mk1-forum.net

From Goodwood Website:
Dan Trent: Is the 'new' Mini (R50/53) already a modern classic?
https://www.goodwood.com/grrc/columnist ... n-classic/

Modern MINIs suffer from major reliability problems (based on friends that have owned them), but an early MINI Cooper S is still an absolute bargain for all the specs and performance they offer.

It's only a "classic" in that MINI have royally screwed up the lineup over the years, introducing bloated, increasingly large vehicles that are "Mini" by name only. It makes the size and clean styling of the R50/R53 models look quite appealing to this day.

I wouldn't say they are a 'classic', smaller and closer in spirit to an original Mini than the current offerings and now so cheap that it's almost worth buying one and smoking around in it because you can

Makes me think, is this what it was like with Mk1 Coopers in the UK around the mid-70s? Were they just nearly a throwaway car by that point, just cheap fun as a 10+ year old car?

Yes it was! If we had known at the time many of us might have filled several barns with old throwaway Mk1 Coopers and not scrapped the ones we did!

I hope they become a valuable car in the future,
bought a mint R53 with that in mind.
As said... the car reliablitity could be much better, it rattles, its harsh and new parts are expensive. It is very fun to drive though...
Here in Portugal its hard to find a decent original R53 for less than 10K euros... and they start to worth more than the early R56's.

Something i noticed here, its not easy to find a completely stock/original R53... most of them had suffered mods.
I guess the same in the 70's with the Cooper's.

Cheers
Luis

The big difference is that the MINI is not really a ‘practical’ classic compared to the original car. Not for the home restorer anyway.

I for one will not be pulling MINI Cooper S out of a shed after a 43 year slumber to restore. Ok, I’ll be 80 odd then but can’t see the next generation doing it either.

That’s not because I don’t like them, it will probably not be practible (?) to restore one at home due to the complexity of them and the almost certain unavailability of electrical components.

Be interesting to see how many do survive in say 20 years time.

My lads on his 3rd new Mini, we like them, yep the early ones were unreliable, and the initial grief we had with the 2008 Cooper S power unit, just changed it for a 2014 Cooper S which is a totally different animal, its just a small Beemer (which again we love) i've just traded in a 2003 Cooper in Green at work, only give £500 for it, its one of them you could just hide away for abit !!

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Steve "Murph"
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1960 Morris Mini-Minor 1380 KEC112
1970 Mini Historic Rally DJJ266H

its amazing how cheap they are now

i fancy a early supercharged s just to say i have had one, im waiting until they are within my £500 limit though

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should you wish, you can contact me on rich@minispares.com

'long beard boss'

I bit the bullet and bought new, one of the last classic RCS5's with the sole purpose of putting it away. Totally stripped it and flooded it with Supertrol 001. Looks like a black greasy mess under the engine bay. Probably the same inside every seam and box section. But it's a black rust free greasy mess. My son's got a 'new' mini but told me his friends dad calls them tampaxes - because every cxxx has got one.