12 replies to this topic

[jjb60032]

I was looking at Mini 850's as Mini 1000's are becoming rare and was wondering if they are powerful enough to handle steep hills and motorways etc?

[Tamworthbay]

They aren't brilliant on motorways, but most minis aren't compared to modern cars. They will do steep hills as long as you are gentle. I wouldn't buy one just for the rarity value but if a good one comes up at the right price then they are worth a look.

[jjb60032]

Thanks!

[pusb]

Depends what you mean by powerful enough?

 

They can handle it, you just have to push them hard. Around the city my 850 is fine, and keeps up with modern traffic easily. The only time around town you notice is if you want to pull away quickly at a junction you have to sometimes think twice.

 

As for fast moving roads, I've had it up to around 72 mph, but that sort of speed does feel like your pushing it. Up to 65mph it will do comfortably. With hills, well I cant really say they are much of an issue, obviously you cant fly up them, but if you get to a hill, just drop it into 3rd and it will climb most hills. 

 

Obviously they aren't as fast as a 998 or 1275, but it can do the maximum speed limit (70), which I'm sure all TMF members adhere to regardless of engine size

[jjb60032]

Depends what you mean by powerful enough?

 

They can handle it, you just have to push them hard. Around the city my 850 is fine, and keeps up with modern traffic easily. The only time around town you notice is if you want to pull away quickly at a junction you have to sometimes think twice.

 

As for fast moving roads, I've had it up to around 72 mph, but that sort of speed does feel like your pushing it. Up to 65mph it will do comfortably. With hills, well I cant really say they are much of an issue, obviously you cant fly up them, but if you get to a hill, just drop it into 3rd and it will climb most hills. 

 

Obviously they aren't as fast as a 998 or 1275, but it can do the maximum speed limit (70), which I'm sure all TMF members adhere to regardless of engine size

Thanks for the info 

[Sam14]

Hi just to add in my 10p

 

Id buy an 850

 

If tuned correctly it will sit on the motorway at 70mph with no fuss.

 

The 850 i had carb tuned correctly would surpass 80mph with ease

 

I think they are a dark horse

 

Lots of bore mill to turbo charge 

 

Little pocket rockets.

[Daz1968]

Haven't driven my 850 yet but can't imagine 34bhp is going to be fast, my mk2 998 cooper which I think is 55bhp is not quick by today's standards and I wouldn't say its comfortable on motorways but they just have something that makes them enjoyable

[MiniCarJack]

I only recently upgraded to a 1293 engine, having daily driven a Mk1 850 for nearly a year. I was able to travel in reasonable comfort at 90kph on the motorways, although it was quite noisy with the standard final drive ratio. However, there was plenty enough power to trundle along and drive around, it just got a bit slow going up hills, especially with four passengers and luggage

 

It is possible to get better performance out of an 850 though, obviously starting with the head, exhaust, fitting a larger carb etc could make a huge difference to the driving experience. The main thing with such a small engine is not that it lacks power, but it lacks torque - that's the main difference I've noticed going to a big bore engine. With the 850 I always felt the need to accelerate quite hard to push the car along, but now with a larger engine there's more torque so I can just touch the accelerator and it'll cruise along with ease.

 

The big advantage an 850 does have is fuel economy - they run on the smell of an oily rag!

[Cooperman]

They are exactly what you might expect them to be and go as you might expect of a 56-year old design. They are old classic cars and in 1959 were very 'nippy' on minor roads and around town.

No Mini is really a long distance car and, indeed, by the late 1960's even the Cooper 'S' was not considered a quick main road car by then-current standards. For the same sort of price back then one could get the much quicker cruising of a Cortina GT, Vauxhall VX4/90 or similar.

If you want a really fantastic true classic car with true classic 1960's performance and driving 'feel', then any Mini is great.  

Back in 1961 to 1964 I did thousands of miles in 850's and they were OK back then.

Edited by Cooperman, 12 December 2014 - 12:14 AM.

[mab01uk]

What you will notice in an 850 Mini is even the gentle inclines on motorways, especially if you are used to modern cars or more powerful Mini's, in an 850 you will suddenly notice your speed dropping in places where in the other cars you would not have even noticed the hill or gradual incline, it can also become impossible to overtake lorries in this situation as there is no extra grunt left even if you drop down a gear. The secret of driving low powered Mini's on motorways is to maintain your momentum wherever possible and try to anticipate the road and traffic ahead to minimise braking, also to gain speed and momentum down the hills to take you up the other side as much as possible!

Edited by mab01uk, 12 December 2014 - 12:39 AM.

[Cooperman]

What you will notice in an 850 Mini is even the gentle inclines on motorways, especially if you are used to modern cars or more powerful Mini's, in an 850 you will suddenly notice your speed dropping in places where in the other cars you would not have even noticed the hill or gradual incline, it can also become impossible to overtake lorries in this situation as there is no extra grunt left even if you drop down a gear. The secret of driving low powered Mini's on motorways is to maintain your momentum wherever possible and try to anticipate the road and traffic ahead to minimise braking, also to gain speed and momentum down the hills to take you up the other side as much as possible!

 

Absolutely right.

It's the same in other cars of that era. Drive a Ford 105E Anglia with the 997 engine, or a Morris Minor, an A40, a VW Beetle, a Renault Dauphine, a SAAB 96 or anything with up to a 1 litre engine pre-1963 and it's the same. That is what classic motoring is about and why it is fun, because it is 'retro' driving as it used to be. Great fun.

[xrocketengineer]

 

What you will notice in an 850 Mini is even the gentle inclines on motorways, especially if you are used to modern cars or more powerful Mini's, in an 850 you will suddenly notice your speed dropping in places where in the other cars you would not have even noticed the hill or gradual incline, it can also become impossible to overtake lorries in this situation as there is no extra grunt left even if you drop down a gear. The secret of driving low powered Mini's on motorways is to maintain your momentum wherever possible and try to anticipate the road and traffic ahead to minimise braking, also to gain speed and momentum down the hills to take you up the other side as much as possible!

 

Absolutely right.

It's the same in other cars of that era. Drive a Ford 105E Anglia with the 997 engine, or a Morris Minor, an A40, a VW Beetle, a Renault Dauphine, a SAAB 96 or anything with up to a 1 litre engine pre-1963 and it's the same. That is what classic motoring is about and why it is fun, because it is 'retro' driving as it used to be. Great fun.

 

I remember those good old days when returning from college on the weekends driving my 1964 VW Beetle with the 1200cc.  On a straight and level two lane road I tried to overtake a Camaro convertible that was going slowly and the young driver accelerated to prevent me from doing it. Then he would slow down again. I tried it about three times with the same result regardless of how much momentum I would manage to build up. His passengers were laughing and having a great time. I was fuming since it was taking me forever to get home. This days I like my cars with a little bit more power just in case.

[pusb]

I imagine it depends on how well it is running as well. When my was having repairs done at a Mini specialist he told me my 850 is as quick as the 1275 GT he had in at the same time. Obviously when other things being equal a 1275 will be quicker, but basically what the my Mini mechanic meant was a well maintained 850 will be as quick as a poorly running 1275.