Minis For Sale on BAT

Started by MiniDave, January 08, 2015, 01:41:54 PM

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BruceK

Quote from: MiniDave on October 13, 2017, 10:00:09 AM
The Aussie Mini is at $17,500 with 5 hours to go, wonder where it will wind up? One guy is saying that it would be cheaper and easier to buy this one and take it back to Oz than finding a nice one there.......

Reserve Not Met at just over $20K.    And rightly so IMO.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Today is the final day for the Wolsley, MiniGuy has been in there bidding consistently....I think he smells a deal and that the car will sell cheaply - he may be right.

The car has plenty of things going for it and not too many screw-ups that can't be fixed fairly easily, but it is a 998 and you have to like the styling - which I've never been able to get around myself......still, it could turn out to be a good buy. I wonder if MiniGuy would turn around a few months later and sell it on BaT again like Mike Malamut did with his?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

#402
Quote from: MiniDave on October 18, 2017, 07:53:21 AM
Today is the final day for the Wolsley, MiniGuy has been in there bidding consistently....I think he smells a deal and that the car will sell cheaply - he may be right.

The car has plenty of things going for it and not too many screw-ups that can't be fixed fairly easily, but it is a 998 and you have to like the styling - which I've never been able to get around myself......still, it could turn out to be a good buy. I wonder if MiniGuy would turn around a few months later and sell it on BaT again like Mike Malamut did with his?

I doubt that.  Last I looked he is consignment only - the other business model he tried 15+ years ago where he owned inventory did not work.

Nothing against the Guy personally, but last time I looked he has bid on something like 50 (!) cars on BAT, and won exactly zero cars at auction.  Easy to accomplish if your bids have never come close to approaching the true selling value of the cars.   

He always drops out of bidding well before the final bids. Sure, maybe he just wants to snag a bargain.  Who doesn't?  But at some point you have to ask does he really want to own the cars he is bidding on?  I think not.  I believe his bidding is simply a tactic to appear as an interested, involved party so he can later drop some not too subtle comments that always include references to both his business and his website.   

It is easy to forget that he is a direct competitor to BAT.  He is effectively prospecting for business right under their noses. 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

gr8kornholio

Just popped up on BaT, and I got to answer a technical question thanks to the knowledge learned from this awesome crowd. 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-innocenti-cooper-1300/
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

MiniDave

"dents are present from the roof hitting the ceiling of the seller's garage while the car was one a lift."

Ha! I never heard of such a thing!   ::)
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

There is sort of a Mini Moke on BAT, and it makes Michael's bad bodied-Moke look good.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-austin-mini-moke/

In 5+ years I have never posted negative comments about a car being auctioned on BAT before, but this one made me do it.  It's a mess.  I've got a feeling I might get flagged as non-constructive, so I'll include my comments here in case they get disappeared.

Quote
While I appreciate this vehicle was apparently brought back from the dead, the result is so um... custom, I'm not sure it's correct to still call it a Mini Moke. To the trained eye, (former Moke owner here) I can see that nearly all body panels are completely different from those as it was originally built. The nose is wrong, the back is wrong, the sides are wrong, the bumpers are wrong, and the dash is really wrong. The good news is that Moke body panels, and even a complete replacement Moke body is available from a supplier in the UK, but the costs of throwing this body away and changing it over back to original spec will likely be more than the auction reserve will permit.

And Holy crazy engine-steady, Batman! I've got a feeling that was done when it was on Catalina just to keep it on the road and earning rental fees – as was the interesting welding on the firewall. I'm guessing whoever did the bodywork didn't know what to do with it and just left it intact. Not sure where the 14″ wheel information comes from but it is way off – this car is definitely wearing 10″ wheels.

I guess if you want something Moke-like this is the vehicle for you.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Good point on the trophies, cornholio....that's some nice hardware (glassware?)
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MPlayle

I tend to agree with Bruce about the "Moke".  At least mine retained the side cubbies.

No undercarriage pictures to see what that side of the floors look like, nor how the subframe mounts are.

They picked a strange place to put the temperature sensor - in the heater port near #4 cylinder.

The wiring is a bit wonky too.


