Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Austin Mini Cooper

Anyone ever own one of these? I've got this crazy idea of trying to find a semi clean one and modding it a little. Its just for fun. I dont think its going to be very fast but I want a fun car thats easy to take care of and this seems like it could be.

I guess even 100HP was hard to get out of one of these right?

i dont know for sure but i always thought the mini cooper had some kind of aftermarket...maybe some of that has dried up by now though

i did see a guy driving a black one win a autocross in speedvision months ago before the nascar era set in

the car ran a great race far as i can remember and the drivers winning quote afterwards was something like '..its cheap its fast and its works'

Tons of aftermarket for them, they used to rally them in the good old days ie Paddy Hopkirk..... wouldn't be that hard to get 100 hp out of it. There is alot of very amusing and interesting stuff about those cars.. For instance, the early prototypes had the engine facing the other way, but they had to turn it around because it would get carb. icing, the next problem was the fact it had one forward gear and several reverse... LOL very fun cars my dad has owned a couple..
I always fancy getting Mini Sprint(a chopped Mini) adding webber carbs and a Peco free flow exhaust, and other fun stuff....
Check out Mini Mania, you should find what you need....

I have a '63 Mini Cooper "S" sitting in my garage waiting for me to restore it . I hope I live long enough to do it (no time) . I have driven quite a few Minis , both stock & very hotted up . It helps when you work in a shop that restores little british sports cars :p . My boss has had his Mini station wagon for 31 years now . He drives it to work 2-3 days a week & says he's put about 160,000 miles on it since he bought it .

The "old-school" Mini has a huge aftermarket , and a huge cult following . Like Plastique said , try Mini Mania ( www.minimania.com ) , or Mini City ( www.minicityltd.com ) . There are also magazines dedicated to the Mini . I subscribe to "Mini World" , and occasionally pick up "Mini Magazine" .

It IS possible to get 100 hp out of those cars ... and quite a hoot to drive one too !

Thanks guys I'll check out Minimania and see whats going on in there. Now to find one in decent shape!