Newbie - reviving an oldie

Discussion in 'Starting Line - New Member Introductions' started by emay, Aug 31, 2015.

  1. emay

    emay New Member

    Aug 26, 2015
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    New member here - beginning the revival of a 03 R53 S in electric blue. Was a 2 owner car, mechanically sound but cosmetically lacking. By carfax looks like it had the last year of it's life in downtown Chicago.

    I did get her for a steal - no question. Shes going to be a birthday gift for the wife who has aspirations of tagging along with me to shows with my 1953 F100. A unique pairing, but it's all good.

    I picked the car up this past Friday morning brought it to my buddies shop to keep it hidden during it's makeover. We gutted her Saturday morning and got the grocery list mapped out.

    I'll see about getting some pics here when I get a chance - I'm under the gun for a 2 week turn around to the day. Wish me luck.
     
  2. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community.

    Good luck!
     
  3. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Welcome to MA! Good luck, we are here to help.
     
  4. Rawhyde

    Rawhyde Active Member

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    Welcome aboard. You found the friendly and helpful MINI forum. Best of luck with the project.
     
  5. 00Mini

    00Mini Well-Known Member

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    Good luck with your project and Welcome to Motoring Alliance the onlyest MINI Forum you'll ever need !!
     
  6. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to M/A! We have a wonderful world of the Gen 1 R53s here that you can get lots of info from, should you need any!
     
  7. mrntd

    mrntd Well-Known Member
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    Welcome. We look forward to daily pics updates over the next 2 weeks. :D
    But the best pic will be of your wife when she gets the car. :Thumbsup:
     
  8. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

    May 4, 2011
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    Welcome!

    Enjoy the ride!
     
  9. vetsvette

    vetsvette MINI Alliance Ambassador

    Nov 9, 2013
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    Welcome. You should be able to find all the parts you need and more from our sponsors. Good luck with your project. :cornut:
     
  10. emay

    emay New Member

    Aug 26, 2015
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    For sure. She will be video'd and photo'd. Can't wait for the day.

    Dropped the front seats off for upholstery yesterday. Using Bruce over at Mapes locally as he's done a number of recovers for me over the years. He's a little anal with the match ups so he retains my business.

    Paintless dent removal made a first pass over the car yesterday as well. Awesome job and knocked it out of the park with a door ding that was on the driver door seam under the handle. Thought that was going to remain but he worked magic on it and she's gone. Got one more dent to address on the roof. I hadn't seen it due to all the crawling around underneath and mechanical focus. It's substantial, like someone stood on the roof (big as an adult size 10, but not totally eye catching because the roofs white. He'll work that out later.

    We chatted the scheme, and I decided we are going to leave the car electric blue and do flat black stripes, potentially a anthracite color wheel - stockers will be departed.

    Looks like the right rear brakes are hanging a bit - very noticeable that the dust is heavier on that wheel. Will dig in tomorrow.

    Thanks for the welcome ya'll- I was digging through the member garages last night, some very reputable builds here for sure.

    Anybody tell me what these extra mount things are on the back. The holes look to have been cut freehand. Eventually I will take them off unless someone tells me it's for some B/A accessory.

    E-

    mini inside_zpszojlwoxf.jpg mini motor_zpsexeqv0xc.jpg mini rear_zpslveltp7l.jpg Mini_zpsbzcydtll.jpg
     
  11. vetsvette

    vetsvette MINI Alliance Ambassador

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    #11 vetsvette, Sep 1, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2015
  12. emay

    emay New Member

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    Well I'll be damned! I need to look for a few of those bits, we could put the thing to use right away.

    Thanks for the info and find vetsvette.
     
  13. eMINIparts

    eMINIparts Well-Known Member
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    Welcome to the coolest MINI forum on the net...........:cool:
     
  14. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    You may want to put a new belt, tensioner, and idler pulley on it. Also check the crank pulled for cracks. Check the control arm bushings they only last about 35K. If you replace them use powerflex bushings they will last the life of the car.

    Of course you could do some moding........15% pulley..... We are here to help spend your money.:D
     
  15. DryMartini

    DryMartini New Member

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    Welcome and best of luck with your project!
     
  16. emay

    emay New Member

    Aug 26, 2015
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    MCS02 - carfax shows new belt and tensioner was done at local dealer just 6000 miles back.

    Do need to check the crank pulley. Bushings looked good to the eye, did not see anything in the history regarding replacement at any point and the records were pretty thorough. I'll go at it expecting to do them. I heard a light clunk at passenger front when hitting any significant Chicago bumps. It's on my list for a look at end of this week.

    I fully expect everyone will help me spend my money - I'd do the same.
     
  17. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Kick the front wheel. If it moves back at all it's time for the control bushings. I would still take a look at the crank pulley. Both of these are known problems.
    Nothin funer then spending other people money.
     
  18. mrntd

    mrntd Well-Known Member
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    Looks like a great start!
     
  19. Rawhyde

    Rawhyde Active Member

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    Kicking the front tires rearward is a good way to check the control arm bushings. Worn bushings will make the car dart one way under power and another under braking when they get bad enough. Powerflex bushings are the "once and done" solution.

    Also, since you're new to MINIs, beware of any job that includes emptying out the coolant. These cooling systems must be bled properly or you'll end up with a cracked head. Pelican Parts has an article that shows the location of both bleeder screws. One of them is obvious, the other is well hidden. The Haynes hard cover manual is a truly handy thing to have.
     
  20. valvashon

    valvashon New Member

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    Still working on this? I can make the keys look brand new if they have holes worn through the case or have the buttons on the circuit board missing, etc. You are making the rest of the car look new, I'd be glad to help.

    "minikeyhospital (at) earthlink (dot) net"

    Dr Bruce Hart
    MINI Key Hospital
     

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