Most liked posts in thread: Dark Silver in the garage

  1. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Time for an update before it's winter again and the car goes back into hibernation. It's been driven about 2 miles this year...

    Between a zillion other projects around the house, I actually found some time to work on this car. With the Subaru out of the garage and the daily Mini as well fully operational, and just one other Mini stored inside, I actually have space to work.

    For this car I had a few basic jobs to do this year. First I did the timing chain tensioner swap (not hard to do, so no coverage here - get a flexible head ratchet at Harbor Freight and use a short extension),plus I want to swap from resonated to non-resonated mid pipe on the Milltek exhaust. but , I figure I better get around to doing the big job first, which is the aluminum trialing arm conversion. I've punted that many times because I wanted the arms cleaned up like new and doing the hillbilly sandblasting job in the driveway just never happened.

    So I used plan B last weekend. That involved chemicals. I looked around and a product called Krud Kutter was highly recommended. No harmful vapors, too, so I got a 32oz bottle on Amazon, put on safety glasses and gloves, put a control arm into a large Walmart storage bin and got busy with a detailing brush, some brass and steel brushes from Harbor Freight and a 50/50 mix of Krud Kutter with water. Note that whatever you spill will really clean your concrete garage floor. My bin cracked and I had a pretty massive leak so now there are a few square feet of white garage floor to get filthy again.

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    About 45 minutes of applying the product, plus some scrubbing where corrosion on the aluminum arms was evident and I got a very clean part, etched ready for paint. See before after here

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    Next up was proper masking for paint. That took almost longer than the cleaning process, but it was well worth the time to keep the machined surfaces paint free. Learned a few tricks doing this and once I figured out how to do this it went pretty quickly (use a small hammer on the edges after taping over, the masking tape will come apart where you hit the machined edges).

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    I had a couple of cans of quality primer and silver wheel paint left over from a previous project, plus silver was more appropriate than the red caliper paint I had sitting next to it as an alternative. I want the part to look like R56, but not corrode, so silver it was.

    First primer

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    then the silver coat

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    and masking tape removed

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    The paint is still drying based on the smell in the garage. So the parts are waiting for the next weekend or whenever I find enough time to tear into the rear suspension. I won't do this unless I have enough time to complete the conversion. I think I have every part and bolt I need to do the swap. Originally I wanted to get 2 more rear control arms, but for now I'll just take what I have and put it together. I may even shoot some video of the install/conversion, since that's a subject you can't find on YouTube as far as I can tell.
     
  2. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Dark Silver "out of the garage" this weekend. I took it for a drive to blow out the new part smell from the Milltek cat back. Great weather last night after humid and hot air finally got pushed out of the area. We were sweating on Saturday messing with coilovers, air conditioning blowing into the garage, but it didn't help much.

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    And a glance at the Milltek tips in the good evening light.

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    No rattles, but also very very quiet. I may just have to order that pipe segment to pull out the resonator for the local runs. For long travel trips, I actually like the quiet cabin.

    And here is the current H7 low beam setup. Not going to keep that for very long. It gave me a taste of better light, and now I want it all - a bi-xenon conversion is coming later this year or in winter.

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  3. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Got tired of painting the scratch on the tailgate. The paint is almost up to the original level, but it probably will take another 5 layers to be safely above for the entire length. So I went for a drive, dropping off some stuff at the office and then swing past this place that is the showcase wall of a local mural artist. Every few weeks, there's something different here. I am just waiting for the right one to come back for a night car shot. This one isn't it

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  4. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    I finished up the rear scratch last night. Sanded off the ridge of dark silver that fills the scratch with 1200/2500/3000/5000/7000 grit until I was leveling clear coat, then cutting compound and final polish to get it shiny. Some wax over it for now. With harsh lighting you can clearly see the line, but much improved. In indirect light, 10 feet away, you cannot see it any longer.

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    The gouges I put into the front bumper while removing the clear bra will take some more paint to fill the holes, but eventually will get the same treatment.
     
  5. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    yeah, good to know about ECS. I've learned over my two or three orders from them that they will sell you stuff they don't have. You place and order and then they give you a ship date 2 weeks down the road, at minimum. I got my Milltek there on Black Friday last year, and it was delivered in late January. On the other hand, I had ordered a Milltek from Way in September and they didn't have it until January either.

    Since I am going out of my way to never spend a penny at my local Mini stealership again, I located a good online OEM Mini parts source in Seattle. May just get me the roof rack for the daily driver from them, but parts description there is sketchy compared to ECS Tuning where you at least know what you're going to get. On the other hand, it may take a month to get your stuff from them.

