YumYumDriver's Ruger - Cooper Flags MINI of the Month - November 2010

Nathan · 11-01-2010, 09:44 AM

1. Please tell us about your MINI when it was delivered. Option Packages along with the Year, Model and Color.

I picked up my Chili Red/Black Clubman S Automatic on December 18th 2009, I ordered the car with the premium, sport, and convenience packages, I named him Ruger after a friends Black German Shepherd. He was a police & arson/drug detection dog that was also trained in search and rescue as well as cadaver recovery, Ruger had worked on many well publicized cases. Like my car he took my breath away the first time I saw him, so awesome to see in action.

2. Why did you choose a MINI?

I am now on my 3rd MINI now, I got my first MINI when I had to get rid of my car with a manual transmission and go with an automatic because of health issues. I wanted a fast, good handling car that I could personalize so when MINI came out with the S in a paddle shift auto I had to have one. That was my first MINI, it was a heavily modified Chili Red/White 06 MCSa. I loved that car but I needed a little more room in the back when our puppy who grew too big for it. I traded the 06 on a new 09 Clubman S in February of 2009, unfortunately I had a lot of issues that couldn’t be resolved so Ruger was ordered as a replacement in 8 months later and I took delivery of Ruger on December 18th, 2009 just one week before Christmas. I Love the added room of a Clubman and it gives me plenty of room for my puppy who grew to be a very large Tibetan Mastiff while still retaining the MINI performance.

3. Please tell us about the various phases your MINI has taken as your mods progressed.

I played around a lot photo chopping photos trying to figure the look I wanted ultimately went with a more aggressive look than with my previous MINIs, I started by blacking out some things but still retained a few of the chrome accents. I love the look of lowered cars but I still need to be able to carry my now very BIG dog and after a lot of discussion with vendors, I had the cars suspension work done at MINIs on the Dragon in 2010. I don’t have a lot of extra cash since most of it now goes to dog food so I have to find ways to complete my vision in small well thought out steps. For instance I can not afford new wheels right now, so I took my factory rims and changed the look using vinyl. With the Vinyl I can remove it without hurting the rims, and so far I have tried black and then gray carbon fiber and ended up going with the red that is on it now. I get my vinyl from a local sign shop; they made up the red color to match the chili red paint for me and it was very inexpensive.

4. What has been your modification philosophy?

I am old school guy that believes a car that is well thought out and executed can be appreciated by all ages and automotive tastes. I am a firm believer that a car should be driven and my MINI is driven about 80 to 100 miles daily commuting to work.

5. What has been the most difficult mod completed to date?

The Joey Mod was by far the worst.

Why?

This was more mental than physical, for some reason I was a nervous wreck doing this. After seeing a new MINI in the show room that had the factory ones, I had to try it even though I didn’t have a clue what was involved. I searched online to see how to get the lights cracked open. My car only had a few miles on it when and all I could think of was screwing up my new expensive xenon’s by melting them in an oven or with my heat gun. It turned out to be kind of simple to do once I got through my first one.

6. Where do you research and source your modifications; materials, parts, etc?

There is no active MINI Club in this area and there are very few modded MINIs in rural Tennessee so I have to rely on the internet forums like Motoring Alliance to get information. It helps that I live so close to the Dragon in North Carolina. I have been to every MINIs on The Dragon since 06 and I think this is an awesome way to talk to other MINI owners and vendors and get ideas. I also have a wrenched and showed cars most of my adult life so I use some of that experience to help me.

7. Have other Motoring Alliance members assisted you? If so, give them a shout out.

Chad at Detroit Tuned has been so helpful to me with recommendations in and doing some of the work I can’t do anymore. I think he did a great job getting the cars suspension dialed in.

8. How did Motoring Alliance help you as a resource in your modifications?

I print out articles on maintenance, how to’s, pictures or ideas all the time and put in a binder then when I need to do something I refer to it when I need to tear into something.

9. What are you planning next? What remains to be done? What are your goals?

I plan on adding a few red accents and a Chrome line kit to my interior but my next big change will be getting new rims & tires hopefully after the first of the year when the runflats wear out. After that I will start working on a few engine upgrades. My ultimate dream mod is a Borla exhaust system… I just love the sound the Borla’s make.

10. Please list all current mods:
Black Joey modded xenon's
Blacked out grill surround
Highlighted silver on front & rear grills (silver paint paste)
30% tinted windows & sunroofs
Tinted side running lamps
Front & rear stealth turn signal bulbs
Rubber chin spoiler (garage door seal)
Alta short antenna
de-badged rear emblems
Custom made black vinyl stone guards
Magellan 4700 GPS with Street Guys mounting system
German Antique Rosenthal Bud Vase
Sony MP3 player
NM Lower Torque Arm Insert
H&R Sport Springs
H-Sport Adjustable Rear Control Arms
H-Sport 25mm Competition Rear Sway Bar
17" 5-Star Pace (vinyl wrapped