Most liked posts in thread: What did you do with your MINI today?

Wet snow here this morning. The roads are still warm so the snow isn't sticking, Yet! LOL

Nice new to you MINI Colin, you are now in the turbo world. Bavarian racing green!

 

I am selling the R50 to a good home! My best friend, Steve at Summit Racing, past away from cancer at age 47, his daughter fell in love with MINIs, but I wouldn’t allow her to buy a used one. Have seen too many horror stories with used MINIs. Steve is one of a very few select people that I allow to drive my R50, feel blessed that I can allow his daughter to make new memories with the now “Street R50”!

 

Put Gyeon Q2 Trim on all the exterior black trim.
(Well, not all the trim, skipped the honeycombed grill trim - too labor-intensive to do on a cold windy day)
303 rubber seal protectant goes on the door
hood and boot rubber tomorrow.

 

Weather is getting colder here in NC... highs are regularly in the mid 50s and we've had a few good freezes overnight. I got the cover off of Rufus on Sunday and took him out for a 15 min spin through the neighborhood, just to get the engine turning / up to temp, the tires turned and the moving bits shaken up a bit.

I still need to replace the rear hatch handle... the screw attachment points cracked, so it's hanging a bit loose. One of these days! I've got a few days off around X-mas and only 1 scheduled project, so maybe I'll get out and do it then.

 

I was in a bar in Dutch Harbor Alaska, On the wall was a sign that said, "Dutch Harbor isn't the end of the earth, but you can see it from here!"

 

303 Protectant is going on the interior bits
and clean the inside glass.

Otherwise listening to the top 2020 greatest
songs ever (number of songs, not the year -
listener selected) on WXPN. It’s been going
on for 3 1/2 days nonstop and they’re about
halfway through the countdown so far.

https://xpn.org

 

Hi Dave,

I hope to send you the snow by Friday, so it is out of here. We are 55 today and maybe 60 on Tuesday, time to take the Clubbie up to Greeley to drop Xmas cookies with my son and his wife as they are in Covid quaranteen. Damn, folks mask up.


Everyone take care!

 

That is some serious Christmas lights! Lots of detail, multiple themes? Lovely, more please!

Merry Christmas Eve, hope everyone is warm and full of goodness. Have a great Friday off. .

Don

 

If you have and are still enjoying your R53, spend the bucks, find a reasonalble shop that will give you a price break on labor or at least find you quality parts at a reasonable price, if you are flush, your dealer loves you and your cash.

Today we took the 2011 Countryman down to Lowes and see customer service, one of the bath mirrors we ordered from Lowes and cancelled was shipped to us from Georgia (communication problem in the supply chain). Anyway, local Lowes really did not want to help get the large box out of our garage, said call Corp, we did now the local Lowes folks get to schedule a pickup. Box is 44x44 square, does not fit in a Countryman or the 20 Clubby.

So when I get a survey watch out Lowes. Our master bath remodel is now at 8K over basic labor and installation costs, in Colorado nothing is cheap.

Yes, this is a bitch. Lucky most of our online ordering has been with HD and shipped from Third Party warehouses. We shall see as we have a few items yet to go.

Don

 

My take on parts and maintenance.........worth it if you want to keep the car. My MCS is now over 17 yrs old. Put $3500 worth of parts and labor in it last summer. Cheaper than buying a new car.....

 

If you're going to put a new clutch in I'd recommend going with the Valeo unit - comes with new flywheel (single mass, not dual) and works beautifully - feels light like a Honda clutch and smooth as butta.....also about 1/2 the cost of OEM including the dual mass flywheel.

 

Leave a food trail to your neighbors garage...

Lay some sticky traps under your MINI...

Had a rodent chew through one of the wires feeding my rear red fog lights last year... Anson at Best Motor Works located the wiring problem and fixed it...

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a21933466/does-your-car-have-wiring-that-rodents-think-is-tasty/

 

Finally going to get rolling on these. Going to do astroblack so when the vinyl comes off they'll be factory color. I have the mesh coming, and a LED project I did ages ago that will be pretty trick for these once done.

 

Caseydog, go to the local humane and ask them to rehome some cats into your neighborhood, instead of being euthenized. Write a letter to public health in Dallas and complain about the rat problem. I hope that ranch has a few cats, if not they can be forced to clean up in the courts. Public Health hazard in RATS.

Or just get your own cats and a nice 20 guage and sit on your porch and snipe a few. How close your your immediate neighbor and do you like them?

Get well, don't lift or push, I do hope 21 treats you better and the car industry gets back to near normal, auctions etc.

Don

 

Nice work Metalman. I'm feeling a bit old & raggedy, can I come down to the shop & take a ride on the lathe?

 

Hard to tell without seeing both installed. Even though the side scuttle mesh is round, I think "the mesh" option turned 90 degrees is a closer match to the rest of the grilles and would flow better with overall look of the car.

 

So, I went out in the yard with my dog, and he chased a rat up a tall bush. I quietly slipped back inside and got my pellet gun. I snuck up on the treed rat, had him in my sights, about three feet away, and... click. CO2 cartridge empty. By the time I get a refill, the rat was gone.

At least no new rat nests in my MINI's engine compartment. I don't smell $#IT burning anymore, so I guess I finally got all the nest stuff out.

I really miss our neighborhood feral cats.

CD

 

Mikko, a neighbor's cat keeping the rodents away.