    In other news - above exhaust install is complete - my son finished it while I was sitting in the air conditioned office. He needed to get his car into the garage so the only way to do that was to finish my unfinished work ;)

    Turns out I had the center section upside down - he fixed that and now the pipe doesn't touch the cross brace. That was his second Milltek install, and he had that same issue. Note the Milltek packing list an "installation tips sheet," but there is no such sheet in the box, nor did he have one shipped with his exhaust. It's not too difficult but there's that 50% chance to get it in upside down. Install ended up real tight under the rear bumper cover just like with his car, even after sanding down the lip on the black plastic around the tips. I may need to add those washers people mention to drop the inside rear hangers a 1/4 inch if things don't settle in within a week of gravity pulling on those rubber mounts.
     
  6. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    never mind - just brute force compression on the garage floor locked it back up. Installed, started, idles nice and smooth the moment oil pressure builds up. Still hear a chattering from the chain area at idle once the car warms up over 170F - guessing the chain guides are worn, so that's up next. Was hoping I could skip that step.
     
  7. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Just bought the core parts for the next project on this car, mostly because the condition and price were as good as I have come across in a while:

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    [​IMG][/url]

    The parts look very clean, with only paint damage on the brackets where the bolts used to be and minimal corrosion on the arms. Bushings look new, aluminum does not look like much salt and water ever got near it. $148 for everything, free shipping.

    I'm not really in a hurry to do this job, since I want to first clean up the arms and maybe powder coat them. it'll take quite a few more parts to do this whole conversion. The remaining budget is about $150 in bolts and nuts and plates, but it doesn't end there. Given this is supposed to be the final rear end handling upgrade, I was thinking of putting in the powerflex busings into the brackets ($109), add new wheel bearings ($190 for a set), and top it off with a second set of adjustable control arms for the uppers. Those are another $200 or so. I have Helix in there right now, so going to a second set will remove most of the rubber bushings from the rear suspension. Add the cost of an alignment after all that. Saves some weight and tightens up the rear.

    Hope to get this all done before the winter, but it won't really matter when I get to the install given how often I drive it. It's more of a "I want to have fun installing this" issue, so I wont do it when the garage drops below 50F :)
     
  8. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    May 4, 2009
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    I kept the stock rubber bushings and did not go with power-flex bushings based on others people’s experiences because you need them to flex a little. They power flex bushings, even the soft ones make the rear too stiff. Also the rears don’t crap out like the front lower control arm bushings. That would save you $109.

    Also you can save money by just cleaning the aluminum arms with a great degreaser, drying and just spray paint them a basic silver from any parts store. They are never going to rust and will look brand new. No glass beading and power coating costs so that should save some funds.

    I did mine two tears ago and they still look great.
     
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  9. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    The "stoppers" are needed, but they do exist on the R53 as well, so I plan to reuse the part. Same part number, so I doubt I need to buy these $35 "washers." If I had to source trailing arms again, I'd look for a more complete take-off that has the brackets still screwed to the arms, as those generally come with the "stopper."

    Found my custom machined shock adapters from Way in the mailbox last night - they are a perfect fit to fill in the control arms where R56 shocks have that cone shape. But that's about as far as I am. I am in the middle of doing brakes and wheel bearings on a Subaru Outback, so I haven't ordered any of the remaining nuts and bolts for the project. I first wanted to make sure I have the custom parts that are hard to source.

    If I find some time this weekend beyond the Subaru, I'll try my luck with some ghetto sandblasting in the yard, using a $12 blasting attachment and a bag of blasting media from Menards to clean those trailing arms for painting. As soon as I have something to show, I'll update the thread.
     
  10. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    ha, I did that for the lower control arm bushings up front last summer already :D It's waiting for the knuckle and hub to come off the Outback this weekend. Already received a few parts I need to destroy to get it off, although I am still not sure I can pull one of the ball joints out of the knuckle. A rusty bolt that was pinching it in there was the one that needed the big gun (Harbor Freight's Earthquake XT) .

    That gun eats through the compressor air like crazy - glad I got high flow hose and couplers all through the system to get my money's worth out of that tool. So far I had been able to deal with tough bolts using breaker bars and an electric corded impact gun, but this is way nicer and stronger and smaller to fit in places I could never use the electric tool.
     
  11. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    After spending nearly 6 weeks fixing a Subaru in the garage, I threw in the towel on doing the rear suspension this season. Leaves piled up on it in the driveway and then the first snow hit it.

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    Since I still needed to fix some stuff on the electric blue daily driver, I decided to put it on dollies and rolled it back in the garage for the season. A whole 246 miles earlier I rolled it out of there. Not the way I expected this year to go.

