I see a few mid 2000's Mini's on FB for Challenge money but ads say they need a new clutch.
How tough is a clutch change on one of these for a person with close to average mechanical ability and tools, and can it be done on jackstands or stilts since I don't have a hoist. Anyone here done one? Any other things to be wary of when looking at these cars?
More curious than serious at this point.
Cheers.
IIRC you have to disassemble most of the front end to pull the transmission out.
It is a big job in the sense that you have to remove a lot of stuff to get the gearbox out of the car, but other than that it's not hard and yes you can do it on the floor on jackstands. I don't think they're any harder than most any front wheel drive car.
You do have to put the car in "service mode" which means remove most all of the front end, which also gives you have better access too.
A Cooper S is a little more difficult than a non S.
Clutches can be spendy, but if you go with the Valeo instead of the stock dual mass, it's about half price and a really good easy to drive clutch, I've done several of them with no complaints.
I would totally trust any Mini advice from MiniDave just cause his name is MiniDave.
LOL
That is gold. Thanks for the info. This may go from curiosity to actually looking. Having wifey on board pretty much means I have the go ahead. She's already mentioned 'Mini's at the Dragon' lol
Having had my e36 M3 in the service position quite a few times, the car is made to have the whole front end removed. Its easily done, no need to evacuate the A/C.
Different car, but its probably a similar process.
Getting the front end into service mode takes about 20 minutes of you have never done it before.
If it is an R50, the nose does not have to come off, but that is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. (peeve: this is not an Audi, there is no "service position" 
That is an Audi term for sliding the lock carrier forward, or having the drivetrain out on a tray)
The front subframe is fairly easy to remove, and mess-free if you remove the power steering pump and reservoir as an assembly still attached to the subframe, but it extends to almost under the front seats.
The clutch fork may be broken. IIRC it was discontinued a long while back. I have welded them back together with success.
Unless the car is close to free I'd probably walk. There are a lot of ways these cars are expensive since the aftermarket either has not picked up on repair parts, or the repair parts that are available don't actually work.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
Thanks! While I have done my share of work on new MINIs, my name comes from my work on Classic Minis.
I became the Mini guy when I worked at a large shop in Ohio. Probably did 10-15 clutches, plus plenty of other major repairs (engine replacement and turbo replacement) that are similar effort.
They are very easy if you have an engine hoist. I always left the subframe in the car and instead removed the radiator and everything up front, and swung the condenser out of the way.
Look at the harness and you'll see there are very few attachment points that NEED to come undone to remove with the engine + trans.
Remove bumper, remove the front core support, unclip some harness stuff, unbolt LBJ and outer TRE to remove the axles, undo engine mounts and pull out the front.
You don't need to realign it when done, and if I were doing it at home, removing and installing the front clip is way easier than lining up a subframe.
After a while I was able to get an R50 engine and trans out of the car in about 45 min for reference. Those were the easiest. R56 turbo and non turbo took a bit more time, with the R53 taking a bit longer at around 1.5 hrs.
Also on the R50/53 you unbolt the exhaust manifold from the head. Just get a new gasket. Saves tons of time.
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