I didn't like the way the antenna was poking up at the cover... I could just see it wearing away. I used a pair of red iron-on patches for reinforcement, cut a hole and then added a plastic grommet (for a shower curtain, I think).
Not Rufus, but my wife got a new Audi A6 as her daily driver last December and I've been lax in getting it properly polished, treated and coated. Wash, clay bar, wash, dry, polish, panel prep wipe-down, Gyeon MOHS x 2 (ceramic base coats), Gyeon Skin (ceramic top coat) on the outside. My favorite Zaino leather conditioner / Zaino rubber treatment inside with a thorough cleaning.
I guess I did do some work on Rufus this past weekend. Someone over in the R53 Owners Club on facebook ordered up some knurled nuts that fit the PS tank mounting studs and had them anodized in several different colors. I had never seen anything like 'em before and they were relatively cheap, so I ordered up a set.
A few little projects this weekend: 1: I took Rufus out for the annual inspection last week. Unfortunately, both of his rear license plate bulbs were burnt out. Luckily the guy let me pass and I promised to fix 'em. I tried to install some LED replacements, but they didn't want to fit. Sigh... I got one bulb working by cleaning up the connections. The other was legit burnt out, so I've got a new one on order. 2. A quick check-over for a group drive coming up in mid-August. Everything looks good and one tire was down a few pounds of pressure, so I adjusted. I had 2 new ones mounted a few months back and I figure that they aren't as careful as I am about perfect matching pressures. 3. I've been dressing the engine bay and had 2 bits of non-red color in there... a Screamin' Deamon coil pack sticker with yellow text (yeah, I know... I'll go OEM when it needs replacing... the prev owner had it installed) and the bonnet safety latch that had a bright yellow coating. No more! Sticker has been peeled away and the yellow coating peeled off and plasti-dipped in red!
I took Rufus in for the annual inspection a few weeks back. The guy gave me a 'pass' but mentioned that both of my license plate lights were out and it should have been a fail. He said something like "It's obvious that you take care of the car. I gave you a pass, but do me a favor and take care of 'em, would ya?" I gave him a fist bump and said I would and that I appreciate the courtesy. Promise made. Promise kept. 2 new Bosch bulbs were put in this morning. The plate is now well illuminated. I also went to program my radio for a club drive in a few weeks and couldn't find the specialty cable that connects a laptop to the radio. I'm glad that I tried to do this a few weeks early as I couldn't find the damn cable and now I've got a new one on order. I HATE not being able to find my tools! Also, in prep for the drive, I put my full-sized spare in the back and bolted it down. I'll grab a pic the next time I'm out in the garage. I never liked having that tire loose in the back as it would become a projectile in a hard accident and the bungies I was using to hold it in place would probably have all of the holding power of a wet noodle at those loads.
After a long COVID lock-down for Rufus, I'm getting him out on the road next weekend for the Upstate MINIs History Mystery tour. Looks like a great collection of motorcycle roads and a nice chunk of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Upstate folks use a channel that I didn't have programmed into the VHF radio, so I had to wade through the mess of finding the right drivers on a Windows 10 laptop to be able to communicate w/ the radio and pull the old files / add a new file. Because the radio has been in service for 15 years or so and isn't a popular model anymore, it wasn't easy, but I finally got it connected and have the damn thing working! I also spent several hours programming the stupid GPS. It's wonderful while you are on a drive, but teaching a Garmin to follow the fun, twisty roads instead of taking you to the highway requires laying in a metric crapload of waypoints.
As frustrating as the internet can be for me, it’s also a great place to find to find obscure info. Nice job in getting all your equipment operational for your tour. Enjoy your drive.
I'm dealing with the LED plate bulbs right now too, I don't know why they can be such a pain. I found that the L and R were actually wrong, the L works in the R, and vice versa. Rufus looks great!
Thanks! I gave up on the LED bulbs as my trial and error installation process was mangling the bulb holders / electrical contacts. The LED bulbs did come, however, with very nice lense plates, so I kept those and ordered a pair of Bosch normal bulbs from Amazon. I got out for the finishing touch before my club drive on Saturday. I bought a new Uniden R7 radar detector in the spring and then, well, COVID happened and I have only taken Rufus out for quick trips around town... no real mileage at all. The constant beeping of the factory settings (EVERYTHING turned on) was driving me nuts (I live in a fairly urban area, so it was to be expected), so I spent some time learning what radar was in use where I now live and where I plan to drive (NC / SC / TN) most and went through the settings to minimize the false positives. Lots of help on YouTube now, where you used to have to figure this all out yourself! https://www.vortexradar.com/2019/04/how-to-set-up-configure-uniden-r7-radar-detector/ https://www.rdforum.org/threads/58040/
Rufus has been pretty quiet except for a nice long jaunt out with the SC MINI group... driving the apple orchard back roads of SC/NC and a nice chunk of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just before that drive, I noticed that my boot handle would flex out oddly when I put any stress on it. When I got home, I found the cause... a long stress fracture along the inside, so the part is splitting in two. Luckily it's not that expensive, so I've got a new one sitting out in the garage. Maybe I can get out there this weekend to start the repair (it's a 20 minute bolt-on project, but I need to wrap it in vinyl first). It's unfortunate that I mucked about with the rear license plate bulbs and lenses a month or two ago... I've got a completely new set on the new handle assembly. I'll strip the new-old parts off of the broken part when I've done the replacement and put 'em in my "bit box" where random MINI screws and parts go. The radio worked wonderfully for the group drive and I was VERY happy with the new radar detector (Uniden R7). The settings changes linked above worked perfectly and, from the back of a 20 MINI caravan I called out radar contacts before the guy in the lead car a few times (don't know what equipment he was running).
I finally got out to putter a bit in the garage. 1) The plastic on my rear hatch handle had broken in 4-5 spots, making it very loosely attached. I also had rusting bulb holders and a fussy open button, so I just bought a completely new replacement part. I had to cover the new piece in vinyl, but it looks very nice now and everything works! 2) I got some switch covers from an aircraft parts supplier. With a bit of heat I was able to stretch them out and use 'em to cover the chubby switches in the center stack. Each red switch adds 2hp. Buy an extra one or two... I don't like the look of the one on the left and I'm going to remove it and try again. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/toggleswitchcvr.php?fbclid=IwAR2KsbBVKgkojpuv-IuoUXeZcVJgjVpgSMCObzvcKzvySpIGM-5gAkapLN8 Ugh... that photo reminds me that I need to get a new detailing brush. I sacrificed my 'interior' brush when working in the engine bay last spring and it's too grimy for interior work now.