1st Gen R50 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: Black mesh bonnet/bumper inserts

I wanted to mention one more option that you might not have considered.

On your R50, you have a grill with chrome surround and chrome slats. The replacement grill discussed so far is the aerokit grill with black plastic surround and honeycomb mesh.

Another option is what I have, which is a grill with black slats and chrome surround. The upper grill is a straight swap. The single chrome slat in the bumper is swapped with a black slat. The part numbers are 51137133846 and 51117032899.

 

I bought some mesh off Ebay and a rubber beading to finish off the cut edges. Not a show car look but functional for rallying. I do like the other miesh grills for sale but could not justify the cost.

 

Take a look at my garage. Dr. Dave.0 performed the lower rhinoplasty on the Check-less-mate. It can be done.

 

Thanks for the compliments!

That photo is actually from November 2005, on the day I picked up the new car (note the dealer plates). I already had the grill and wheels waiting, and swapped them in when I got home. My wife never saw the car in its original stock form!

The full chrome Justa grill is justa too much for me. I chose that grill instead of the aero because I felt that it's a more balanced look if the headlight rings aren't going to be dechromed. I also preferred slats instead of mesh grill because it is more of an understated factory look.

 

I totally forgot still one more option, which may be the best of all. There's even more of a story behind all of this. Back in 2005 (and earlier), some owners had been making their slats black by removing and painting them. I was the first to discover that MINIUSA added the black grill to their parts catalog (it is the factory standard grill for the European MINI One).

It sounds incredible now but in 2005 applying vinyl or PlastiDip hadn't become popular yet (it never occurred to me back then). Soon afterwards, owners did start using those products. The easiest and cheapest way to achieve almost the same result is a can of PlastiDip. It won't be as durable as the factory black grill, but easy to peel off and redo if necessary.

 

I've been successful in reverting back to the OEM center grille after having both of the JCW grilles fitted for a while. It's a nice swap and you'll love the outcome of this relatively simple mod. Good luck and have fun!

 

I put a black factory grill (pre-facelift) in my 04 years ago; have a JCW grill in the garage just never got around to it. Like Dave said the 2" vinyl is probably easiest (did that before factory grill) but the rocks and sand on my commute ate the vinyl like swiss cheese, it's also done the same thing to the factory grill (and hood, bumper) over the years (no clear bra)

 

MA sticker is good for another 5mph per stage! R50! still is an R50 of sorts! The new Mini stole my look LOL I used 3m faux carbon fiber to tie in the 2 grills

 

The upper grill is a swap.
The one directly under that you have to do a little cutting to make it fit.

UPPER
MINI Parts -

MIDDLE
MINI Parts -

 

Maybe I'm dumb, but I can't tell how what I'm looking at in that link might be the part I'm interested in. Probably because the picture is of MANY parts, all very roughly drawn.

Which one is the black hexagonal upper grill that's an easy swap?

 

The large top grill is the easy one.

Try this link from Out Motoring. http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/mini_cooper_aero_grill_conversion_kit.html

 

Thanks! That's much clearer.

But.

These parts sites are going to drive me nuts! Outmotoring has a clear pic, but then seems to list the kit for $116 but each individual part for over $200!

Ah, never mind, I see it's some sort of list price vs. their price.

 

^^^^ Nice MINI, I am just not a fan of chrome.

 

That's sure a beautiful R50! I love the way you've done it up!!

 

I did this also with 2 inch wide black tape from Pep-boys back in the day.

 

I'd like to see that black bar grille in a Chili Red R53. If anyone out there has a shot of hone, throw it up there! If it's that cool, I might be up to hung one down...