1987 Austin MINI

We’re very excited about this car, and with good reason: it’s also been built by a proper engineer, the sort of chap who makes a living as one of the key mechanics at Frontline Developments and makes £100,000 MGBs for a living.

So the work that has been done has been done properly, which mean genuine parts installed with intelligence and diligence.

The work started on what was then a bog-standard Mini Mayfair 14 years and 50,000 miles ago when he first bought it and it has been a work in progress ever since.

The owner started properly, stripping the car completely before fitting two new front wings, a front valence, a front panel, inner arches, floors, two new doors, and a boot lid. 

And then, because he’s an expert, he spent far too long getting the shutlines crisp and even (see what we did there? Well, it is Christmas…) before embarking on a bare metal respray in Subaru Electric Blue.

He then bolted on all the right bits of chrome, including four huge spotlights. (It is a Mini, after all.) The result is stunning, and it’s all held up very well, which is what happens when you do the job properly in the first place.

He then fitted Ultralite 12-inch wheels. Just because.

And then disaster struck, well disastrous for him, but a golden opportunity for the like of you and I.

6 weeks ago the car was put away unbeknown underneath a damp cotton cover. When the car was unveiled again for photos the paint has started to micro blister wherever the cloth had touched the car as shown in the picture below.

After much swearing and kicking of inanimate objects the vendor decided to continue with the sale but drop the reserve by more then the amount of the rub down and overspray that is required to bring this back to pristine condition. Alternatively grab a bargain and just drive as is - you have to look closely to see the issues...!

The owner made the custom dash by hand, simply because he could and because he knew that it would be way better than anything he could buy off the shelf. He then installed electric temperature and oil pressure gauges plus switches for the fog and spot lights.

The seats and carpets came from an 30th anniversary Mini and look terrific, while the headlining is still the original one. The end result looks like a proper factory job, because it (almost) is.

The car has been left essentially mechanically standard, retaining the much-loved factory 998cc engine, albeit fitted with a Stage 3 inlet and exhaust manifold, plus tuning the carb. (He just couldn’t help himself.)

More recent (<200 miles) work includes a new clutch, front brake calipers, new suspension cones all round and four new tyres.

We've driven the car (and it drove beautifully), checkout the walkaround video below to hear it running.

The Mini comes with the sort of invoices and receipts you’d expect a mildly-OCD owner to keep.

Given that the online MOT history check shows just two failures in the past ten years - for a split steering gaiter and wonky headlight beams - it’s fair to say that the original restoration work is holding up well.

The cost to replicate this car would be enormous; by way of example, the total bill for parts alone came to more than £8,000. Plus labour. And there was an awful lot of labour.

So the guide price of £3k with a lower reserve seems laughably small. Pitifully little. Pocket money, in fact. Which is very bad news for the current owner, but very good news for anyone bright enough to snap up what might just be 2017’s biggest classic car bargain.

Check out the more that 60 images below plus the walkaround video.

The Mini is based near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, use the 'Contact Seller' button above to arrange or feel free to ask questions and discuss in the comments section below.