Post by CrazyLegs on Jun 25, 2013 10:29:47 GMT
Well it's finally happened. I now own a Mini! ;D
I'll briefly recap for anyone who had not seen my previous thread.
I am a disabled driver (Cerebral Palsy), I have an auto-only licence, and until recently, was made to believe that I was restricted to only vehicles with power steering. That always meant that a Mini (my dream car) was out of bounds. Turns out, the restriction on my licence is for "modified steering", for which, a steering ball is sufficient.
The first car I looked at was a little disheartening. I found that I was unable to comfortably get to the pedals. The seat in that car would not go back as far as it was supposed to. On to the next one, where I discovered that it was more to do with the height of the pedals (in fact, moving the seat back only brought me near against the steering wheel more). Thoughts turned to modifying or fabricating new pedals. Move forward past a couple of possibilities that fell through which brings me to now. Last week I went to view a 1995 Mini Sprite and to my surprise, with the seat positioned just so and some light shoes on I was able to safely and comfortably operate the pedals.
The huge downside of buying any vehicle for me is that I am unable to test drive them. Fitting my steering adaptions for a test drive is not practical as they can mark steering wheels, OK if I buy the car, if not, you get the picture. After all the research that I had done, and especially the advice I have been given on this forum I felt confident making an offer.
Here is my as yet unnamed Mini:
From what I can tell so far it seems to be a very good example. The only negative points I can find (seller was honest about them too) are as follows:
A little rust at the base of the A pillar in the door shut area.
Tiny spot of bubbling appearing on the scuttle just below the drivers' corner of windscreen.
A bit of rust starting to bubble on the passenger door.
Mice from previous (barn) home have eaten some of the sound proofing in the engine bay.
Selecting gears is not as positive as I would like.
Heater does not work. I'm told faulty thermostat was removed but not yet replaced.
Initially I was worried/paranoid about the gear issue. Visions of gearbox rebuilds costing masses were running around my head. Having spent a good whole day driving the car now I'm a little more at ease. The gearbox itself seems to operate well (assuming the second or so delay in gear engaging is normal? I'm used to newer auto boxes.). The problem seems much centred around the selector itself, It must need some kind of adjustment. You need to be very precise about positioning the lever, it doesn't slot home in the various positions in the way I would expect. I sometimes need to tap the lever forward when in park before the car will start (some kind of start inhibitor switch is involved I assume?). I seem to be getting the hang of positioning the lever now, but I'm still wary of switching neutral at lights for fear of getting reverse by mistake!
At the moment I don't have any plans for wheels and prettiness, except I plan to remove the union flag roof decal following the excellent "How To" from ShoutForJoy. Buying the car took pretty much everything I can afford. Sorting the gear selection and rust are my number one priorities.
Thanks to everyone again for their help, advice and support.
P.S. I'm open to suggestions for a name
I'll briefly recap for anyone who had not seen my previous thread.
I am a disabled driver (Cerebral Palsy), I have an auto-only licence, and until recently, was made to believe that I was restricted to only vehicles with power steering. That always meant that a Mini (my dream car) was out of bounds. Turns out, the restriction on my licence is for "modified steering", for which, a steering ball is sufficient.
The first car I looked at was a little disheartening. I found that I was unable to comfortably get to the pedals. The seat in that car would not go back as far as it was supposed to. On to the next one, where I discovered that it was more to do with the height of the pedals (in fact, moving the seat back only brought me near against the steering wheel more). Thoughts turned to modifying or fabricating new pedals. Move forward past a couple of possibilities that fell through which brings me to now. Last week I went to view a 1995 Mini Sprite and to my surprise, with the seat positioned just so and some light shoes on I was able to safely and comfortably operate the pedals.
The huge downside of buying any vehicle for me is that I am unable to test drive them. Fitting my steering adaptions for a test drive is not practical as they can mark steering wheels, OK if I buy the car, if not, you get the picture. After all the research that I had done, and especially the advice I have been given on this forum I felt confident making an offer.
Here is my as yet unnamed Mini:
From what I can tell so far it seems to be a very good example. The only negative points I can find (seller was honest about them too) are as follows:
A little rust at the base of the A pillar in the door shut area.
Tiny spot of bubbling appearing on the scuttle just below the drivers' corner of windscreen.
A bit of rust starting to bubble on the passenger door.
Mice from previous (barn) home have eaten some of the sound proofing in the engine bay.
Selecting gears is not as positive as I would like.
Heater does not work. I'm told faulty thermostat was removed but not yet replaced.
Initially I was worried/paranoid about the gear issue. Visions of gearbox rebuilds costing masses were running around my head. Having spent a good whole day driving the car now I'm a little more at ease. The gearbox itself seems to operate well (assuming the second or so delay in gear engaging is normal? I'm used to newer auto boxes.). The problem seems much centred around the selector itself, It must need some kind of adjustment. You need to be very precise about positioning the lever, it doesn't slot home in the various positions in the way I would expect. I sometimes need to tap the lever forward when in park before the car will start (some kind of start inhibitor switch is involved I assume?). I seem to be getting the hang of positioning the lever now, but I'm still wary of switching neutral at lights for fear of getting reverse by mistake!
At the moment I don't have any plans for wheels and prettiness, except I plan to remove the union flag roof decal following the excellent "How To" from ShoutForJoy. Buying the car took pretty much everything I can afford. Sorting the gear selection and rust are my number one priorities.
Thanks to everyone again for their help, advice and support.
P.S. I'm open to suggestions for a name