Edit: Yep, I'm quoting mine own self. I forgot one thing about my trip. I'm not a paid spokesman, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express. Also got a nice discount for being a member of the THMMC. :cornut: Last wednesday I headed out to Asheville for a few days. On the way I stopped by Sneeds to have one of their new "Billy Club" shift knobs installed. I have a Cravenspeed short shifter installed and set at it's shortest position. This makes for a nice short throw, but a little stiffer shift. With the new, taller knob you still have the shorter throw and now the effort required to up or downshift is minimal. In the few days I spent riding around in the mountains and the drive home I got a chance to test the new knob fairly extensively (approx 400 miles worth). and I am a big fan. It's not a pretty as the Whalen I was running, but it is a lot nicer/smoother/easier to use. On an odd note, we found that the Mini specific knob will not fit the Craven shifter because the shifter shaft on the Craven is a smaller diameter. Ended up with a knob made for a Mustang. This was somewhat disconcerting with me being a lifelong Bowtie man. :frown2:
I actually like the look. It's not blingy, but it looks very functional in a don't-make-me-bust-your-kneecaps kind of way.
Ordered a new arch to replace the one that decided it no longer liked being a part of my MINI. All new clips too. The best part, called Steven at eMINIParts and let him know what I needed. Thought the clips were extra. They are not, they are included with the part. It's going to be shipped today too. Cool.
Put the Mini on jack stands and pulled the wheels. Cleaned the calipers and painted them with G2 red epoxy caliper paint. Put three coats on, but had enough paint for a couple more. Managed to get paint on everything in sight except for the car body and the dog. It's bad enough that it's a tedious, boring job, but all the crawling around and laying on my back and getting up countless times took all the fun out of working on the mini. I keep telling myself I'm gettin' too old for this stuff. The directions specifically stated "do NOT get paint on the rotors or pads", so obviously I got lots of paint on both. Didn't really care because I'm taking it to my mechanic to get my new Stoptech Sport Brake System installed later this week. Thought about doing it myself, but my guy is gonna charge me $100 to install rotors, pads, stainless lines, flush and fill the system, and change my transmission oil. He's the same Chevy tech that has worked on my Vette since it was new. Since GM forced the local dealer out of business he opened his own shop and still does all the work on my Vette and Suburban. Sorry to be so long winded, but us old retired farts have to fill the time while watching/waiting for paint to dry. Pictures after finishing the brake job.
Changed the earl and earl filter in the MINI at the shop this morning... 5K change interval Filled the tank with Shell V-Power 93 Installed my magnetic earl drain plug from Dimple... Looked inside the cold side of the Turbo.... Nice and clean... Put the rear tars in the front and the front tars in the rear.... Wear pattern looks great... Nice and even...
Took my MINI out today to Best Buy to pick up The Big Bang Season Seven DVD. The best part was I took a freshly paved twisty road that is kind of like Hellbender with 2 or 3 stop signs. No one on the road but me :ihih: and I took to and from Best Buy. Whoo hoo that was fun. :devil:
Dude say what you will but I love those S-Anchors as Winter beater rims, since they are so easy to clean. FYI~ those Michelins Pilot Sport A/S tires suck. They slide and screech when pushed hard unlike the Dunlop's on the same road pushed even harder.