Most liked posts in thread: The Phoenix - The GP Roadster Project

  1. myles2go

    myles2go Active Member

    May 7, 2012
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    Yes, he was there and he’ll be there this year.
     
  2. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #2 BlimeyCabrio, Jun 24, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2014
    Step Two - more appropriate seats.

    I looked long and hard at A LOT of seats. Dozens of brands/styles.
    Requirements:
    • Fit my wide physique
    • Fit in the car
    • Not too tall
    • Harness slots
    • Anti-submarine strap slot
    • Reclinable and comfy for the road, but reasonably aggressive for the track.
    • Black alcantara or microsuede

    I finally settled on the Corbeau LG1, with sub slots, dual-locking sliders, Corbeau MINI-specific brackets and drivers-side heater (hey, gotta be comfy when it's cold out). This was a bit of a risk, as (a) I had never seen these seats, except in pictures, (b) I had never sat in this seat, and I'm fatter than the suggested "max waist size", (c) as far as I know, no one had fitted them in a MINI, and (d) if I ordered them modified with sub slots, they were NON RETURNABLE if they didn't work out. Oh well, YOLO.

    When I unboxed one, unwrapped it, and sat my fat butt in it... it was a moment of great joy. I fit in the seat, and it was comfy. When I sat the seat in place in the car, and it fit between the door and the tunnel... more joy. When I finally got them installed fully (with a bit of modification to shift the seats 1/2" inboard)... HUGE joy.

    1C4B8AE8_zpsac7b12ee.jpg

    I cut the airbag plugs off my old seats and soldered in 4 ohm resistors... no more airbag lights. Instead of transferring the seat occupancy sensor (at least for now), I've taped over the passenger occupancy light on my chrono pack gauge face. I currently have these working fine with the OEM seat belts and pre-tenstioners... but plan to change that in the near future.

    I still need to wire the seat heater, or get it to work with the OEM wiring. Or replace the heater with the one out of my old driver's seat. Decisions, decisions.

    Now having driven a bit in these seats, I REALLY LOVE THEM. Really comfy, really supportive, much lighter than the OEM seats. Only negative is that they don't have infinite recline adjustment like some of the high end Sparcos and Recaros. But I can live with that.
     
  3. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #26 BlimeyCabrio, Jun 27, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2014
    Step 8 - Gah! A porcupine!

    [​IMG]

    Fitting BSCI high-density low-profile 3/4" SFI 45.1 roll bar padding. I'll replace the prickly white zip ties with the proper number of nice black heavy duty ones after it's had a while to "mold" to the right shape.
     
  4. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

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    Suggestion:

    Add some tube gussets to stabilize the bar... Even though its some thick rod, its probably not as strong as you might think.
     
  5. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Yeah... challenge is that there's really no room for them. I need almost all the space to clear the shelf when it hangs on those posts. If I had raised the bar to make room... then it would be too tall visually. A good idea (and mechanically sound)... but not sure I can make it work.
     
  6. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

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    I think I was even able to hold the Jeep at a nice leisurely 30 MPH on the dragon... ;)
     
  7. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    I can sip a macchiato while going 30 on the Dragon.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14J3esvACe4"]talladega nights - you have spilled my macchiato - YouTube[/ame]
     
  8. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #55 Dave.0, Jul 19, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2014
    Nice rims :Thumbsup:


    15 MPG are you hypermiling? :lol:
     
  9. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    WOW you were having a great run but it sucks that it ended that way.

    Your reaction when you stopped was awesome. "Whoo Hoo"
     
  10. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    These just arrived...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    These rotors are massive... only 11.6" diameter, but 1.2" wide. The whole OEM rotor would fit in the vane width of this rotor.

    [​IMG]

    Will not have overheating issues with these. My Carbotech XP12/XP8 combo did very well on my current brakes last weekend... but it wasn't a hot day, and I'll be pushing the car much faster at VIR next month.
     
  11. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Yeah, my wife proclaimed "no motorcycles"
    So I'm making my car as dangerous as possible. :devil:

    Kidding... it's actually pretty frickin safe currently. I think I could even roll it at the track and likely walk away. But I don't plan on trying that. :nonod:
     
  12. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

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    When the flag drops I don't think about my rally Mini being a daily driver!
     
  13. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Your car is looking good! Well one side.:D I really like how you've modded. You had a good run going looked like fun until that last bit.
     
  14. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

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    I bet the last bit was pretty fun too...

    Keep it up Paul, you only learn from your mistakes. :)
     
  15. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    It was actually big fun. Hence the WooHoo :)

    The WooHoo was a combination "that was awesome!" and the realization that we didn't hit the tires insanely hard, or head-on, and the engine was still running and not making any weird sounds. I was sure I had cosmetic damage, but doubted I broke anything important or expensive.

    I've learned an IMMENSE amount from that few seconds of video. Priceless experience. I know what is probably the weakest part of my car control skills (understeer situations), and can work on it.
     
  16. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Moar parts!

    [​IMG]

    Fedex is fondling my nuts somewhere, they should be here later today (hopefully).

    And one big MAGIC part. Rebuilt to better-than-new standards.
    [​IMG]

    My tranny started doing flaky things on the way home from the track. Not the same symptoms as before when I just had burned fluid. But also doesn't act like clutch problems... just acts like one or more of the solenoids is freaking out. Which could also just be burned fluid. But given the record of failures of the solenoids in these valve bodies, and the fact that I have 151k HARD miles on mine, I figured I might as well swap it before I flog it any more on track. Already have the pan gasket and strainer from a previously planned gasket swap that never happened. Bolts and two cases of Royal Purple synthetic fluid being delivered tomorrow. I'll be convalescing this weekend, so this will probably be my 8/23-8/24 project.
     
  17. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Get some brake ducts in there, it helps immensely. Cryo rotors are worth a shot, but to be honest I don't think they make much, if any, difference, at least on our cars. Braking technique will do more for your rotor life than cryo IMHO. That, and having your rotors perfectly centered. I run a 12.19 inch rotor under 15 inch wheels, but it's not cheap. I still roast rotors, but not as much as before, and I may have had an issue with back pressure in the brake lines not allowing full release, we'll see if the ABS bleed helped tomorrow.

    You've got more brake than tire--that's ok, it's a great time to practice modulation.
     
  18. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    I found some old pics of Jan's original setup, in the brake thread on the other site. Very cool. Need to see if one of the types he has can be modified easily to work with my setup...

    [​IMG]
     
  19. minimark

    minimark Well-Known Member

    Jun 24, 2009
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    /\ We have a winner!!

    Did someone say "sequential....."
     
  20. minimark

    minimark Well-Known Member

    Jun 24, 2009
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    That M7 thing was not a sequential gear box, it was a sort of robotic gear changer with no feelings and no respect for the transmission, why it was a utter POS by all accounts..

    A real $equential gear box is what I'm suggesting.....[emoji41]