I have an older mac mini, one with a CD Drive. I'm thinking about buying a newer faster mini. How do I hook the old mini to the new mini in such a way that I can use the CD drive and storage space on the old but use all of the features of the new mod

Use file and CD/DVD sharing

DVD or CD sharing: Using Remote Disc

Mac Basics: File Sharing

Hooking up a Mac to another Mac such that it can be used as an external drive has been a long-standing feature that goes back to as long as Macs have shipped with Firewire.

The procedure is called Target Mode and how to use it is outlined by Apple here.

Basically, you will connect your old and your new Mac minis using a Firewire cable. Note that new Mac mini will need the $30 FW-Thunderbolt adapter.

You will also need to connect a keyboard to your old Mac mini while it starts up (after startup you can remove it). Press and hold the *T' key during startup. It will appear as a mounted volume on your new Mac mini.

This will also allow you to use the optical drive located in the old mini.