A 1981 Mini is a great way to get killed. I've had 11 of them (not a typo) and I can probably do a tear down and rebuild while blindfolded but I wouldn't drive one day to day for any amount of money. I did take one on a trip to Scotland and it was a fantastic experience and tons of fun comments from passers by (Clubman, Innocenti engine boosted as far as it would go) but seeing the truck wheels pass by from below the axle is a sobering picture. Please drive something solid.
Hi fellow mini owner! For anyone else reading this - I wholeheartedly agree. Do not buy a mini without knowing what you're getting into.
For myself - Mini's were my first two cars, and the second one is the one I'm restoring. For some reason I still don't fully understand my parents encouraged me to own a vehicle with the reliability and structural strength of a wet paper towel.. And if you know me I'm not exactly risk averse. But I love that thing and it's still one of the most fun vehicles I've driven after all this time. It's also possible to rev it out without constantly breaking the speed limit, something that the BMW and my CBR 1000RR both struggle with (CBR gets plenty of track time).
It's been repainted, solid subframe mounts, blue coil springs, adjustable dampers, adjustable brake bias, disk brakes at the front - you name it. Currently planning the build of a 1275GT motor (SW1 cam etc) and planning to use a Motogadget blue unit to solve many of the electrical gremlins. I don't know if it will be a daily or even if I will keep it long (I love building stuff so when its done I start looking for the next thing), but I've always meant to do some mini club cruises.
Being risk averse will probably at least result in you driving it like your life is on the line (which it is...).
Keep an eye on the dogbone mount where it goes into the firewall as well as the linkage arms (they're flimsy) and steering housing. Any failure there can cause instantaneous trajectory changes that you can't correct any more.
Clubs are a good way to get to know other people that have done a lot of work on Minis, they're a hoot to drive. If you ride a bike then you're probably already taking the same kind of risk that driving a Mini holds, the bigger problem is other vehicles not seeing you.
Best of luck! And if you ever run into any weird issues hit me up, email in profile.
If an Aygo hit a classic Mini I suspect you wouldn't be able to tell that there were two vehicles involved in the collision, the Aygo would probably drive right through the other vehicle, especially if the Aygo hit the Mini from the side.
I've looked at strengthening the Mini chassis but gave up on account of the kind of weight that would add.
