I see no reason to sugar coat it. I have been dumping my money into classic minis since 1968. Started with a $300. 850 which got a full race engine, all over paint job, Cosmic 6 X 10 s and Goodyear Blue streaks. Traded that and another $300. for a 67 Cooper S less power unit and there was no end to the spending with that one. Life got in the way and the S was sold for a house down payment. But not until I picked up a 997 Cooper project just to mark my place. 

Fast forward and in 2001 I started our current driver with a new shell spending $18,500. building it into a needs nothing like new car. Yes the half leather and a number of other items pushed price up. Drove that every day for slightly over 100,000 miles before a bad by pass hose over heated the sweet little 998. Put her on stands and rebuilt suspension, upgraded the brakes again ( started with drums which never went on the car followed by 7.5 Cooper S no booster then installed late torque tube LHD with booster/master as one ) built a special tranny allowing 70 mph at 3000 rpm and a 1360 Cooper S engine with Hif 44 and cast LCB exhaust. That freshening up ran about $6800/7000. Following another 5 years of daily driving we need an all over paint job and some serious interior work. Over the period I have bought and sold on 8 or 9 different wheel and tire combos. I really think 4.5 S offset Mini Lites with 165 not 008 s would make me happy. Then again till I find a set and try them I won't know. 


As a guy who works on classic minis almost every day I do hear the don't tell the wife thing often. Generally I don't work for the wife and as a result hope not to have to tell her anything. Funny story, while pricing a very special build the numbers started going crazy. Customer suggested I was over charging. My reply to request for a big discount was sure we can save 100 % by not doing the job. His wife called me and ask that I do the job just as priced and she would insure payment. Some people marry wonderful women. 

Don't sugar coat it some will think you stupic, others lucky, many had one for $500 or $1500. I hear proper 64 1071 Cooper S are pushing $100,000 hard. Mokes are knocking at the $30,000 door.  

To be fair I don't click on links: Steve (CTR)  

Imagine a 45 year old Mini pretending to be a long mileage TSD Rally Car.  That's ROO as we get ready for the 2018 ALCAN 5000 Summer Rally in August.

4,600 Miles from Kirkland, Washington, through B.C. & Yukon ending in Fairbanks, Alaska...with approx. 500 miles of TSD stages on route.

Swedish Co-Driver no extra charge, he's paying his own way.

4 months to go...pitter patter

I will spend what is necessary to do the job...and, hopefully he said, wisely!

I think it was presumptuous to think I was talking about Rosebud and not the person asking the question. The video was a side note.

rosebud. the video. is way too FUNNY.. and . donnie dump aka SPANKY.. shooting off his mouth again..

When Rosebud’s restoration was complete, my wife presented me with a beautiful binder for my birthday. It contained dozens of pics of the resto in progress, handwritten notes and lists, specs and every single invoice complete w/ an adding machine tape total. Ouch!

All I know is that working on 2 at the same time is more costly than 1.  I have a pile of papers somewhere but other than stuffing them into a file, that's about it for adding them up.

Woody NOT done but 1293cc power unit will be buttoned up today.  1185cc engine components back from machine shop for dry build.

Fitted sump guard to OZ subframe yesterday before epoxy primer & paint on the subbie...

I keep hearing ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching.

I watched the link, and found it inane.

yeah.. no one actually read your post or clicked your link. haha. Everyone's too eager to talk about themselves or tell you that you're an ass for asking them how much they spent. hahaha. 

I thought the link was hilarious. I watched the whole thing.... twice

When I bought my Riley Elf in Bude Cornwall England in 1986 it cost more to ship than I paid for it.
But it bared no resemblance to the Car it is today...
Deb

Uh… it wasn’t a real question. Just thought it was a funny video. What, is the link not working?

As much as it takes...................I'm not married anymore...............

AMEN to that!

I find it best to just hold out your arms and say "this much" Also smart to keep a for sale sign in the window, you never know when those BAT folks are about.

rosebud..  good question.??  sure NOT a rude one.. I will have about $12k on my latest  .. the pick up.. but I have a  master mechanic.. paint shop and trim shop  in house..  usually.. If I am  importing classic mini from the UK . Aus  or NZ.. I try to be in for about  $6k. and then will fix the gremlins.. rust ect  . and TRY to double my money... later bc

Usually, folks that ask have no intention of ever getting a Mini, they just need to catagorize you as a certified nutcase that spends too much $$$ on their car when you could be saving the world or feeding the hungry, so,,,, feel free to lie to them

My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell my Mini for what I told her I paid for it.

I tell people I traded my dodge caravan and got this car, a set of golf clubs, the house painted and some cash.  I think he got the better deal.  

Derwood-To clarify, I didn't say that I WANTED a '55 Chevy but considering the amount of money that I've put into my car, that I could HAVE a damn nice '55 Chevy.  British car parts can be expensive and to add to the frustration, often are of poor quality, third world copies twice removed from the original.  Welcome to the world of classic mini ownership.

I never add it up. 

I started adding up one of my engine builds once, got scared, and have never bothered since.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Quote croc7 “ Enough to have a 55 Chevy “

Who wants a 55 Chevy when they can have a classic Mini ?

Quote helpmymini “I think that's a rude question. Some of us got lucky and had parents with friends with extra cars, some people paid dearly for their car. It doesn't matter. What's it worth? Quite a bit but you can get one for fairly cheap. (is what I tell people). It's a cute little brit toy to play with. It isn't a Ferrari or even a Porsche. It's not about the money and not about the gas mileage. Mark Looman, Ada Michigan 1967 Austin Cooper S”

I think your response is presumptuous. Presumptuous in that you assume Rosebud is showing off. He’s sharing some Mini adventures, as far as I’m concerned. Nobody decides if they are born into a rich family, and your post gives off bad vibes to me. “ Quite a bit but you can get one for fairly cheap ( is what I tell people )”. Sure, people with 50k $ ( and up ) to spend on a Brit toy to play with might not be much to you, but it is a big deal to me. Why chase down any brand of favourite car if not for the fun of it ? Did you know that Enzo Ferrari had 3 Mini Coopers ? Imho if you didn’t have a bit of bragard in you or you wouldn’t end with a signature “ 1967 Austin Mini “. You would say something like” a guy who loves his Mini” Just my 2 cents.

Best regards, Darren.

PS- looks like you had a great time with Rosebud ! Thanks for sharing . Keep on Mining !