Anyone know anything about Minis?

[Neeek]

My boss is keen on one. He checked it out at the weekend and it's been restored and by all accounts sounds like a good 'un. Goes like the clappers (mild 1100 in it) and handles like a go-kart as all Minis should.

Two concerns:

1. Brakes are a bit iffy. Needs a good shove to stop. Has drums all 'round, but was apparently a little frightening, especially considering that it's had everything replaced recently (wheel cylinders, pads, master cylinder...). He's used to driving modern cars, though...

2. Gear lever has a HUGE amount of slack in it. Doesn't jump out of gear. Again, compared with a modern I'd expect there to be a lot of slack by comparison.

The Mini's a 1977 model. My take on point 1 is that if everything has been replaced and it's still doing it, something's not right and it'll need fixing. Point 2 I assume would be worn/poorly adjusted linkages, which ought to be an easy fix. The fact that it's easy to engage when you actually have the lever in the right spot is a plus. It's just finding the right spot that's troublseome.

I haven't driven it myself, so if anyone knows anything about these little go-karts, please share your thoughts here.