Nooooooooooooooooooooo

[Father Ted]

Been to the post office today to pick up some money that N power rather thoughtfully over charged me in 2007, so decided to treat myself to a copy o Practically Brassic Magazine.

What do I read - a Mini Resto in the next issue and "were going to turn it into a Cooper Lookalike"

 

FFS - you and EVERY OTHER FUCKING MINI OWNING NUMPTY.

 

I love Minis, I really do, but heres a thought - make it a bit more useable for daily driving (UL head, longer seat runners, decent soundproofing, nice wireless and speakers) and keep the bloody thing looking normal. It'll be a bloody novelty.

 

On the flip side I should be happy a care is being preserved and used daily.

[M'coli]

I would like to see if they turn it into a Cooper look-a-like rather than a Cooper-S look-a-like.

[eddyramrod]

+1, Ted. Isn't there already a rag called Mini World for this kind of thing? I agree, the title says Practical, so let's actually DO Practical, shall we boys? In which case, start with a Clubman Estate...

[Shep Shepherd]

I'd rather see a re-appearance in PC of the Sierra XR4i resto, which seems to have vanished without trace

[Father Ted]

Not the same Sierra the have stripped down to bare metal to drive around all winter testing waxoil and shit like that is it?

[Shep Shepherd]

Not the same Sierra the have stripped down to bare metal to drive around all winter testing waxoil and shit like that is it?

 

No. The restoration in question featured a slightly down-at-heel 1984 XR4i similar to this one:

 

 

In my opinion, it was the most interesting resto that the magazine has featured for many years, as not only was it not a Jaguar, MG, Mini or similar popu-tat, I remember the model when it was a new car. It would have been even more engaging if the car was an L, GL, Ghia, Laser, LX, 2.0iS or XR4X4

[Negative Creep]

I was thinking of buying one but just to be different fit some spotlights, Minilites and then give it a name

[cobblers]

I was thinking of buying one but just to be different fit some spotlights, Minilites and then give it a name

When I briefly owned a mini I was engraged by everyone on the forums covering them in union jacks and calling them daisy or someshit.

[eddyramrod]

If not Union Jacks, then what? Cobwebs?

I took a one-litre 1987 Mayfair in part-ex against my first Cadillac. Strange boy... Anyway, what to do with it? This was the summer of 2002, and the first of the Tobey Maguire Spidey movies had just been released, so I thought, Targa Red is about right for the red on his suit... Cue a Saturday morning with narrow black striping tape, making a big web on the roof, and a bright blue sticky-plastic spider sitting in the middle of it. More of the same along the door bottoms and up the bonnet, and all the removable plastic renewed and painted blue, as were the replacement scrapyard bumpers. The wheels came from a mate, in part-ex against my BMW. "The Amazing Spider-Min" was born! (See what I did there? )

Took it to a Mini show at Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, where I picked up a good used "Jet Black" interior, and new carpets, so here they are all going in to replace the tired beige. I was really pleased with this little baby and used it regularly, even though by now I had my 1978 Daimler as well. After a few months I sold Spider-Min, to a chap who wanted it so his daughters could learn to drive. Never saw it again.

[Father Ted]

Yeah, yeah, yeah

All right

guilty as charged, but it was 1989 and sort of a newish thing then, besides I used to ragg the arse off it.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

It depends. If they buy a Mark 1 or 2 and do a really convincing replica - correct badges, grille and trim, a decent pokey engine and generally make something that looks upon close examination like a genuine thing - why not.

If they're going to take the usual 1991 shitbox, weld some pattern A panels on and add John Fucking Cooper bonnet stripes and paint the roof white then no.

 

I quite like old Minis but despise the wanky fun misfit Mini scene and the irritating twats that keep it going.

[Negative Creep]

When all is said and done I still want to own a Mini Cooper. It's just one of those cars I need to tick off "the list"

[fotorabia]

Yesterday i saw again an Aussie Assembled Clubman 1100..nana driver..soft toys on parcel shelf and all completely stock..neat wheel trims as well..i aint against mini mods...but i definitely like period..

