Hi Willie_B,

I Live in Mexico, (technically Northamerica:))

Thanks for the tech tips, I will check some specific points. Thanks

Thanks I edit and now are available.

To get the most enjoyment out of your Mini, the first thing is to make it safe and reliable. You said your car is a 1999 model, so if it is mostly original, it would have 12" wheels, disk brakes on the front and a fuel injected engine. So, to give advice, we need to know more about your car.

From the ground up:

- tires in good condition - brakes with good disks and drums and good brake pads and shoes.

- steering joints in good condition - ball joints etc.

- "springs" are actually specially shaped rubber components called "cones" that compress at certain rates. As they get old, they tend to gradually collapse and get harder. They sit on metal "trumpets" which may be simple cast metal shapes or adjustable ones. The bottom of each trumpet (they are horizontal at the back wheels) forms a round ball that sits in a plastic cup fitted into the control arm. These cups wear out over time and because of the suspension geometry, a small amount of wear here becomes a large- amount of sag. You should have about 5cm (3 fingers) between the top of the tire and the fender opening at the front.

Engine and Transmission:

- wheel bearings, constant-velocity joints etc. need to be in good condition including rubber boots.

• - Don't be surprised if you see a little oil leakage - most Minis do . But make sure any leakage does not pose a risk.
• - Find out what engine you have. If it is the original Mini engine, it will have a serial number on the block near the alternator. You can look up exactly what it is (or was if it has been modified) For example, if it begins with "99" it is probably a 998cc engine; if it begins with "12" it is/was probably a 1275cc engine. The rest of the number indicates things like compression ratio etc.
• - Look to see if it is fuel injected or has a carburettor. It may have started life with fuel injection and been converted over time. 

Once you get it running well, you can consider what to do to make it yours. But take your time - too often new owners get big ideas from magazines and try to do too much and end up unhappy with the result - if they finish it.

We can't see your pictures because they need to be uploaded to the MiniMania server. To do that, you need to drag and drop them onto the green square to the left of where you type your message. But you need to reduce the file size of your photos because the server won't accept big files.

Mini World magazine from the UK is a good place to see all the different ways to build a mini. Where are you located? This forum is mostly North America based folks. 

I would start by making your car basic as good as possible so you can enjoy driving it without major concern. Then do you want it to handle better or go quicker, ride better? Usually it is better to upgrade the brakes before doing any performance changes. There is a good chance the rubber cones may be the original ones. If that is so then the ride may be harsh due to the rubber part getting flatter so there is less give. So now mechanically you have a good starting point to make it what you want. Do you like the 10" wheel size look? Do you want the boy racer style? Rally replica look? There are LOTS of classic mini related sites on Facebook to look at minis. Does not even have to be in English if you are just looking at cars. What I wanted when I got my mini is not the direction I ended up going. 

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Hi PhatCat, its run and drive now, super fun. Looks solid but not 100%

hi Mr Diaz..  well does your mini run and drive?/ how bad is the rust..  ?? classic minis are still fairly cheap to buy..  under $15k for very nice one.. about half that in the UK.. I would Not spend $75/80k for full frame off resto .  post some photos for us please.   

Hi everyone, I've only had my Mini for a year — it's a 1999 Mini that's no longer original, and I've been trying to learn more about Minis. Just last week I visited a specialist in Mini restorations. When I asked for a quote, he asked me what kind of Mini I wanted to build... Boom, I didn’t know what to answer. While I’m not planning to restore it to original condition, I don’t know the terms used to refer to the different styles. If anyone can help explain what the different types are, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

Some pics could be awesome.

Thanks.