    [​IMG]

    Note the 17" whit wheel on the right - that's the Chili Red car. It has been there since mid August. Drove about 1100 miles this year - now close to 39k on the clock. It got a Milltek, some boost gauges, fog and driving lights in a custom mount, and a few other tweaks before being put away for the year when my son went back to college. Over recent months, the boy realized that he needs a second R53, just like I have a "daily driver." So we're currently looking for #4 to be added to the stable as a "driver car" for him.

    But back to my Dark Silver money pit, ahem, toy car. Today, while already in winter mode, I gave it one more quick update for the year - fresh NGK wires to replace some Bosch wires I put in in 2014 in California when the car was acting up (fuel pump/filter). Good deal at Rock Auto, although I bet there was nothing wrong with the Bosch Ultra Premium cables I pulled from the car

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    A few more things may happen before the garage gets too cold for anything serious, but the car won't move again until April or May.
     
  12. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    The dark silver car now sits on dollies, pushed deep in the rear of the garage. This season I added a total of two (2) miles to the odometer. Guess I should drive it a little more next year. The blue Mini drove about 410 miles in 2019, the red one (my son) about 900. That's it for Mini motoring in 2019. Spent more time working on them than driving. As it should be :D

    No idea what's in store for 2020, but the first thing this car needs is a proper alignment after the control arm swap.
     
  13. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Just like I remove old wax? I let the weather do that :D May take a little longer with the glue, though.

    Heat and Goo Gone combined seem to be the recipe for quick initial progress, then the rest is really rag and whatever chemical works best. I have to try the Acetone. Keep using what I have to rinse out intercoolers, so I may not have any in the garage right now.
     
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  14. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    Got it all off. Now patching up some scratches. Will add some more interesting updates when the exhaust gets swapped. I don't have a lot planned for the car this year, but there will be a few things here and there, which I'll keep adding to this thread when I get to these things. I'm considering a full HID projector upgrade, but need the other car fully road worth for a while before I get into that. Another job will be a full paint correction and ceramic coat. It will be the first time the buffer touches the paint on that car.

    The Electric Blue daily driver will soon go on jack stands again for some front end work and perhaps a brake upgrade, custom intake and some other tweaks. Nothing huge left to do on that car, but some bits and pieces have yet to be overhauled.
     
  15. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    So here is a closeup detail of the deep scratch my garage door left on the tailgate. This is about a dozen layers of Dark Silver 871 base coat to fill it in up to the level of the surrounding clear coat. It will ever be invisible, but from a few feet away once sanded and polished, this will be hard to detect. Right now, well, it looks like some kid took a paint brush and tried to draw a fat line on the tailgate :D

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    While another layer of paint was drying, I got busy removing a decade of scratches and decay from the tail lights of the blue and dark silver car.

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    Made a lot of difference. Lots of scratches in the plastic before, now all gone. One light is still a bit hazy, probably on the inside. Not sure I can open them in an over. $85 or so buys a new one, but I'd need two to have a match. It's really not that big of a problem - have many more pressing issues. Under hood liner for example - the one on this car is in rough shape.
     
  16. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
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    And a brief update on the LED lighting. I've used NCS Expert on this car as well, coded out all the bulb checks that make LED exterior bulbs flicker randomly, and then tested the latest and greatest LED H7 in the low beam position of this non-HID car. Very impressive, much brighter, but since it's not a projector like the HID car I have, the extra light is all right in front of you, almost too much of it, while the ditch seems to be darker due to the increased contrast. I like the gain in brightness, and it comes without the usual glare issues known from HID kits stuffed into reflector housings. Still not as clearly defined as an HID cutoff, so I am pretty much decided to buy a full complement of HID projector conversion parts for this car. I will use the LEDs in the high beam position as soon as I figure out how to stuff the driver into that part of the housing. It fits loosely below the low beam, so much that you need to wrap it in foam to avoid clunking sounds, but around the high beam, there's not much room. Should all be easy to resolve when I crack these things open.

    First I used these in the high beam of the blue car
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    Found these after I saw a review of LED bulbs and paid quite a lot of $$$ at one of the big retrofit outfits in the country. A month or so later, I spotted what appeared like a clone of the bulb. Figured it's Amazon and I can return it if it doesn't come out to be what I expected, but, well, it is totally identical, just a different box and less than half the price.

    I don't even know which one of the two bulbs in this image is the SuperNova and which one is the no-name Amazon bulb but I guess the blue tag one is the cheap bulb based on the above image which was taken before I got the Amazon bulbs - look for "Vouke VH-5S H7"

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    When I finally decide on all the HID stuff I need and get the stuff installed, I'll be updating this thread in detail. I guess it all goes back to buying two Minis with HID and one without. Can't have that crappy light any longer. Thing is - the newest aftermarket HID projectors will likely blow away the OEM lights and then I may need to do that all over again...
     
