I'm trying to come up w/ a BBW fetish story for the broken fuel tank, but I've been heavier than any of my long past girlfriends or my wife of 20+ years, so any damage would have been on me. We've got a lot of construction in our neighborhood.... they were starter homes from the 1940's and are wearing out. Combine that with a proximity to downtown Charlotte, an economic boom in the city and a quick walk to a light rail line that has fueled dense residential growth (and all of the great shops / restaurants that follow), our street has been transformed in the past 5-6 years... I'd guess that 1/2 of the houses have been torn down in that time and new homes built. The street 1 block to our south was bought up by a developer and 20+ lots are being rebuilt into town homes. I'm only guessing that I caught a bit of scrap wood and didn't notice the hit, though one would think that it would have caused quite the commotion in the cabin if it was able to break the plastic gas tank. I did have one good bump on the highway (hit a bump so hard I hit my head on the roof) on the way home from the Dragon, but I made several drives after that with no code... New tank should arrive today. I'd assume that the car taking up lift space right now, disassembled and waiting for parts, so knowing the garage, they will try to get it done and reclaim the shop space later today, once the part arrives. Oh well.
Let’s just say one time a while ago, I was on the Dragon going up and being followed by a friend. The road went up and to the left and then back to the right. Let’s just say I skipped the turns and “flew” over the edge and landed where the road came back to the right. Butt cheeks so tight I think I made a diamond. I pulled over at the next pull off and my buddy ran up to my car and said WFT were you doing playing with the radio or lighting a smoke? I was kind of pale and said uuuuhhhh nothing but going too fast and when the car went up the wheel turned left but the car didn’t. He said yeah, you were airborne idiot ! We both chilled out for a Good 15 - 20 min and drove back to Fontana and had a few beers. Yes, I changed my shorts and took a freshing shower. Other airborne times in the MINI have just been on local roads in PA and going too fast over small hills and drop offs on the other side. In my old Buick T-Type when I was in my late teens early 20’s I jumped a set of railroad tracks at 60 plus and flew a good 30+ yards. I smashed my head on roof and steering wheel, smashed my legs on the dash. Let’s just say I thought everyone could jump a car like the Duke Boys in Hazzard County but I was wrong and very sore for a while. lol
Rufus is back together and running. The exhaust seems to rattle a bit at idle and it looks like the exhaust tips are sticking out a bit further than they did before. I'll get up under there this weekend. I've got to to put 50-75 miles on the clock, pushing emissions data into the computer, so I can get through my annual inspection. EDIT: 70 miles on the clock over the weekend and I passed emissions/safety inspection today. I'm legal for another year.
OK... it's dead of the winter here in Charlotte, NC (lol... that means we get a mild ice storm once or twice... maybe 3-4 inches of snow that melt within a day or two) and it's time to get the last few remaining items done before MOTD 2019. My contract was finally converted to permanent employment so, now I've got my paycheck sorted out, it's time to spend all of that cash! 1. The interior: Man... I've been wanting to refresh the steering wheel and the ebrake and shift boots, but I've had a hard time finding a place that does work that I like. I'm picky about leatherwork and stitching... it needs to look OEM or better and, despite what many vendors say, their work looks like it was done by a 2 year old. I know that a steering wheel has to be a seriously difficult shape to wrap. It takes some mad skills, I'm sure. I found CM Customs (in the Netherlands) and LOVE every wheel I've seen them do. I just sent my cash and ordered a wheel much like the one in this pic: Mine will have red stitching, smooth leather everywhere and a red 12 o'clock indicator ring (just for a bit of flash). It will have the sport-grip notches at 9 and 3 (as the photo does) and a slightly flattened wheel (as this photo has). It will also be 1.5mm thicker (as the photo is). New leather boots coming as well... smooth black leather w/ red stitching. 2. The clutch: I've been all over the map on the clutch kit. I've finally decided to do the South Bend Stage 2 Street clutch and flywheel kit. New throw out bearing, rear main seal, guide tube, input shaft seal, etc. 3. LSD: I seriously miss the LSD from Jango, my first R53. Since hands will be in doing the clutch, why not pop a Quaife LSD in there? 4. Maintenance: I got the various bits for an oil change and a brake fluid flush (yawn, I know... but you gotta keep up w/ this stuff). Once I do that, I think Rufus will be officially DONE! Of course I'll putter about in the engine bay... I've been wanting to get in there and change out the coolant / PS tank and maybe do some powder coating of various bits, but that's all just icing on the cake and stuff I'll do just to have some fun... probably next winter, once my wallet recovers from the parts extravaganza I just ordered in the past few days.
Nice list of updates... can’t wait to see. Curious, how much will the steering wheel recover cost? Are they sending you a new wheel.. or using your current one?
I'm amazingly picky when it comes to the steering wheel. It's the most interacted with part of the car (along w/ the shift knob). I decided just to cough up for it once I found a craftsman I can work with and who can do all of the features I was looking for. $500 for the wheel and both boots. He is going to recover a wheel that he has and send me the parts. I'll fit 'em (using my own multi-function controls and airbag) and then return my original wheel to him afterwards for the next person. I should have the new wheel and boots in my hands 4 weeks after I put my money down (yesterday). It's a good thing that I documented my JCW steering wheel install many years ago! If I could have found another JCW wheel in perfect condition, I would have nabbed it... that was a GREAT feeling steering wheel. https://www.motoringalliance.com/articles/jcw-steering-wheel-install-r53.37/
I know exactly what you mean about the factory stitching it’s blah at best. That why I went with Colby in Georgia and he did a excellent job on my JCW wheel in all alcantara. https://cobywheel.com/
I love the feel of alcantara on a steering wheel, but the look of it a few years later after hand oils, sweat and wear get to it makes my OCD go a bit crazy. I can't even do perforated leather as the holes collect stuff. I'd probably have to keep a small brush in the glove box and brush the grain of the fabric up after every trip.
Yup, I know what you mean. I wash my hands before driving and no food is allowed to be eaten in my car. I do have a can of Sonax alcantara cleaner that works very well. I use the foam with a brush and it always looks new. I am ocd also.
you should have seen the leather on my electric blue when I bought it: 10+ years of hand lotion hardened into a polished pale white plastic-like crust... even though I got it back to OEM leather feel, I could really use a new wheel wrap. Add it to the wish list.
In that steering wheel photo, above, I'm loving the painted black multi-function button circles. I'm assuming that the owner painted them himself as they are always light silver OEM. Unfortunately, this means that he lost the symbols on the buttons (+, -, Arrow up, arrow down, etc). I'm tempted to see if I can find someone to make me the dry-transfer decals to add the symbols back to the buttons after painting. It's expensive, but I figure I could get 20-30 sets on a page and sell 'em for $10 each online for crazy folks like myself.
The center of the buttons are not painted over they have always been black. I did the same thing to my wheel. Also they are back lit so you can see them in the dark. The key is to cover the OEM black buttons with a small circle stickers, like inventory dots. Then you prep everything and paint with a few coats of black. After everything drys remove the dots and it looks like it came like that from the factory.
^^^^ This is why I love MA. No matter what crazy shit I want to do, someone has already beaten me to it and can stop me from doing it the wrong way. TYVM. I'm waiting on parts, but Rufus should be off for the clutch and LSD soon. Once he's back from that adventure, I may park him in the garage for a bit, take apart the wheel, colorize the buttons/surrounds and get ready for the new wheel to arrive.