The Phoenix - The GP Roadster Project

Another great day. Spent most of the day getting things buttoned up and really drivable.

First task of the day was to get back-up lights working, as I need them for state safety inspection (that's past due). Spent a couple of hours this morning researching wiring diagrams, figuring out what to look for and what to do about what I might find. I dug into both the back-up lights, and the clutch switch, in case the car didn't start this morning... I'd need to address that as a long-term fix.

As it turned out... the clutch switch appears to be a non-issue. The car started every time I tried today. I really have NO IDEA why it didn't start at first yesterday, or what voodoo we did to "fix" it. But it appears fixed. But I have a plan to add that capability to the roadster in the future, if needed.

For the back-up lights, I determined that the main body harness connector DOES have the signal wire to the lights (pin 1). I hit it with 12v and the lights came on. And, with the main engine harness connector plugged in, this had continuity to the transmission reverse switch. I figured the switch must be bad. I pulled it and tested it.. and it was fine. Hmmm. I traced the power wire from the switch back up the engine harness to the connector, pin 2. But pin 2 of the body harness side of the connector was EMPTY. That's right, for some reason, they half-wired this circuit on the automatic transmission body harness.

I confirmed that the same wires terminated at the auto transmission gear selector switch (on the transmission). So I made a 12" jumper wire with plugs on the end, put wire taps on the power wire on the engine side of the main connector, and on the transmission harness. Plugged it up and VOILA. Everything works as it should, using the factory fuse and wiring for the back-up lights. All good.

Then spent an hour or so fiddling with coding on several modules, to get the windows and convertible top behaving the way I wanted, getting the remote opening and closing things as it should, trying to tell the car how many airbags it really has, etc. Turns out it's the double whammy to attempt this on a convertible... because there's lots of oddities that come with the automatic, and a whole other set of oddities when it's a cabrio. Eventually got most things sorted, though (at this time) the car still thinks it has side and head airbags... I'l fiddle with that more later. Put a piece of tape on the inside of the airbag light on the speedo face... so it really doesn't matter.

Then I spent a few hours finishing up the body work - mounting A-panels, wheel well trim, bumper parts, rewiring my Hella horns, fighting with a mis-aligned bonnet that wouldn't (and still won't) latch all the way. Can't find one of the GP side scuttles, it's in the garage somewhere. It will turn up. I have another pair in a box somewhere.

Finally got things torqued down, aired up, and ready to roll. Sunny and 55 degrees.

First time I've put gas in the car in almost 8 months. Loved tooling around town in the FrankenGP monster.


Took it on my favorite 50 mile twisty country route near home. FLOGGED IT.

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5:

The car is A BEAST now. Night and day difference. It was quick before. It's almost terrifying now. Between the new GP-based RMW tune, the extra 2 pounds of boost (found and fixed a long-term leak), the high-revving redline, the elimination of the torque converter and the slipping auto tranny clutches, the factory LSD, and approximately 200 pounds (maybe more) I've taken out of the car and myself (so far), the car MOVES. And sounds like a force of nature. And I love the GP cockpit.

I honestly wouldn't be happier, if I had woken up to a Ferrari in the driveway. I love this car. And it's going to get even better.

It's only been three weeks since I decided to punt on the auto, and do the swap. 2.5 weeks since I bought the GP. 2 weeks since the GP arrived. Damn. Sometimes, things happen FAST.

 

After fiddling with NCS Expert some more, I drove another 40 miles on Monday.

This happened:



What do you NOT see?

Warning lights. Win.
(of course, the airbag light has tape covering it... shhhhh)

On Sunday, I eventually swapped in the steering angle sensor from the GP, and reset all the DSC sensors individually with AutoEnginuity. This seems to have cured my DSC faults. Perhaps just resetting the sensors would have done the trick, but I've read some places that the steering sensor gets initialized to the car / VIN...

However, I did discover that my Xenons and Cruise weren't quite working right. And my convertible "windows down" button wasn't putting all four windows down, only the rears.

<WARNING GEEKY ARCANE CODING STUFF>
On Sunday morning, first thing, I started working on coding with NCS Expert. It had been a year since I had touched it and had to re-learn how to do it. I accidentally did a "process car" using the GP's VIN and a blank .MAN file. As a few folks may know, doing this resets ALL modules on the car to the factory defaults, based on the options installed on the car. In this case, the options installed on the GP at the factory. So, it thought it had too many airbags, no convertible top, halogen headlights, etc. Completely negating the value of me keeping the original BC1 from the cabrio. Oops.

After fighting with NCS Expert, attempting to get everything sorted back out on the BC1 and ABG modules, I decided to attempt to recode them back to the original cabrio defaults. I unplugged the GP EWS (immobilizer) module, and plugged in the one from the cabrio. Left everything else the same. Then ran NCS Expert and fetched the VIN and options list from the EWS, and did a "process ECU" using blank .MAN file on the BC1 and ABG modules. Tested lights and convertible window switch - ALL GOOD. Checked airbag settings. Now it's looking for the right combination of bags. Then swapped back to the GP EWS, tested again, and recoded my desired options (e.g. comfort opening / closing with the key). Done.
</GEEKINESS>

Also got this in the mail:


Matches my e-brake handle and steering wheel. Awesome.

Came with a cheat sheet. :lol:


After I stopped laughing, I realized I might be the only MINI driver in the world who actually needs that. So, installed.


As long as I don't ever need to find "R" on the racetrack, I'm good. :devil:

 

DISCLAIMER

A few weeks ago, when I first announced I was doing the swap, I posted this:

I stand by that quote, for most people. This has NOT been a trivial endeavor. It has taken a ton of research, probably 100 man-hours of actual work (so far), a team of MINI experts offering ideas on how to make it work, electrical troubleshooting / custom wiring, and deep work with advanced scanning and coding tools (AutoEnginuity, INPA, NCS Expert).

No rational person should attempt this, really. But, sometimes, you just gotta flex your GPness. As Wellzy said, no sane person attempts to rebuild their own automatic transmission. :frown2:

I was pretty confident it would work, but ONLY because I had access to some brilliant MINI mechanics, access to the right software tools, 8 years of MINI DIY experience on this car, and the time and tenacity to make it work.

When I'm done, there will be a reasonably complete body of knowledge about it on my blog. But I do not intend this to be a "cookbook" for folks to apply as if this were an easy thing to do. It's the MINI equivalent of a major organ transplant, brain transplant, neurosurgery, circulatory system reconstruction, and psychotherapy, all rolled into one project. It hasn't required the fabrication or engine building skills of some other advanced MINI projects (like turbo / twin-charging), but the addition of all the electronics and coding changes, and the many differences between the MCS Auto and Manual config, have made it one of the most advanced projects I've encountered. (Jan still wins with his Racecar-In-A-Box project ).

Even with this now figured out and documented, it still won't be easy. You have been warned. Now go put your hand on that hot stove, anyway. But don't come crying to me when it burns. :devil:

 

Thanks Chris.

I have the car I want, running well. That's enough of a reward.

That, and bragging rights. And people tilting their heads when they see it at MOTD. :cornut: