I got back from MiniMeet West in San Diego a little more than a week ago. MiniDave and I travelled out there from the middle of the country (him from Kansas City, me from Dallas) to beautiful San Diego, and we did it in style - riding in a MINI while flat towing my classic Mini behind us. Full credit to my trusty '02 Cooper S which towed my 1500 lbs. classic Mini at temperatures up to 118° through the deserts and from sea level up and down steep mountain passes, some as over 7,000 feet. Along the way, my MINI had a birthday: 14 years since I took delivery of her. Here's what went wrong during our roughly 3,200 mile towing journey: The 1988 classic Mini: It needed a new front wheel bearing. It started grumbling and complaining a bit back in San Diego, but we took a wait-and-see approach. By the time we got to Phoenix on our way home the bearing was howling. Thankfully, Dave brought along a spare wheel bearing and we were able to replace it on a Saturday morning at his son's house there it before the temperatures really went crazy into the triple digits. Dave's son even erected a canopy so we got to work in the shade. Very nice. The 2002 MINI Cooper S: Umm. A headlight bulb burned out. Oh, and the windshield washer fluid became empty (totally my fault - forgot to fill it before we left). That was it! The MINI took the trip in stride. I really love this car. .
Sorry we didn't all get to meet whilst we were both in San Diego. Maybe sometime later on in our future.
I don't know how we managed to miss each other, but we did it! The trip was a blast, about the only down note for me was the last day's drive home across Texas - man that's a big state! I didn't think we'd ever get home.... I would not want to try and change a front wheel bearing on the side of the road, even if I had the tools - so I was grateful that we were able to use Jeff's shop and driveway to do the repairs. The MINI drove perfectly the whole time, the A/C kept us comfortable in those 118* Phoenix temps and thru the desert till we got to Sandy Eggo and home again. The classic also did extremely well, and we had huge fun on the back country run on Thursday - taking 3rd place out of about 40 cars! All in all a very successful trip, and a solid vote for Bruce to be able to tow his classic to other upcoming Mini events - so no excuses now Bruce! :biggrin5::biggrin5:
Sounds like a great trip. Any details on the event itself? The activities sounded like they would be really fun, especially the rally and autocross. I was going to head down, but a sold out hotel and not being sure on how they felt about MINI's at the event changed my mind. Were there many MINI's there?
It's a national MINI/Mini event. There are two...one being Mini Meet East, East of the Mississippi, and the other being Mini Meet West...West of the Mississippi.
And every 5 years there's Mini Meet East Meets West! While primarily classic Mini focused, the events are open to all MINI/Minis and all are welcome, there were plenty of new MINIs there too. There are plenty of hotels in that part of Sandy Eggo, in fact there's a Motel 6 that had vacancies right next door to the event hotel. Next time, don't hesitate, just go!