Jaysus.
But have a resounding cheer for owning a Mk2 Polo as I love those cars with a passion that is probably inappropriate.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 11:54, 2 replies)

Not at all.
There were a few of us! My mate had a series of them as well, we loved them and pretty much had rebuilt most of them from the chassis up with a 10mm spanner. Those and proper minis - not those 'orrible new BMW thingies.
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 11:59, closed)

Worringly,
I have this picture on my mantelpiece. Framed. Beside photos of my family and loved ones:


( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:07, closed)

That's the one! :-)
I loved mine as well, mine was blue though! They were absolutely bombproof. We once got one through an MOT after a mate had put it through a hedge backwards and bent the chassis by chaining one end to a tractor and the other end to a mates motor and driving in different directions. After that, just a little bit of filler in the kink in the subframe and she sailed through! :-)
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:19, closed)

Yay for proper minis!
They're just like bloody Mechano! Something goes wrong - reconditioned part is about £10 and you can just bolt it on and go!

I've been dreaming of getting a 2.0L 16v Calibra engined Clubman for a while now - had my 25th birthday last week so insurance is not bad, still kept a clean licence 'til now and don't need a big car anymore so can sell it and begin the project. Those Vauxhall red-top engines are good for around 180bhp BEFORE tuning so I'll post the inevitable Darwin story back here when it's done!
(Colonel Santiago Introduced surprised kitty to the world., Fri 13 Feb 2009, 15:23, closed)

Indeed.
We had loads of fun with a joint owned project between a couple of my mates in the form of a completely stripped out, tuned to the hilt, bored out cooper 1.3 with a stage 3 road / rally head and cams, koni shocks, minilites, road slicks and competition brakes & pads. It was an absolute terror on the track days, as nothing could sit with it through the corners and you could play with the 'big boys' rightly. Good times & as you said - cheap racing!

I've seen a a turbo'ed 2.0L mini with the 16V engine make a mockery of much bigger and much more expensive cars. By all accounts unless the suspension and brakes are well sorted the under-steer can be a bit of a problem though. :-)
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Mon 16 Feb 2009, 16:17, closed)

Brilliant cars aren't they!
Did yours have the fantastic clutch that doesn't bite at all until your knee nearly meets your chest, at which point you get all the power all at once, or was that just my mate's?
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:12, closed)

Mine was different.
The bite point would seem to move depending on what mood the car was in. Then the clutch cable broke, they certainly had character :-)
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:23, closed)

the clutch
was the only thing working in ours after we finished our 10,000 mile (several thousand of those off road) journey in it. At that stage we had no exhaust at all, no fuel tank, 2 gears (no reverse), no handbrake, no brakes, no wipers, no lights, and a driver's door that wouldn't open because we'd crashed twice. But the clutch was fine. And still it kept going.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:41, closed)

Ahhh
You gotta hand it to 'em. They don't build them like that anymore.

*wipes tear from eye*

You can still see the occasional one dotted around the roads over here, admittedly, usually driven by 80-90yr old women at this point - but they're still here! I had mine over 14 years ago and it was from from new then. What finally killed the one In my tale was when my Girlfriend, shortly after passing her test, drove it into a tree on an icy morning. It was still running but MOT guys said no next time it was up, two weeks later. They may have had a point - It was driving like a crab. :-(

So I went straight out, bought another and transferred everything that could be saved over to the new chassis.
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Fri 13 Feb 2009, 12:53, closed)

Tough little cars
The hatchback answer to Top Gear's Hilux.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Fri 13 Feb 2009, 13:20, closed)