Congrats on the purchase! As another noob and semi-lurker here I appreciate learning as much I as I can from threads like this. As a former 911 owner I'm jealous of your stable. I hope to regain some if not all of the driving pleasure lost with the sale of my P-car.

Is it just a coincidence that both cars have very similar style wheels?

I like working on cars so this Mini wil give me something else to play with.  I'm retiring this month so I'll tinker with her until the end of the month.  After that she'll have to wait until next spring as I'm heading south in my motor home for 3-4 months.

I've had the Porsche for nearly 18 years.  She has 234,000 miles on the chassic, about 15,000 on the engine.  Everything has been upgraded with performance in mind.  Track days and autoxing make up most of my time with her.  She has a 9:1 power to weight ratio, more than the Mini but I'm sure the Mini with out corner the Porsche.

Very nice from the pictures.  And from me not having enough Mini knowledge to make such a purchase, but I do understand the selling thought process.  You have to absolutely assume that the seller embelishes, from cars to printer trays.  I am glad you have joined the Mini community, it has been fun for me just being here the last couple months.

dejavu...

with humorous intentions

Spoken at length with kolsen over the last few days...ID'd all the important bits, corrected some items on an order appropriately....  Simply astounding how incorrect the listing was, claiming such items as a "crossflow head", Cooper S block "bored to 1380".... Are people selling these things really so ignorant, or do they just embellish the listing figuring that buyers won't know?

This is still a very nice car, claiming to have a Mini Mania 1380 that may turn out to be one I built some years ago.  It should provide years of enjoyment as only a Mini can!  And now we can supply the correct parts! 

Nice.

Most definately not a 62 though, probably early 90's....be careful with insurance

Pictures, just took some for my insurance.  Here they are with her garage mate!

I have used a few in the past. I daily drive my cars fairly spirited. I look for a combination of good grip but not so soft I'm replacing them too often. This is my list from best to not as good.

Yoko 539 -expensive but the best

Nankang -decent tire lasted a little bit longer than the Yokos

Continental -another decent tire but my lowest rating of the 3. I know 61Minime loves these on his vtec beast. Very similar to the old Sumitomos (NLA)

Best of luck with your new mini. Let's see some pics.

-Shawn

I have a set of the 13 inch Nankangs. They look good, but I haven't put them on yet. Trying to get a few more miles on the Yoko A539s before I swap them out. 

taiwanese stuff dont put money on cheap tires

Looking into the clutch issues tomorrow.

Another question:  Tires.  Tire Rack tires are to tall or to wide for 13" rims on the Mini.  That leaves our host.  Two choices, Nankang and Yokohama.  I have the Yoko's now but they are pretty much gone.  On a spin up my test road when I put in the clutch and let the engine idle it sounds like the tires have a buzz to them.  Anyone have another source or more info on this Nankang (never heard of it) tire?

Regarding the clutch play you need to verify if you have a verto clutch or the earlier set up. The earlier one is adjustable the verto is not. Most of the problems with clutch height is due to worn parts usually the clutch arm or the pivot pins it does not need much wear to give the conditions you describe. The steering play could be on the splined end of the steering column where it attaches to the steering rack, turn the wheel side to side and look at the bottom of the column at the same time for play. If you have a lot of play there don't drive it until repaired.

+1 to what Norm Kerr addvises. When he says "not funny" he is grossly understating. If it let go, it would be far worse than having no brakes. (Followed shortly by having no Mini.....). I don't think a loose/worn tie rod end would give you steering wheel play in only one direction as you describe. It would give vague steering in both directions.

regarding the steering play, I am worried that it is a worn spline connection between the steering column and the rack - it has happened and when it lets go is not funny

please check out where your steering play is coming from, before you drive it more - a worn tie rod end is easy to identify if you jack up the front and see what moves and what doesn't when you push each front wheel right/left

Norm

New plugs today, starts and runs smooth.  Bled the hdrualic clutch, apparently no air, the clutch still disengages almost at the floor.  Tomorrow I'll try the other adjustment on the actuating lever.

I washed her tonight also.  Tomorrow I'm going to take a picture of the Mini and Porsche together.

There are 4 digit date codes on the car to check the year which helps when ordering parts. The trunk lock and wiper motor are the two that are most easily accessed the first two numbers will be the week of production and the last two will be the year ie: 25 92 would be the 25th week of 1992.

Are you sure itis not a 2.76 final drive, in which case it will be a woderful touring experience with 3400 rpm at 80 mph

Oregon Mini Society. See post from geoO.

That was going to be my next question.  Who in the Portland/Salem area can work on the classic Mini?  And who is OMS??