minis are a great project car, if you keep it stock engine there is so much available for them and so cheap to do in comparison to the Zed. and if you get a rusty example replacement panels are dirt cheap.
if you strip it back to the chassis, sand blast and repait, and rebuild from there it should be rot free for ever, as modern paint and rust prevention treatment has come on a long way. also i think alot of the replacement panel s are ally now instead of mild steel (could be wrong) wheel archs were the worst hit area, the chassis was normally fine. door sills were another weak spot.
i love them with the wide arch setup and a big set of mini ultra lite wheels.
i'd be tempted to swap to the clubman nose and then drop something silly in