Late Mini or New ford?

[haynes]

Bit of background - ive owned minis for the past 28 years and have a heavily modified car in the garage. Wife has a mk1 focus. Neither of us drive to work but once a week i have a 120mile round trip to head office in the focus. I never seem to get to drive the mini, i cant take it on the HQ trip due to no heater, soft tyres, lumpy cam, overheating in traffic, sccr box and webber make for a rather noisey ride let alone the hard suspension and 3.7 fd.

Ive been thinking about replacing the focus now its over a 100k with a brand new one for my weekly trip but depreciation puts me off and wifey doesnt really want a new car due to dog carrying duties etc. And new cars are just so dull and over gadgety.

So heres a crazy idea, seeing as though the only vehicle i have any passion for are minis, how about a late twin point car? The fds are at least 3.1 if not 2.7 with 12s or 13s so 60miles on A roads and motorway should be ok. Not keen on 13s, i have some GB 10s and could do a brake swap but i really want to keep it unmodified. I might find the 60horses a little tame but as id advise anyone else driving fun is more important.

I would have to (and want to) leave it outside all year round so am a bit concerned it would just completely rot away in a couple of years, especially a later shell. Would wax oyl really keep the rot at bay? Do the later cars leak as much?

I know a lot of good points have been made on the mini as a daily driver thread about maintenance, part quality, rot etc. But what do you reckon, a new focus or a mini for my weekly drive?

[GingerWizard]

Buy a tax exempt mini, think of it as an investment. carry out work as required. become richer.

[campaj1]

Have been running a standard MPI for a couple of years now, they are very easy to live with for a mini, and provided you keep the battery topped up, they are completely reliable. Some have a lumpy idle though, so look out for that.