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

At 10 degrees you don't need a special oil you need to move to a warmer location. :lol:

You need 0w or 5w for that cold place.

 

Called to check on her . . . she is still sitting in the shop nearly 100 miles away. The shop was waiting on a new rear main seal and the front lower control arm bushings. (And their Mini mechanic was out for a couple of days.)

 

I rescued it from the Parking-Spot at the airport. It cost me 91-bucks. :eek6:

It has a pretty heavy layer of dust on it. I'll have to get it washed.

 

The MINI is hibernating through the winter...

Checked the battery tender connected to my 7 year old OEM battery.....

The battery is still looking good....

 

Mine lasted 10 years, then died without warning. I do a conditioning charge just before the winter every year so was hoping I could keep it lasting forever.

My 1974 Pontiac went the lifetime of the car (14 years) on the original battery. Subsequent cars after that, not so long.

 

The tender I have runs a program periodically that deals with the lead sulfate.

 

Caught up on some deferred maintenance....new rear pads and rotors and sensor (the brake light was on) new plugs (supposed to be changed at 60K, mine had 67K but looked new) new battery - still on the original, but it's supposed to be 0* this weekend and my car lives outside, new oil and filter and a general look over.

My 2009 Clubman S has been relatively trouble free - I did have all the timing gear stuff changed right at 50K, but not because it was noisy, just because.....and they did it under the recall/warranty thingy. Other than that, just tires, oil and brake pads......

 

It got rainy on and off today, so no MINI washing happened. Tomorrow is supposed to be one of those North Texas weather roller coasters. The high forecast for tomorrow is 72-degrees. By 6AM Sunday, the temperature is forecast at 21-degrees with who knows what kind of precipitation.

It's not my first rodeo. I left the house one morning in jeans and a t-shirt, and drove home that evening in an ice storm. That was this time of year, almost to the day.

So, tomorrow I drive the MINI to the store to stock up on food and booze, then the MINI goes to the garage for a few days. Neither of us is going out in that crap.

CD

 

The 74 Pontiac did not have stupid German computers running everything. The damn computers systems in our cars are more sensitive to voltage drops then a Hipsters feelings. :lol::lol::lol:

 

Good luck with your impressive list !!

 

Nothing, the shop has ordered front control arm bushings from their supplier twice, and neither set has showed up.

 

That's a real downer !!

 

Yes,it is! Monday will be two weeks without my car; I need my Mini fix.

 

The 74 Pontiac didn't have any computers. Used a carburator, manual transmission and no power steering or power brakes.

The only things electrical on the car was the engine, lights, and a big aftermarket stereo system.

But it did require lots of mechanical maintenance, however. Carb rebuilds, valve lash adjustments, distributor (points, condensor, rotor) maintenance etc. But that was fun and didn't require a laptop.

 

^^^Or a bunch of special tools and diagnostic equipment that cost hundreds/thousands of dollars.

 

Every time I get into 110K mile MINI, start up, and drive off, I am thankful that they don't build cars like they used to. My first car, a 1973 Pontiac, probably never made it 110K miles -- or even half that without an engine rebuild, and who knows what else. Not to mention I had to start it 10 times in the first two miles on a cold morning. As a bonus, it's 400CID engine made about the same horsepower (in SAE reality) and got 8MPG.

Yes, I could work on the 73, and I did work on it... a lot.

Yep, they don't make 'em like they used to. Thank you!

CD

 

My sister's '74 Pontiac had a powerglide two speed automatic transmission, power brakes and power steering, it also had hydraulic valve lifters, so it didn't require valve lash adjustment.

 

A 74 Pontiac with a powerglide? :confused5:

CD

 

Yup!