1981 Austin Mini Metro

[vauxviva]

Hi.....I’ve been looking out for a cheap classic car to use as my daily driver instead of my viva HA and this car was for sale a few miles from my house so I am now the new owner of this beige metro

It’s a 1981 mini metro L with 55,000 miles it’s not in concours condition but it’s good for its age

its seems to have had vandal damage in the past lots of glass in doors and filler repairs where it looks like bricks have been thrown, on the plus side its got two new wings and a bonnet fitted

Car had no tax or mot when I bought it and needed the following work to get a mot


New steering rack/track rod ends
4 Ball joints
Rear wheel cylinders
Brake pads/shoes
Brake hoses/pipes
4 New tyres

Exhaust was blowing

Welding to rear subframe mounts/sill as they where badly corroded

Rear inner arches needed welding and the corners of the boot floor under rear lights

Petrol tank filler neck was corroded

Engine was also misfiring badly when hot, turned out to be a faulty coil


It’s also been fully waxoyled underneath and cavity wax applied in doors etc


Passed MOT first time with only one advisory 'vehicle heavily under sealed'

[slot]

Tidy looking motor there bud
Loving the interior
Dave

[lukeevangelou]

That has to be one of the best metros I've seen! More pics if you'd be so kind Sir!

[trouble]

Love it!

[willowandmikey]

Nice moter

[Deleted]

oh yes.....I see this is the luxury version that comes with an interior

whats the plans???

[teatank]

Static strip = WIN

[grifterkid]

That is just stunning... An early Metro (sorry, miniMetro) is ruddy rare, and one this good is just insane!!! I love it, I love it, I love it...!

[8tee8]

'Vehicle heavily undersealed'; the only reason it still exists!

[RRT 22R]

Sweet.

Very early car you have there - You can tell because the washer jet on the hatch is at the bottom. They moved it to the top early in the production run.

Get more underseal on it quick!

[vauxviva]

Thanks for comments

it looks like its been rust proofed from new which is why its survived in the condition its in, I’m also amazed at how mint the interior is considering its done over 55,000 miles , the drivers seat looks like its never been sat in

Just had to replace the clutch slave cylinder as the seal was leaking and fitted a new clutch master cylinder as it was full of sludge and the spring was broke inside

Quick question for metro owners
The suspension seems quite harsh, I’m comparing it to my viva with van leaf springs on and the seem a bout the same, I was expecting a better ride from hydragas
Is it possible to have the suspension pumped up too much?

As for plans, I’m just keeping it standard, fit a better radio/speakers and a few period accessories

[metroman]

Your car does look a little high which would suggest the pressure is a bit high. You set the pressure to obtain the correct ride height. www.hydragas.co.uk/tech/lc8.html

[silver63]

Used to work on these when new.Werent that good condition then.Seem to remember that suspension height was 315mm centre of front hub to underneath of front wing lip.That is definetley too high.

[lamsdale]

Looks too high to me as well, and don't remember these ever being harsh-riding. A bit bouncy, yes, as they didn't interconnect the Hydragas units (to save money I believe). Later Rover Metros were interconnected and the ride improved greatly.

[Deleted]

and its hearing aid beige......that's so totally origional

[vauxviva]

Thanks for info on suspension

I forgot to say i fitted 155/80/12 tyres on which are massive compared to the original ones so it’s made the car sit higher

[vauxviva]

Found a classic supascope mirror for sale at a local car show for a bargain price of £4, i wasn’t planning on fitting it to the metro but the width of the mirror lines up perfect with the sun visor mounting points so i made some metal brackets and fitted it without drilling any holes in the roof

[grifterkid]

Now THAT is one hell of an accessory...!!!

[120y]

Love this metro great work

[mrlivered]

This is absolutely frickin' gorgeous. I've never seen one of those long mirror things before.

"Heavily under sealed" is a pretty odd thing to add as an advisory at MoT isn't it? Almost as though the geezer was desperate to put something but the car was so spot-on he had trouble thinking of something.