Out with "herjeep" and in with project "hermini"

[GOAT]

Jenn and I sold the unlimited almost a year ago and have been regretting it ever since. She has since been driving her secondary car, a less than impressive neon that I absolutely detest. We have considered buying another TJ, but two jeep builds just doesn't seem practical right now, so we bought her a mini instead!

She has wanted one for years and was never in a place to get one and didn't mention it until a few months ago. I ended up finding a Mini cooper S 6spd in really good shape from my work, and decided to pull the trigger. Not the manliest of cars, but its not mine and she couldn't stop smiling when she picked it up

Gonna add a catback and CAI in the next few weeks to try and help the performance out a little.

 

[Tacoma]

I love those, they are wicked fun to drive, manly or not. you can autocross the sh*t out of em.

 

[phatfoto]

Love my 2003 Neon, but when I bought it, I really wanted the Mini. But in 2003 when they came out, I couldn't touch one for the base price anywhere... 100,000 miles later, my Neon is still kicking and I expect it to be around a long time. But would have preferred the mini!

 

[Bart]

Nice car, congrats Jenn.

 

[gijohn40]

what do you need a manly car for goat... Jenn has you whipped as it is... lol

Nice car!

 

[Kiel]

From the title I thought this was going to be a harry potter thread. Nice car though

 

[GOAT]

I love those, they are wicked fun to drive, manly or not. you can autocross the sh*t out of em.

it's definitely fun to buzz around town in, but no autocrossing for this one.

Love my 2003 Neon, but when I bought it, I really wanted the Mini. But in 2003 when they came out, I couldn't touch one for the base price anywhere... 100,000 miles later, my Neon is still kicking and I expect it to be around a long time. But would have preferred the mini!

dont get me wrong, her neon went almost 50k with no real issues. Even at 126k on the odo, it was a decent car overall....if you have something else fun in the garage.

Nice car, congrats Jenn.

she said "thank you"

what do you need a manly car for goat... Jenn has you whipped as it is... lol

Nice car!

true, and thats why i love her

From the title I thought this was going to be a harry potter thread. Nice car though

harry who? thanx brotherK

 

[GOAT]

It was only a matter of time before i had to start working on it. Two days to be precise

Without warning, it developed a crazy brake grind. I pulled the wheel off and could see the inner pads were down to metal. I grabbed some new rotors and upgraded akebono ceramic pads from my local carquest and got to work. The only obstacle was compressing the RR caliper which was so extended would not thread back in. Since i didn't have the compression tool, i had to remove the caliper and thread the piston in using my vice and snapring pliers. Next time I'll swing by HF for the proper brake tool.....what a PITA. After a few laps around the block it is better than ever. Photographic evidence of this soon to be saga below:

 

[Tacoma]

Nice! You'll do that job exactly once without the tool, and now you're a lot smarter.
Tara approves highly of this vehicle.

 

[gijohn40]

could you not have just used a 10 inch C clamp? thats what I use...

 

[Tacoma]

could you not have just used a 10 inch C clamp? thats what I use...

not on e-brake calipers. They twist in and out and you need the cube tool.

 

[GOAT]

this is the required tool
http://www.harborfreight.com/18-piece-disc-brake-pad-and-caliper-service-tool-kit-97143.html

 

[GOAT]

more updates coming. fawk, this thing is _n_e_e_d_y

 

[Tacoma]

fawk, his thing is _n_e_e_d_y

:wtf: uh.... Jen's cool with your revolving door?

 

[GOAT]

:wtf: uh.... Jen's cool with your revolving door?

random CARpart failures are becoming a daily occurrence

 

[GOAT]

I'm finding out what driving a british car with BMW parts is all about:

Day 1. TPMS light on. still messing with that one.
Day 2. Rear brakes require replacement
Day 3. Cover for front washer nozzle flies off going down 215. hits windshield.
Day 4. Replaced cover
Day 5. Jenn mangles up the seat recline and it gets stuck in lowrider position. Repaired using massive mini interweb help forums.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.co...back-will-not-lock-into-upright-position.html

replacement part: $12.00

brute force: $0

God help me i still love driving this car

 

[GOAT]

Performed some routine and preventative maintenance on the mini before setting out for california.

Picked up some necessary supplies for the trip (flashlights, airpump and fix-a-flat) and some fluids.

found the easiest way to change the coolant is to remove the clip. i was also able to service the bulbs while there.

and so began the redneck coolant flush

while flushing the rad, i cleaned and oiled the k&n

all buttoned back up and ready to go

good news was all the fluids were already brand new (including trans) and it looked to have a new a/c compressor and other various items.

 

[Bart]

Your garage looks bigger with the Mini in it. Have a great trip.

 

[GOAT]

Your garage looks bigger with the Mini in it. Have a great trip.

thanks bart.

sad thing was, i still didn't have enough room to jack it up from the side

 

[GOAT]

Day 5. Jenn mangles up the seat recline and it gets stuck in lowrider position. .

Finally got around to addressing the seat recline issue. We were this>< close to buying a 300.00 OEM seatframe when I found an exact match seat on KSL! $80.00 later and i was on my way home with a much nicer seat than what was in the car originally.

After a little TLC it was ready to install (so i thought)

I bolted it in and then realized one of the connectors were different, so i pulled it back out. The plug was actually for the seatbelt pre-tensioner and was easy to swap out. Yeah!

Cleaned, swapped out and all done. best part, no malfunction lights