I learnt to drive in a Mk 1 mini and a Morris 1000.
Like all cars of the time they had their flaws. They both rusted of course underneath. The mini's rear subframe used to rust out but at least it could be replaced. At the time, for drivers of the era, the Morris 1000 may well have been a better car to drive, in 1959 it had had 12 years of incremental improvements and with its front engined RWD layout was a nice simple car with remarkably good handling...not much road holding on 5.20-13 bias ply tires but then nothing did then.
The mini, with its gearbox in the engine sump could have done with modern oil! They used 20-50 syrupy stuff and supposedly the helical gears used to chop up the viscosity improvers in the oil and make it into something else with far less lubricating properties.
the single SU carb was at the rear of the engine. Seems that originally it was at the front but that caused it to ice up on any cool wet day. Trouble was with that old Austin Morris engine that meant the sparkplugs, wires and distributor were at the front. Do not drive an early mini into a deep puddle or you will stop with a drowned out ignition system.
Minis used to eat tires of course 5.20-10 bias ply Dunlop C41 (IIRC) were the factory fitment. People with money replaced them with the same size radial which certainly helped give the mini its road-holding.
Both those old cars were fun to drive...for all their 34 BHP.