[ashmicro]

Minis are shit. Fact. They were shit in 1959 and they are shit in 2010. Shit shit shit. I had an orange 1275 and it was:

 

 

SHIT

 

Swapped it for a mark 1 Escort.

 

 

 

BTW, Minis are SHIT

[scooters]

I completely get your point originality is a good thing but having cut my shite teeth on minis in the 80s I can understand why he is doing it. Unlike many if the kit. Minis are wonderfully rewarding to drive. Probably the most fun I ever had behind a wheel was a westfield but close behind were my minis. However the difference between an 850 and ask a 1000 is chalk and cheese in modern traffic. The smaller unit feels venerable whereas the 1000 does all you could ask and is nippy and more than competent in modern traffic. Drop an allegro unit in it and it works like a modern car. Were I buying a mini for weekends then I would want it ad basic ad possible. For a daily driver then all systems can and would be upgraded for practicality and safety and fun reasons. Mind you I would stop short at union jacks and body kit.

 

The mini is a car where the ownership and drive is sooo improved with modification that it is very much worth doing.

[scooters]

Excuse ello ello style typeos I'm using my phone to post!

[Rocket88]

Mini's are the spawn of Satan. Hateful, bouncy little turds, all of them. The driving position is crippling, the bonnet latch lacerates the top of your head if you're not carefull, and they rot like there's no tomorrow,

[Peter C]

My first car was a 1976 Harvest Gold Mini 1275GT (clubman front) and some time later I had a pair of Mini 1000s. At the time I thought Minis were great, but with hindsight they are nothing but cramped, slow (hot Cooper aside), prone to terminal corrosion and generally shit. I would hate to have a serious accident in one.

 

Practical Classics magazine is bollocks. I get it every month for £1 (my wife has a discount at WH Smiths) and I still sometimes think whether it's worth the money. I miss the XR4i resto, the magazine is full of errors and typos and quite frankly, Classics Monthly offers so much more.

[richardthestag]

and in the Paddy hopkirk article where was the fecking 105e, surely that was about as comparable as you could get for Cooper competativenessessess, trouble is that they were piloted by birds (Pat Moss, Anne Hall et al) and that just wouldn't do would it old chap?

 

My PC subscription lapsed and I am in no hurry to renew it. I'll buy the mag if it looks interesting.

 

I got bored with Fuzz's cheque book restorations especially when he leaves the crappy old number plates on the front as a token to originality.

 

Must admit the 2 shite interceptors bought for shite money to make one snotter might just tickle my fancy. and I'll 4th the bring back the xr4i resto - I was enjoying that.

[trigger]

I've just had my PC subscription renewed again as a Christmas present so it doesn't cost me anything , I hope they bring back the XR4i restro as well as that was the first restoration feature they have done for a long while that I'm really enjoying, much more interesting then the Jaguar Mk2 one that's took 2 years to finish.

[Peter C]

Oh, I forgot to mention Sam Glover's "restoration" of that old Bond.

 

Why? The thing is fucked, he said so himself. Chassis, steering, suspension, brakes, engine..... all shot. Even if it wasn't so fucked, it's still quite possibly one of the least comfortable and slowest ways of getting from A to B. Perhaps I'm missing the point (says the man who owns and drives two Mercs). I look forward to reading more about his recently acquired Tatraplan.

[Cavcraft]

I know (from experience) that Minis won't start if it rains 20 miles away. I know they're unreliable, rust like Lord knows what and are cramped, noisy, uncomfortable, unreliable and almost impossible to work on unless your a midget contortionist.

But isn't that part of their charm? I don't know if I'd like one as a daily but for the weekend grin factor I think they're pretty hard to beat.

[richardthestag]

Oh, I forgot to mention Sam Glover's "restoration" of that old Bond.

 

Why? The thing is fucked, he said so himself. Chassis, steering, suspension, brakes, engine..... all shot. Even if it wasn't so fucked, it's still quite possibly one of the least comfortable and slowest ways of getting from A to B.

