Tim wrote:Or the other way of looking at it, how much profit would there be in breaking a perfectly good car and selling it off one piece at a time? Its horrible to contemplate but happens regularly in the classic motorcycle world.
Tim
Wind back the clock to 2002. I got all romantic and bought a 64 Mini Minor which had fresh paint. Come it's next MOT, I jacked it up and the jack point "crushed". I got a wire brush on the grinder and investigated..... it was a filler/cereal packets job and the whole car was rotten. Really badly rotten. Because the chap was so nice and an enthusiast, I didn't even think about getting the magnet out.
I broke it and put it on ebay, thinking I had been stitched up and made £1000 profit. It went all over the world.
You lot would have gone absolutely wild. He was a hillbilly who had done some mini autograssing and had 3 S engines lined up outside his garage and 2 inside. 1x970 2x1071 and 2x1275. He had downton gear and some very interesting heads as well as some desirable race parts. I wonder if he still has them.
It taught me one thing. Buy a good one and keep it good.
So, I bought a 66 Morris Cooper which had been really properly restored. Wrong interior and several wrong bits, but very nice. Guy bought it to rally and decided to get a works peugoet instead...... That was £1500. You read that right.
I then picked up a 1430 engine which had done 3 races and had been left in a shed many years ago. The absolute limit of what you can do to a 5 port head, a 48 DCOE, SC everything, LSD, 4 sync SC remote box, heavy duty driveshafts as well as a set of S brakes. £550 All like new.
To add to my lucky stash, I picked up a set of perfect 4.5" original mag minilites x5 like new for £100.
I find it incredible how certain parts have gone totally silly in value and I wonder what is going on in the mini community, demographics wise. When you see a pile of rust with a Cooper S logbook not meet it's reserve for £4.5k, things have gone mad.
I'd put a "what it's really worth" value on my "above" at about £5k. It is after all, just an old mini. I have no doubt that it would probably go for double that if I put it on ebay, but it's completely ridiculous.
I am saddened to think that I'm going to drive it everywhere like it's precious now. I used to enjoy thrashing it around the lanes.....and I'm sure if it had emotions, it would have been enjoying it too!
What is he selling? Again I have no idea.
