Hey, guys. Newbie from Georgia here, decided to sign up today after lurking various Mini forums for some time. I have a project planned for 2014 and thought I may as well get some advice from real Mini fans. Never owned a Mini before, but that's certainly not from lack of interest. I've never been in a position to do it the way I want to until now. Been a big Mini fan since I first became interested in autos and have been wanting one so long that it's become a big goal my life to have a Mini that is all me. Now that I've found myself in the young professional, DINC category, I can finally have it. I'll need your help along the way, guys, so be easy with me. I'm not clueless about Minis by any means, but I've never had the chance to do much with one. I'll post by plans in another thread. Meantime, I'm pretty open to questions if anyone cares to ask. I'm terrible with introductions so I never know what personal info to provide.
The year of the car will have a huge impact on what you can or can't do-- do you already have the car? A few of us are ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly biased about what the best model for modification is.... And DINC is ok, but DINK reads better....
Thanks, all. I do have a really good idea of what I want, actually. There isn't much of the build I don't have planned. I need some help fleshing it out and tweaking all the details as I put it together, though. The gist of it is as follows: Need to source an 05 or 06 R53 with a blown engine so I can scoop it up and have it fitted with a remanned R53 motor from WMW (possible JCW cylinder head, not sure yet). There are solid reasons why going this route is best for my particular situation, which will all be made clear in a separate thread. There will be plenty of engine mods for all you power heads, and of course many visual upgrades as well. Likely going to need a really good local fabricator here to work up a close replica of the JCW leather dash, unless one of you happens to be a genie and can conjure an original for me. So lets have some fun.
Oh boy. First, we need to know exactly what you mean by "remanned". Second, a JCW cylinder head is not a great place to start for what it looks like you're going to do. The JCW is minimally better than stock, and not worth the money. Much, much better options exist. I wasted money on a JCW head; knowing now what I didn't know then, I wouldn't have wasted the time or money on it, for what my long term goals ended up morphing into. If you are already dead set, good luck, but you're much better off if you approach this with flexibility rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Save yourself some time and money, and learn from the plethora of mistakes many of us, myself included, have made over the years. State your goals, what you're thinking, be open to alternatives, and you'll get all the help/support you'll ever need on these very boards.
Hit the nail on the head there, boss. The only thing I'm set on is getting a R53 to throw a reman into. I have plenty of ideas, but that's all they are. You guys have experience where I don't, and that is exactly why I'm here. I want this to be a project that grows along with me, who knows what the final product will be, and that's not going to happen the way I want it to by being close minded, stubborn and cocky. My Mini will be the canvas, I'll be the brush. The art is really in the community's hands while I learn. By reman I mean this. WMW has a great reputation here in Georgia so I am comfortable with them, I think. As far as the JCW head goes, that's why I included the caveat, I wanted an opinion on it from someone who's been there done that. I'll keep the cash instead, there are better heads out there.