Overhaulin'

i am 15 and i am going to be doing a mechanic course at college. ?

i love classic mini's and have seen 1 near where i live(£450) and was wondering.should i buy and restore it to give me some more experience and when it is restored it will be my first car? i have about £7000 for restoration.. before you ask how have you got that much at 15. My dad died and i am an only child so....

Public Comments

1. Sorry to hear about your dad passing away, and why not check around for a vehicle to fix up bec the best experience is hands on anyways. If I were you I'd probably want to be specializing in automotive electronics and automotive computer trouble shooting.The whole concept of having computers in our vehicles isn't going to go away so it's in high demand and will be for many years yet. Hope that helps and best of luck. Merry Christmas
2. I'd recommend you do the course for a year then get a car afterwards. I did 1 year Motor Vehicle Engineering then a year doing Motor vehicle management, then I decided I hated working on cars as my main job. You wont get all the skills you need from the course to fully restore the mini but at the end of it you should know the basics and have an idea if you're any good at it! Good choice for a starter project though, good luck whatever you decide.
3. I would go ahead and do it. Even if the schooling doesn't work out for you, you will have a fun project on your hands. Just make sure how much work you are really interested in putting into this vehicle, you don't want to overdo yourself! Best of luck.
4. they r great cars but no car is an investment classic minis r better than new minis in turns but not in the straights mk2 gti r very nice too cuz i know in the uk that they have a whole bunch of rare cars compared to crappy america.but hell if the minis ur fav car then go for it
5. if you have a garage to work in, get the mini. good things fun to drive, simple to work on, cheap parts easy to get not so good rust, subframes need to be replaced from time to time. one basic problem is the distance from the battery (in the boot) to the engine - you need to keep the battery well charged, topped-up and the earth lead clean. (it might be a good idea to run a separate earth wire from the battery to the front of the car). small wheels no good over speed humps. 7000 seems a lot of money (to me) for restoration if you are restoring to original condition, doing the work yourself.