 

Possible competitor for the series Foward Control landie then?

 

Yep forgot about the Tatraplan that caused some mild trouser stirage, maybe the subscription will be renewed after all.

 

p.s. Love the old mercs my brother bought a 79 280TE and I though what the fuck have you got that for until I drove it. even at 20 + years old and with starship mileage everything worked and there was no rot on it.

[cobblers]

I think the problem with minis now is that they have pretty much all been messed about with, by (in increasing levels of awfulness):

• 
  [*:1yozw64v]A young girl who called it a girly name, put some seat covers on, a diamond shaped sign in the back window saying "princess on board" or something equally inaccurate. She ignored any rust or mechanical problems until the car would go. This is more or less the best case.
  [*:1yozw64v]A young lad who bought a 998, made it physically look like a cooper and put some HORRIBLE 12" minilites on, did his best to fit a stereo and then drove it for a bit like that until he realised they are pretty crap and got a Saxo VTR.
  [*:1yozw64v]The young lad who does a "DIY restoration" and has the whole car apart, gets his dads mate to weld bits up here and there and just fills over all the a pillar rust and all the scuttle seams and stuff, then gets his dads other mate to paint it cheap in his garage. He also has the engine in bits and makes it well fast, yo. Obviously it never goes back together right so things are constantly dropping off it, the rust starts coming through after about a fortnight and that car is so messed about with it's impossible to put it right properly without spending years slowly uncovering all the little bodges

 

The one I bought was one of the latter ones, but done by an adult so to a "slightly better standard", but it was still a can of worms. They are nice things to look at or have a mate who owns one so that you can have a go in it now and again, but unless you can find a reasonably original one, stay away because they attract people who are mechanically inept who have been told minis are nice and easy to work on so they have a go anyway.

 

They aren't, in my experience all that easy to work on either - They are all arse backwards and full of annoying little bodges BL lobbed on over the years meaning nothing comes apart like it really should.

[Polystratus]

Practical Classics magazine is bollocks. I get it every month for £1 (my wife has a discount at WH Smiths) and I still sometimes think whether it's worth the money. I miss the XR4i resto, the magazine is full of errors and typos and quite frankly, Classics Monthly offers so much more.

 

Enjoyed the XR4i resto feature too, just hope it's not been pulled due to complaints from the '80's cars are not classics' brigade. Have noticed PC has gone down hill somewhat since they changed over editors -another 'how to set up a MIG welder' article (Think they had that a few months back.)

[Rusty Pelican]

Minis are shit. Fact. They were shit in 1959 and they are shit in 2010. Shit shit shit. I had an orange 1275 and it was:

 

 

SHIT

 

Swapped it for a mark 1 Escort.

 

 

 

BTW, Minis are SHIT

A man after my own heart

[garycox]

I agree with Cavette, I know Minis are shit but they are fun to drive and I really like them, as long as they haven't been messed about with.

 

Mine's in pretty good condition, one old lady from new, low mileage, and it's brown with brown tartany seats. And that's how it's staying.

[seth]

A Mini is definitely on my list of cars to have, at least for a bit. But I'd really want a proper '60s one that hasn't been messed with to get the unadulterated experience. Obviously cars like this are now well out of range of a sensible budget so it might never happen

 

Ashmicro, bear in mind my others cars were also shit then

[AnthonyG]

Cobblers analysis is pretty accurate - you obviously know the Mini 'scene'.

 

Like Seth, I would't mind one, but it would have to be a Mk1 or an early Mk2 to get a feel for them when they were genuinely something new and different.

[timmyteapot]

Cheapish classics get the same treatment, how many Dolomites have Sprint wheels etc?, Mk3 Escorts have XR bolt ons and how many SD1s have been "Vitessed", one day the 1.1L in hearing aid beige will be the ones everyone wants.

 

But to make it a cooper, its wheels, bonnet stripes and fog lamps so nothing too major.