To shell out or not
At the time of writing (early May 2026) the economy is not doing so great and everything is expensive, especially fuel. Getting someone to come over to quote on the work is proving tough. When I do get people to visit they either are not interested, promise to send a quote later but never do, or send a quote that is more than the car is worth fully restored.
Several suggest I just replace the shell. I have two problems with this: The first is that is costs three times what Mini’s are selling for these days, and second it won’t feel like the same car to me. So I’ve decided not to shell out, pardon the pun.
With the cheapest quote being more than double the cars value restored I’ve opted to learn to weld. But with the amount of work that needs doing we are looking at a longer journey than planned. So after much discussion we have accepted the facts that Lucy will not be ready in time for my daughter’s prom (for that we have made other arrangements).
Now that we have more breathing room we can take our time. We are not giving up on restoring Lucy, far from it. It will be a learning experience for the both of us.
Dave
Date posted: 6th May 2026
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