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

Drove to work for the first time in the JCW.

 

No. I did get to enjoy an extra 1.5 hours on I-95 though between D.C. and Richmond because apparently driving 20mph under the speed limit is SOP in that region.

 

On I-95 hahahahaha I try to never get on that road.

 

Can't be as bad as I-5 northbound just south of Seattle.

:frown2:

 

Today, I checked the fedex delivery date for a new A-arm, ARB bushings, new front ARB, new PS hoses, POR-15 black glossy paint, and various other items that came up after dropping the subframe. My gray car is getting major front end surgery. Bushings are already pressed out and replace, all the ball joints are new, tie rod ends, etc. The rear suspension will be a winter project when I plan to do the R56 conversion on that half of the car.

I also set up an appointment with somebody nearby to look at another Mini to add to my garage (to complete the Italian Job R53 trifecta, yes I know, the white one in the movie was an R50). This one summer driven by female for 11 years, maintained by mechanic husband who did all the things few people ever do (tensioner, supercharger oil service, etc). Asking price too high, but then that's normal on Craigslist. Not my favorite color, but nothing a nice vinyl wrap cannot change should I get sick of it. I decided to sell my gas guzzling Toyota Tundra CrewMax and get another Mini as a "daily" driver or to drive in winter (with Blizzaks!) on the few days I actually do drive a car. That move will allow me to go all bonkers on the mods on my gray R53.

https://madison.craigslist.org/cto/6231743866.html

anyone else own three 2005 R53s?

 

Pricey, but it does look like a nice car. Not my favorite color either.

 

^^^ The blue color of that car alone ought'a warrant a price reduction of at least two grand....


On a positive note, I had a great time at yesterday's Little Car Show in Pacific Grove. The show was, as always, very well organized and attended. I estimate at least 10-12 Classic Minis in addition to some of the coolest "little cars" under 1601cc. The weather was fantastic and I was fortunate enough to take home one of the two dozen or so Merchant's Awards. I'll try to post up some pics in a bit. No promises it'll work...

 

How do you get a "true dual" exhaust off an inline 4-cly..... *facepalm*

 

:wink2:wink2

 

Took it to the bodyshop. The estimator/service guy was super confident he can get me back to shiny new.

 

looked at the car this morning. Yes, it is that electric blue... but very nice shape. Not much to complain about when I saw it. Nice aftermarket exhaust, not home-made, but hard to tell what make. Relatively quiet, but no resonator in there. Nothing on the tips to ID the brand. No big deal - I like quiet.

The only thing I saw on the car that's a bit odd is some black "soot" on the intake plastic pipe from throttle body to air filter. It's that corrugated looking part and when wiping across, I got all kinds of carbon like stuff on my fingers. What's that from? some blow by from the bypass valve? Bad SC output gasket (that green thing?). Never seen that on my car. It runs fine, sounds fine, no smoke in back.

Been thinking it over all day but I think I am going to make an offer of $6200 for it - really want the car, because other than the paint, it's very much what I would want for a car I drive more frequently. It definitely has never seen salt, and it's been well maintained. Maybe not anally, but better than most Minis that age. Good options, all the bits I would want in the car, except maybe the HK stereo, but that can be addressed. Needs a few things but nothing expensive.

Tires in back are shot, the aftermarket fiberglass dipstick is nearly in two pieces, the front engine mount has spilled its black juices. Mismatched tires with rears worn out, battery without breather tube, etc - but all in all nothing major that needs fixing. The ride is smooth and quiet, shocks are good, brakes are new, etc. New PS pump done by recall this year, but the coolant reservoir looks near end of life.

All in all, if I can get it below $6500, I think it's the car I need to finally say goodbye to my big old Tundra truck.

I may need a roof rack for my bike on the Mini - removable. Never looked at that, but I bet somebody here knows what I need to look for. I also go skiing a lot, and for that it definitely needs the rack.


and what did I do to the Minis I own? Washed and carnuba-waxed the red one this evening, before that I was grinding rust off the subframe of the gray car. A pint of POR-15 arrived in the mail today - it'll take care of the rust I can't get with the wirebrush.

 

Our Mini outing

I kind of like that color! :arf:

I took the wife to lunch in the Mini today. After returning to the parking lot, we found that misguided sprinklers had soaked my squeaky clean car! I had to wash it because of the water spots. It was a nice day so I didn't mind.

 

Wife, Finnegan and I went for a drive over to Young's dairy for ice cream.

 

Warsched both of my boys today...

Drops mic... Exits stage left....

 

Finally washed my car after 3 weeks in the garage. I was out of town for a while.

 

I finally put the GP back together on Sunday, with the new LSD, clutch and seals, so i drove it to work this morning. I also ran the tubing for the meth injection before I secured the underbody panels.

 

It got dirty in the Garage?

 

While mine is still cosmetically iffy mechanically it's just fine. I am enjoying playing with the driving modes and just experiencing the car for what it is.

I don't think Green does anything except try to get you to be more efficient with the stick. Anyone know more about that mode?

 

I drove my MINI to Oregon to see the total eclipse. The road to Salem Oregon was wide open on Sunday morning, hardly any traffic and on Monday morning the traffic was also light. We saw about a minute and 3/4 of totality, it was really weird.

The trip home, however was stop and go for 40 miles and then it started flowing freely for no apparent reason. A one hour drive took seven hours!

Today, I'm going to give the MINI a bath, and clean the dog hair out of the interior as we brought the dog.

 

My son lives in Salem, he said it was crazy with all the people.