1980 Austin Mini User Reviews

The Ultimate Small Car — Many have tried to follow it and few have succeded, especially those Germans who know very little about intimacy, chracter and style.

Cant Wait To Get Another One Running — Such a cool, car, handled like a dream, after a few mods and a new engine it performed very well. A great head turner

Pocket Sized Fun — What can i say I had three of these. Fom a 850 to my monster 1150. There is no statement that can come close to the experience of driving these. There cold, smell. break down loads, leak fluid all over the place and my 850 used to brake in a different direction every time you tried to stop. But the are full of character and none of the bad things matter. you can do so much with one it's ridiculous. and though ok my impreza would go round a corner faster i would have more confidence in the mini to try it at silly speed. Overall get one before all of them disapear and have a laugh

It's A Lot Of Fun To Drive. —

It's a lot of fun to drive. Actually, it's probably one of the most enjoyable cars to drive. You don't really need to go very fast to enjoy it. And of course, it's really nippy. Looks wise, it's a real classic, an icon. Personally, I love mine's color scheme: silver with black roof. It has no alloy wheels, only hubcaps, the original ones. I think they compliment the color scheme quite well and I'm unlikely to ever get it alloy wheels, particularly because I like to keep a car as "tidy" as this one as original as please.   Things that have gone wrong with it: . Engine oil hose got loose on the move and spilled oil all over the engine compartment. Fortunately, there was an instant black cloud of smoke on the rear view mirror, which caught my attention. It was easily fixed by reattaching the hose on the spot, followed by replacing the tightening strip around it and refilling with oil. . Accelerator pedal got stuck in full throttle . Turned out the accelerator cable (made of several intertwined wires) had a couple of damaged wires. With the help of a friendly driver/mechanic the cable was removed, we took out the damaged wires, re-installed the cable, and voilà - problem solved! . Odometer got stuck and stopped moving forward. You might not believe this but all I had to do was get it in reverse and drive for a while in a deserted road. That got the odometer loose and it's never happened since! I'll write some more as soon as I can. Some specifications: . Engine: 998cc inline 4-cylinder 8v . Power: 44 bhp @ 5250 rpm . Torque: 70 Nm @ 3000 rpm . Engine location/alignment: Front/Transverse . Drive: Front wheel drive . Layout: FF . Transmission: 4 speed manual . Weight: 625 kg . Power-to-weight ratio: 14.2 kg/bhp . Wheels: 145 SR 10 ZX - currently fitted with Marshall tires.

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)