Typical scenario, I'm looking at a Mini-Cooper, and I'd like some advice.
The car is a 1967 Mini-Cooper S MK1 (1275). It's disassembled in the following
manner:
- The body is stripped and ready for painting. No rust at all, at
least not that I can find.
- The engine/transmission is still together and attached to the front
subframe, which is also still together (halfshafts, brakes, etc.)
- The rear subframe is all together.
- The rest of the components (dash, electricals, etc.) are in boxes,
but all seem to be there and in good condition.
It's a two-owner, right-hand-drive car with 48000 miles, brought over from
England by its original owner. What documentation there is indicates that the
engine was rebuilt approximately 5000 miles ago, but that's been several years.
If I buy the car, I'm planning on taking the shell to a paint shop immediately,
taking the rest of the parts home and sorting them out, then reassembling the
car when its painted. I'm further assuming $500 for paint (that's the quote
I got from a good shop) and $500-$1000 for miscellaneous parts. The asking
price is $4000, and it's not negotiable.
I have a fair amount of wrenching experience, and some Brit-car and A-series
engine experience ('65 Sprite MkIII).
My questions are:
- Is it worth the asking price, if indeed all parts really are there
and the engine really does run?
- Where are the chassis numbers located? I've checked the obvious
(brakes, twin tanks, etc.), but with a disassembled car, only
chassis/engine numbers will tell the whole truth.
- Is there a way to tell the model year from the chassis number?
- Why is it that I always promise myself I won't buy another project
car?
- Why do I always buy project cars?
Thanks
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1988 Hawk GT (DoD #0022) Sigh, one bike, one car. Ken Neff
1990 Corrado No one should have just one! Tivoli Systems, Inc.
Possibly a Mini-Cooper S? kneff@tivoli.com
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