Model: Innocenti Mini 500SE Small
Year: 1993
Mileage: 26000
Tax: December 2010
MOT: November 2010
Location: NE Norfolk
Price: £900
Contact: PM or reply to this thread
This is my little Innocenti, which I'm putting on here due to the unfortunate disappearance of the person who won the eBay auction.
It's one of the very last of the Innocenti Minis. The 500 SE was a limited edition run-out model, and this car has a plaque on the dashobard stating that it is number 1396 (I don't know how many were made in total). As far as I'm aware it's the only example of this particular model in the UK.
The 500 SE is a long wheelbase model (I kid you not - it was based on the Mini Estate floorpan), which makes it surprisingly roomy in the back - it can manage four normal-sized adults quite comfortably. As with all the later Innocentis, it's powered by a three-cylinder Daihatsu engine, in this instance a 659cc unit from the Japanese-spec Cuore, which develops a massive 30bhp. So it's not the fastest car on the road, but it goes far better than one would expect from such a tiny engine, and it cruises at 70 in fifth quite happily. Also, being a late model, it has lost the Issigonis-spec rubber cone suspension of the early cars in favour of a more conventional setup - struts and coil springs on the front and a transverse leaf spring at the back. This gives a much more civilised ride, while still being great fun to chuck around corners.
The car is structurally in amazingly good condition for a 17-year-old Italian mini - it needed no welding for its MoT in November, and does not appear to ever have been welded since it left the factory. In fact the whole car is in pretty good condition - it's not immaculate, it has the odd blemishes that one would expect on a car this age and a little bit of bubbling along the bottom edge of the passenger door, but it's good enough to suggest that the recorded mileage of around 26,000 (41,000km) is genuine.
The interior is also in pretty good nick, and the seats really are as brown as they look in the photo below. It has never had a stereo fitted. All the electrics work as they should with the exception of the rear screen wash (although the wiper works fine). The horn switch was rather temperamental so I fitted an air horn wired up to a separate switch for the MoT - I used an existing blank switch position in the dash, so no holes have been drilled. This could easily be put back to how it was if you have more patience with fiddly switches than I do. I have misplaced the lower half of the steering column shroud - I took it off when I was sorting the indicators for the MoT and put it somewhere safe. It's about somewhere though, so I'm sure it'll turn up.
It's been completely reliable and has been doing about 50mpg. Mechanical bits are a mix of Daihatsu and Fiat, trim bits are a bit more awkward but are all available from Italy (I have a contact name and address amongst the paperwork). I also have the original handbook, in Italian. I'm only getting rid because it's found itself being pushed into service as my daily, and because I rack up quite a few miles I'm worried that if I carry on using it as a daily driver I'm going to end up getting complacent and ruining it, and it's much too nice and much too rare for that. It's ready to jump in and drive away - I've just put six months' tax on it (at the request of the winning eBay bidder ) and it's tested till November.
Here's some pics:
PM or post on this thread for more info.
Year: 1993
Mileage: 26000
Tax: December 2010
MOT: November 2010
Location: NE Norfolk
Price: £900
Contact: PM or reply to this thread
This is my little Innocenti, which I'm putting on here due to the unfortunate disappearance of the person who won the eBay auction.
It's one of the very last of the Innocenti Minis. The 500 SE was a limited edition run-out model, and this car has a plaque on the dashobard stating that it is number 1396 (I don't know how many were made in total). As far as I'm aware it's the only example of this particular model in the UK.
The 500 SE is a long wheelbase model (I kid you not - it was based on the Mini Estate floorpan), which makes it surprisingly roomy in the back - it can manage four normal-sized adults quite comfortably. As with all the later Innocentis, it's powered by a three-cylinder Daihatsu engine, in this instance a 659cc unit from the Japanese-spec Cuore, which develops a massive 30bhp. So it's not the fastest car on the road, but it goes far better than one would expect from such a tiny engine, and it cruises at 70 in fifth quite happily. Also, being a late model, it has lost the Issigonis-spec rubber cone suspension of the early cars in favour of a more conventional setup - struts and coil springs on the front and a transverse leaf spring at the back. This gives a much more civilised ride, while still being great fun to chuck around corners.
The car is structurally in amazingly good condition for a 17-year-old Italian mini - it needed no welding for its MoT in November, and does not appear to ever have been welded since it left the factory. In fact the whole car is in pretty good condition - it's not immaculate, it has the odd blemishes that one would expect on a car this age and a little bit of bubbling along the bottom edge of the passenger door, but it's good enough to suggest that the recorded mileage of around 26,000 (41,000km) is genuine.
The interior is also in pretty good nick, and the seats really are as brown as they look in the photo below. It has never had a stereo fitted. All the electrics work as they should with the exception of the rear screen wash (although the wiper works fine). The horn switch was rather temperamental so I fitted an air horn wired up to a separate switch for the MoT - I used an existing blank switch position in the dash, so no holes have been drilled. This could easily be put back to how it was if you have more patience with fiddly switches than I do. I have misplaced the lower half of the steering column shroud - I took it off when I was sorting the indicators for the MoT and put it somewhere safe. It's about somewhere though, so I'm sure it'll turn up.
It's been completely reliable and has been doing about 50mpg. Mechanical bits are a mix of Daihatsu and Fiat, trim bits are a bit more awkward but are all available from Italy (I have a contact name and address amongst the paperwork). I also have the original handbook, in Italian. I'm only getting rid because it's found itself being pushed into service as my daily, and because I rack up quite a few miles I'm worried that if I carry on using it as a daily driver I'm going to end up getting complacent and ruining it, and it's much too nice and much too rare for that. It's ready to jump in and drive away - I've just put six months' tax on it (at the request of the winning eBay bidder ) and it's tested till November.
Here's some pics:
PM or post on this thread for more info.