Cabriolet body with extras

57. 20 miles. Factory left hand drive. VIN #XLU1569909
No rust anywhere. No nicks. dings or scratches on the paint.
Sumitomo 175/50 R13 tires on Minilite wheels.
Super tight 1275cc engine - oil stays honey-colored all the time.
Transmission very smooth.
NH State inspected May of 2014. with no issues. Comes with original title.
Stainless steel LCB exhaust system - high performance. with super-nice tone.
Hella driving lights. Strong battery. always float charged.
New custom-made seat covers and carpet. Kenwood AM/FM/CD.
Nardi gold-plated steering wheel. (couldn't resist. ) 

History: This car was sold to the German market. then imported to the US. It was dismantled and refurbished at Mini Obsession in PA. My wife and I bought it with a white roof and racing stripes. We wanted a convertible for three-season use. but the rare ones out there change the lines of the car radically. so we went with a stripped-down cabrio look. After removing the roof. we fabricated everything for a convertible top in the style of early MG Midgets. The quality of the paint is hard to capture in photos. It appears to iridesce as the angle of the light changes. from a warm leaf green in overhead sun to a cool metallic racing green in the shade. Many people have commented on it. If you like classic road rally trim. new white and black racing stripe decals come with the car.  

Safety upgrades: Classic Minis can fold up if they are hit. and we have a young daughter. We took the weight savings from removing the roof and welded a steel cage around the passenger compartment. including the doors. A box-beam frame is bolted under the floor and coupled to the engine mounts. This lowers the center of gravity. improves handling. front impact protection. and stiffens the body as it's loaded. The front pillars are reinforced with tubular steel inserts. The roll bar. which came from a Chevy Nova dragster. completes the cage. It bolts to and reinforces the seat belt towers and rear impact frame.  

If you prefer the lines of the body without a roll bar. a custom crossbar with shoulder belt anchors is ready to go. (See last picture. ) Remove four bolts and swap in the low bar for the roll bar. Your side impact protection remains intact. the look of the car changes significantly. and it takes only minutes to do.  

What about rain? A set of lightweight tubular steel and aluminum components lock together to form a frame. The frame can support either a black bikini top (included) for strong sunlight. similar to those on Jeeps. or a super-heavy duty transparent vinyl rain top that will engage the crank-up windows. All the materials for the rain top come with the car. including snaps. vinyl etc. . and it all fits into the boot. The frame connects to the roll bar (or the low crossbar. and anchors into 1/2-13 threaded inserts at each end of the windshield. The inserts are normally plugged with chrome bumper bolts from a '55 Bel-Air (pictured).  

If you want to install either top. I can go over the design with you when you pick it up. The last pic shows the low crossbar and the lightweight frame for the cover. All the frame parts attach to the car in a couple of minutes. To be very clear: The support structure is ready to go. The covers themselves need to be stretched over the frame. edges trimmed. and snaps installed. This can be done by hand. with scissors and a little hand sewing. or quickly if you have access to a sewing machine. And if you know someone who makes boat or pickup truck covers. it's a walk in the park. Removable stainless steel tracks for the window gaskets are already attached to the front pillars.

We have never installed the sun or rain tops for two reasons: First. we love the smooth look of the car with no extra metal snap anchors. and second. the umbrella (pictured) works really well! If it looks like rain. it takes one minute to clamp the umbrella to the roll bar. Set the umbrella high for a light rain (first pic). or lower if it's a downpour or very windy. If you park the car. drop it all the way. and it acts like a tonneau cover. It keeps the interior bone dry. and yes. you can drive with it if you want to - slowly. We drove it once through the middle of a huge classic car show with the umbrella up - to spontaneous applause and laughter everywhere.

This car is one of a kind. and needs nothing. It always starts and runs great. Take it anywhere. and you make friends immediately. Watch kids. bikers and custom car guys (and girls) give you thumbs up. The umbrella makes everyone smile. All the hard work has been done. Have some fun! (You deserve it. :-)

Winning bidder must make phone contact and send $1000 deposit by Paypal (verified users only) or overnight delivery - within 48 hours of auction close. Balance in cash or cashier's check within seven days of auction close. or the car will be relisted. Any check must clear before the car is released for transport. USA and Canada bidders only. I've sold three cars and a lot of high end electronics on eBay. Check my feedback. You won't be disappointed. Please email if you have questions. I'm happy to phone you to discuss the car. if you're serious. I never accept lowball offers - please don't ask. The amount of time and money invested is a lot more than the asking price. Finally. (whew!) I reserve the right to cancel the sale to bidders with negative feedback or a history of eBay or Paypal disputes.  

Update: I found a fine crack in the paint near the left rear convertible top socket. behind the back seat. The entire rear deck is aluminum. and I bet that it expanded and contracted over the last couple of years. stressing the paint there. The crack mostly parallels the bottom of the filler used to radius the 90 degree corner. There are a couple of other cracks. smaller and harder to find. at other spots along the deck. on the same radius. Am I being fussy? Yes. but I like full disclosure. since I've also bought cars on eBay. Please check the pic to see if it's an issue for you. I positioned the flash to highlight the edge. with a penny to provide scale. My take? This is worth repairing if you plan to compete in shows. where the smallest defect counts against the score. but otherwise nobody will notice a thing unless you point it out.

Nine general info items that came to mind later: 
1. The roll bar. low crossbar and all convertible top frame components are finished in standard satin trim black. available at any pro auto paint store. Very easy to touch up if they ever get scuffed.  
2. The frame under the car is finished with POR-15. which resists scratches. road salt and rust development over the long term.  The car has not seen salt or been driven in the rain.  
3. The radio/CD sounds good. The wing antenna is just above the rear view mirror. since we didn't want to drill the body for a whip antenna. The factory speakers. which sounded less than excellent. were pulled out of the back deck. I thought about cutting the inner panels of the doors to do a typical install there. but didn't want to change the look. A pair of satin black metal acoustic suspension speakers that are a big improvement over stock come with the car. They should work fine under the rear seat pan. where the speaker cables terminate now. If you're seriously into car audio. you could also make a nice installation below the side impact bar at each end of the rear bench seat. or go with wide-range transducers mounted in the headrests.  
4. There is an anti-theft feature. which will be explained when you pick up the car.  
5. The engine runs fine on regular gas. but I have always used hi-test.  
6. The heater works great. On cool days in the Spring or Fall. we drive with the windows rolled up and the heat cranked. That creates a zone of warmer air and you can stay pretty comfortable. especially if you're wearing a decent jacket.  
7. The body work was done with the minimum use of body filler. which can crack over time. If you decide to install the snap anchors for the tops. they will be in steel. and very solid.  
8. We've owned the car for eight years. Five of those were spent either doing the cabrio conversion or in storage.
9. The car has not been waxed since it was painted. We requested the best clear coat available. and the finish still looks like the day it came out of the paint shop.

Thanks for looking. Good luck bidding!

Also published at eBay.com

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