1990 Rover Mini Checkmate

This Rover Mini 998cc Checkmate with a four-speed manual gearbox was first registered on 1 August 1990 in Norfolk but, other than it having 9 former owners including the vendor, little is known about the car until a few years ago.

The car has recently been subject to a thorough restoration and rebuild by a talented and fastidious mechanic, who built his own rotisserie frame to fit the Mini into whilst he stripped it down, repaired, repainted and reassembled it.

The seller is a retired garage owner who knows the restorer and his father well through the trade.

The bright yellow paint finish on this car is immaculate, having been given a stripped down respray during its restoration. The body panels too are very straight with good alignment and shutlines.

To give the Mini a more sporting appearance, the body colour is contrasted with a black roof, black mirror caps, black bonnet stripes, twin coach lines and ‘CheckMate’ decals plus black wheel arch and sill trims. Twin rally driving spot lamps mounted in front of the grille complete the competition look.

The exterior chrome on the bumpers, grille, lights and window trims looks in good order with no discernible pitting.

The car sits on 12-inch Classic Mini 4-spokes in black with diamond rim from Revolution Wheels and all are fitted with matching Yokohama tyres.

We believe we’ve built a reputation for the honesty and transparency of our descriptions, particularly when we’re looking after a car during the sale, but we’d still encourage a personal inspection so you can see for yourself how good this Mini is. To arrange a visit, use the ‘Contact Seller’ option.

The car’s interior isn’t as good as the outside, but it’s still very good. The carpets and headlining are in very good condition - understood to have been renewed - and the door trims and dash present very well.

The seats are vinyl backed with black ‘Crayons’ pattern cloth facing, which could do with a bit of a clean to remove what appears to be moisture staining - particularly on the passenger seat. All seats and coverings are, however, damage free and are comfortable.

A Pioneer CD Radio with Bluetooth and iPhone connections has been fitted under the dash, with its speakers installed in a custom plinth under the rear seat base.

The back shell of the driver’s seatbelt clasp has cracked and is largely missing and, whilst it doesn’t affect its operation nor safety compliance, it would be worth fitting a replacement stalk and buckle.

Under the bonnet, the painted engine block and body-coloured engine bay are very clean and tidy with everything intact and where it should be. Cables and hoses have been renewed where required. A shield is fitted to cover the ignition system and to keep oncoming rain or spray off of the distributor and leads. The bonnet lid itself is also in a great condition with no rust even around the hinges and catch.

The undersides of this Mini are also very tidy and amazingly clean - if it weren’t for the obvious issue of gravity you could eat your dinner off of the underbody. All floor panel undersides are freshly painted in a body-colour stone-chip/underseal coating and the sub-frame assemblies and suspension components are painted black. The engine sump has also been painted in a silver/grey. There appears to be not a speck of rust and no discernible damage to the underneath. What looks like a stainless steel exhaust is in good condition albeit slightly dented. Brake and fuel lines look newly replaced, as do the poly bushes all round.

Opening the boot, the compact luggage compartment also looks clean, tidy and has been thoroughly repainted in body-colour yellow. Under the floor lining is the battery compartment and a full-size (well it is only 12-inch) spare steel wheel fitted with serviceable Federal rubber.

This Rover Mini has a current MoT valid until December 2022. The car’s online MoT history back to 2006 provides entertaining reading and an insight into what owning an unsorted classic Mini is like. When a Mini has been prepared as well as this one though, it’s the car’s condition now that matters much more than what’s gone before.

At its last MoT before being restored, the car’s mileage was recorded as 83,611 which appears genuine based on the historical data. It is now showing 78,071 as a replacement speedo with a reading as close as possible was fitted during the renovation. So there’s a shortfall of only around 5,500 miles which we’re sure you’ll agree is next to nothing in the scheme of things.

The entire car was fitted into a custom-built rotisserie frame before being fully stripped, repaired and repainted and everything reassembled having either been refurbished or replaced. The vast majority of new parts and fittings are believed to have come from Minispares in Potter’s Bar.

The clutch has been changed, gearbox inspected and serviced and the engine too has been serviced and given a full health-check. As it wasn’t an engine rebuild, we can’t say that the car has undergone a full restoration but it is an amazing transformation nonetheless.

The car comes with a set of keys dangling from a miniature yellow Mini car keyfob - cute!

As you can see and hear in the accompanying video, this cheeky yellow Mini starts and runs nicely. The brake pads have only recently been replaced so are still bedding in and feel a bit spongy but otherwise the car drives well and, when revved, blows juicy raspberries from its tailpipe.

Classic Minis are always popular and, whilst early cars and Cooper models are fetching high prices, the look of the Mini didn’t change a great deal in over 40 years of production. So when a car from the last decade of production is reworked and refurbished to look as good as this one, we think it’s going to fetch between £10,000 and £12,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.