  17. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    The center section of pipe will drop down when you mount the rear section to it. I had the same issue when I put my Milltek on the first time. Now I do it in one long fully assembled exhaust with wooden blocks.

    I install the 2 center bolts from the 6 bolt plate and then move to the rear and work from the battery box out. The last thing I do is connect it to my RMW header because I do not want to stress the flow pipe at all.

    Also you may want two buy 2 small worm gear hose clamps to cure the “Milltek swing”.

    With new bushings and exhaust hangers the bushing tend to slide the Milltek exhaust tips to the passengers side after a drive. All Milltek exhaust do this.

    The fix I came up with is install a small hose clamp on the inside exhaust hanger before you put the bushing on. Yes before the bushing goes on. Do not tighten them until the whole exhaust is on the car and everything else is tight.

    When you get the exhaust tips perfectly centered in the bumper cutout then slide the hose clamps up to the bushing and tighten them down. Now the exhaust will not move off center because it can’t slide from either side and still be 100% cushioned and make no noise.

    To be clear the hole clamp goes on the inner exhaust hooks on the muffler that connects to the inner bushing on each side of the battery box.
     
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  18. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    simple solution - get rid of the TV. I haven't had cable in almost a decade, I think. Now, usually that meant the kids were in front of their computers. Not sure that's better :) He did get into the car and engineering interests, though, so his upbringing wasn't a total failure.
     
  19. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    Two days in, here's the first basic observation: the muffler is significantly quieter than one-ball, than Megan Racing, than non-resonated Milltek and I think also quieter than bone stock with two balls. I don't hear a thing in the car at 70mph, and the car has no back seat. Very strange experience. I may end up getting the pipe segment to rip out the resonator for "fun driving," but on longer drives, I think it'll be nice to have peace in the cabin. Well almost, because now you really hear the super charger though the DDMWorks intake. Compared to my electric blue car, I am also missing the big pops and burbles. My son's non-resonated Milltek does a lot more of that type of music. On the other hand, I don't have to worry about they neighbors when I come home and lift off on the downhill in front of my house :D

    I will need to put some spacers under the hangers, as it rattled quite a bit more than last time I ran the car after a cold start this morning. Still too close to the rear valance. It has to come off again. Weekend project now that my son has freed up the garage again. He nearly finished his custom headlight project. The custom mount is great, strong enough to mount a snow plow :) - the lights - well, something different but he likes them. STill not wired up, because it took us forever to figure out where to tap into the high beams on an HID car (yellow wire in rubber tube coming from ballast going into side cap)

    This is how he left the garage this morning, not fully wired up yet. Center lights are high beams, outside are dual high beam/fog lights (the center bar is fog) and will be wired in as fogs to replace factory fogs, and the high beam will be triggered in tandem with the OEM high beams via a relay. We didn't have time to install the LEDs in the OEM high beam locations, nor are they aimed yet. License plate mount had to be customized. Fogs will become brake ducts, I am told.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    During this last hot and humid weekend, I kept the garage door shut and the space relatively cool so I could adjust the exhaust tip position without dripping in sweat.

    Here the before and after - first image is mounted totally as shipped with brand new hanger rubber all around. The bumper inner edge is already trimmed off but this close, I got a frequent pretty nasty rattle.

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    I sanded the plastic back some more and then added one thick washer, maybe 1/16" thick, under just the inner hangers. That got me this final result

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    As usual, I had to do the job twice - my first attempt added far too much spacing, about 5mm with a nice aluminum plate I had drilled to match the hole spacing. Well, with that the muffler tips were about 1" below the valance! the spacers seem to tilt the whole assembly by a factor that amplifies at the tips.

    So a little goes a long way. I added a second hose clamp to the inner hangers to keep things centered in both directions, plus "adjusted" all heat shields that were anywhere near the Milltek.

    Here's the brand new $46 factory passenger side hanger, a part removed by the previous owner. $46...

    [​IMG]

    When I was done with all that, I took out my rear tail lights for the first time ever. Great opportunity to clean out all the crud that may be in that space and then wax the heck out of it, before installing the lights with fresh bulbs. Turned out the backup light on one side was out, and my last trip to Walmart ended up with my nice new 921 reverse light bulbs in somebody else's shopping bag. Grrrrr. So I spent $20 and got some super bright LEDs on Amazon. Upgrade!

    Will post results when I get them. Glad I already coded out all the bulb checks on this car, so no flashing reverse lights :)