Beware of welded on oversills too, because they have a tendancy to retain water and rust through.

But I'd definately say go for it, though i'd be a little uneasy about having it as your only car as they are rather high maintence. I have a friend who had a 1340 that went pop not so long ago, which turned out to be a rather expensive repair job, so I'd probably advise against getting anything excessively tuned until you've learnt how to get around the engine. That's just my opinion of course.

I think my favourite thing about Minis is that after while you'll actually grow to love the high pitched scream of a small capacity engine as much as a big burbly V8. Or at least I have anyway.

[Ru$$ky]

Well, I have driven the original and it is very much like a cart. However, the gearbox is very annoying, makes a lot of noise. The brakes are .... What brakes? And the engine is underpowered for today.

At the end I bought a new Mini Cooper S: 6 speed manual box, 163bhp from a supercharged 1.6 (can be easily tuned to 200bhp stage one, 245 Stage two, 275 Stage 3), brakes are good (even for about 10 laps on track), handling is on-par with original. moreover its a modern car covered by 5 year warranty by BMW. It is much bigger, can spec up tons of equipment, etc. A much better proposition imho.

0-60 7.1s
133 mph

[Matra et Alpine]

Well, I have driven the original and it is very much like a cart. However, the gearbox is very annoying, makes a lot of noise.

It's even worse with a Jack Knight gearbox, which this one reported has
Depends what you're used to and want from a car too.
Mini's were never about adding sound deadening or dobleu bulkheads - especially in any competition car where litghtening it was paramount !!

The brakes are .... What brakes?

Hmm, unlikely you drove a Copper S then as all Ss were discs.

And the engine is underpowered for today.

Well if you're comparing power only then I'll agree.
Even with a 1380 you'll not match the power of an Aston-Martin
But for fun ??? Mini all the way

handling is on-par with original

it mimics it, but isn't as reponsive or direct and certainly not as 'chuckable'.
An excellent choice though.

[Falcon500]

Havent drivan one but....
I have been in one...it had 92 ford laser seats in it...a sub box made of particle board and a driver wo was missing several screws...while this one ran likea peice of shit it still accepted the thrashing its owner gave it...last big thing he had was getting it airborne and in its death rattle it got them home fromthe coast...with a peice of the block missing and leaveing the fuelpump detached (well obviously attached but not part of the block anymore) from the reports i got...i didntlike it to be honest...and the gear box was clunky too,...notthat i am used to shifting with my right hand....first time i was ever a passenger and hand controll of the gearbox (there was another time when i was a passenger and in controll of the stearing wheel )
And i have drivan a car coonsiderd its closest rival here in australian the 69 datsun 1000 with leaf springs all around and drum breaks all round handeled like a champion and was very hairy to stop....my father had a drag race in this car off the lights and merciesly slaughterd the mini i talked about before (of course his 1000 runs a race spec engine )