One thing that worked for me was I learned "pacing" by understanding, at least to me then, was that my Mini wasn't a daily driver and I really didn't have to finish it before Monday.

Once that was understood my ownership was much easier.

I also found out that by rushing things I ended up spending more money and taking more time.

Case in point, a simple clutch job turned into 3 used flywheels and finally a lightened flywheel all because I didn't take time to realise that I was using the wrong flywheel bolt all along.

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Very well put J.  My simple mind would say "as I think you did".  Do your homework before you ask the professor(s),  so you have a background on why you are asking questions based on prior knowledge and research from readily available resources on the internet or great resource documents on this site..  MM has a great forum with incredible skills and it's designed to be a resource, not a "chat room".  My 2 cents.  J

Why thank you!!!!    And thanks Jeg for your suggestion to "pace yourself"!

Sometimes I get someone on the phone that is so astounded at how easily I rattle off information that they just can't let go... they desperately try to throw question after question, as if it's the only chance they'll ever have to solve the mysteries of their new acquisition!  Pacing yourself allows you to better absorb info as it is relevant to what you are actually facing. Now you're building a foundation of knowledge that means you aren't randomly starting over when a new problem crops up... and it will!

As an example. here's an article I wrote that will help a new owner figure out what style of shift linkage and era of gearbox, and possibly pin down the true age of the car:

//www.minimania.com/How_do_I_know_which_transmission_my_Mini_has

we have some of the smartest and helpful people on this board.

First, I really appreciate your enthusiasm; as a new mini owners, of course you want to get it all sorted and soak it all up as soon as possible.  Heck, I wish I still had that sort of energy... 

My thought is this; even though one has familiarity with other vehicles, sometimes it's a good idea to 'pace yourself'.  The classic mini was named 'Car of the Century' for a reason; it's special. 

I welcome you once again to familiarize yourself with some of the technology and terminology as found in the Articles on this site.

//www.minimania.com/article_list.cfm

Most of these articles are quite tutorial in nature, oftentimes written by people who started out as mere enthusiasts and ended up making careers from their hobby.  Some are racers, some are restorers and they all share the same goal; to better inform us that aren't as fortunate to have dedicated so much time, effort and financial resources over many years to become the subject-matter experts that they are.

Spend a little time familiarizing yourself 'from the beginning' and you'll be better prepared to start coordinating the design of your own projects as well as help orient yourselves when the forum dialogue gets a bit more complex.

I'm just trying to help, it's just a thought -