MiniDave

On the temp sensor tap I expect they didn't have a heater, since it was used indoors?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MPlayle

The factory locations for a temperature sensor are either the thermostat housing in in the head just below the thermostat housing.

If it came from the factory without a heater, the heater port would not have been drilled out.  To put the temperature sensor there, they would have had to drill and tap that port.


BruceK

Quote from: MPlayle on October 30, 2017, 05:29:48 PM

They picked a strange place to put the temperature sensor - in the heater port near #4 cylinder.


How about that engine steady mounted in front of the first spark plug?   :-[
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MPlayle

I had to study a couple of the pictures to figure that one out.  They made a bracket that uses two of the head studs above #1 to hold it in place.  It does seem to be overkill.


BruceK

Quote from: MPlayle on October 31, 2017, 07:14:52 AM
I had to study a couple of the pictures to figure that one out.  They made a bracket that uses two of the head studs above #1 to hold it in place.  It does seem to be overkill.
I rented a Moke on Catalina Island about 1990.  It was so beat up, so worn out, that I was amazed it still drove.  Because the engine mounts were shot, and the upper engine steady was completely missing (!), they had crudely cut the firewall away so the carb would not bang against it as the engine rocked back and forth!  Their only concern was keeping the Mokes earning rental income.   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Willie_B

The Catalina Moke in my basement is a rusted hulk. Would not drive it past the end of the street. It's upper steady is an engineering marvel also.

BruceK

I didn't know you have a Moke.   That engine steady in the photo looks like it was designed by the same guy.  Or maybe the same gorilla.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Willie_B

#415
And if you look close in the photo you can see the spark plug they used in lower rad hose where the heater hose would go.

MPlayle

Brad,

No wonder you guys are watching my adventures with M-Parts and the new shell.  So many "hidden" Mokes waiting resurrection.

My new shell should be delivered tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.


BruceK

#417
Another Mini on BAT. 

This one is an automatic Mini (the first such one on BAT?) and while it looks like a very nice car with no major flaws, that transmission means for many people this is nothing more than just a rolling Mini bodyshell which will definitely need a different powerplant. 

Unless...  there is a very small market of people out there who'd love an automatic Mini and will consider the car ideal just as it is?   Does such a group exist?   People who can't/won't drive a manual transmission and always wanted a Mini?

My crazy guess is this will be bid up to perhaps $8-$10K.  Unless somebody just has to have it and it could go higher. 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-mini-hle/

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

94touring

I Built an auto for a guy, so they exist.

MiniDave

They sold the crap out of them in Japan......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

The auction for the automatic Mini just took a turn. 

The seller just mentioned that he is offering a complete Mini engine with a manual transmission FREE to whomever buys this Mini.  That is sure to get more people interested because the car instantly becomes a DIY project in the minds of many.

The downside is the condition of the engine is unknown by the seller, (and the engine size too), but I suspect there will be a clamoring for photos of the just-mentioned engine so it can be dissected, probed and discussed at great length by the commenters staring at photos.   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

jedduh01

Guido's Wife Rhonnie has a Auto mini  and they've caravan'ed from Florida to NC and Back again with Full CMU event weekends under their belts.  They WILL work if you treat them right. She also knows how to wind it up and give em hell, Shes Fast in it... ! so ..  not a Traditional transmission to have in a mini but they do go fine!

MiniDave

The cool part about the Mini automatic (and probably the ONLY cool part about it) was that it was a 4 speed from the get go (1964 I think) in a time when most autos were 2 or at most 3 speeds. It actually performed pretty well, but did require more frequent oil changes. Like I said, they sold a metric ton of them to Japan.

You can buy parts for them and they're not any more complicated to work on than the manual IMHO.

Everyone is so fixed on a manual trans....much like the dislike for the Series II Jags....I don't understand either.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Quote from: MiniDave on November 10, 2017, 01:45:57 PM

Everyone is so fixed on a manual trans....much like the dislike for the Series II Jags....I don't understand either.

Yeah, that would be me.  I've never owned a car with an automatic.  (and I've never owned a Series II Jaguar either for that matter!)    ;D     

I realize at some point 'down the road' I may own a hybrid or electric car that of course would be an automatic by definition. But that's about the only way I can see myself owning one. 

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Isn't your Infiniti an auto trans?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad