SOLD! will be missed.

Latest Update
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...24-post53.html

Current Look


(removed driving lights and bought a townhouse with a garage!)






Previous Updates
Testing New Lens

RSB, Coilover Adjustable Cables, and LCA are IN!

Detroit Tuned BPV & ALTA Oil Catch Can

STI joins the collection of money pits!

The Days of the Miata & MX-5 part 3

The Days of the Miata & MX-5 part 2 (On MINI S-Lites)

Break job & spending spree

Thermostat, battery, & pics

Budget Audio Upgrades

Random Orbital Buffing (WARNING: Rota Content!)

Poor attempt at dash blackout

DIY Rear Seat Delete - Version 2.0

DIY Rear Seat Delete - Version 1.0

Good bye Motor Mount

New Wheels Part 2 (WARNING: ROTA CONTENT!)

ROTA RB Lip Size

New Wheels Part 1 (WARNING: ROTA CONTENT!)

15% Pulley Installed! (No pix)

Good Bye S2000

Megan Racing Coilovers & DIY Beltline Blackout (Cellphone pix)

Misc First Mods (OZ superleggeras, exhaust, ultrik intake, etc & reversion back to OEM (since then has been re-modded lol)


Upgrades
Power
- Alta 15% Pulley
- Alta Stealth Exhaust
- Alta Cold Air Intake
- (GONE) Ultrik Cold Air Intake

Suspension
- Alta 22mm adjustable RSB
- Hotchkis Adjustable LCAs
- Megan Racing Street Coilovers
- Ebay FSTB
- replaced front LCA bushings

Wheels, Tires, Brakes
- Rota RB in Hyperblack w/budget Kumho 205 allseasons rattle canned dark blue
- OEM MINI S-Lites with runflats
- (GONE) OZ Superleggeras with 225s (rubbed)
- Powerslot front and rear rotors (got them off CL for super cheap brand new in box)
- MINTEK redbox pads

Audio
- Clarion headunit with USB and aux-in
- Bazooka powered tube
- Rockford Fosgate speakers
- SWC adapter

Misc
- ian cull auto up with DSC delete
- DIY plasti dipped front bumper
- DIY carpetted rear seat delete
- Fumoto oil drain valve
- rattle canned mirror caps to match wheels

Maintenance Issues
- Broken Key Fob buttons
- Misaligned door lock buttons (the physical ones on the door)
- aligning the alta exhaust is a PITA
- front LCA bushings replaced


--
Original Intro

so, i am unsure if this forum has a "build thread" or journal section, so i will update my progress in my 1st gear thread (hopefully this isnt against the rules).

Purchase (December 2008)
- JCW Aero Kit
- xenons
- heated seats
- sunroof
- blimey run flats on S-lites

awesome mods courtesy of the used car dealer i bought the car from
- coat hangered stock exhaust (didnt know this at the time)
- cross threaded rear brake bleed screw (didnt know this at the time)
- glued/epoxyed in front fog light (looks like mount broke and they just ended up glueing it in)

anyways its all stock with the JC Penny aerokit. here are a few pics (i didnt take them, they are from the dealer whom fortunately for the rest of the world has since gone out of business LOL):







ive gone through a lot of cars in the past few years.

Current
- 2008 Subaru WRX STI
- 2002 MINI Cooper S

Past
- 1990 integra LS
- 1995 civic ex cammed
- 1992 integra gs-r with suspension mods and exhaust
- 2002 cobb stage 2 wrx
- 1990 miata oem hardtop with roll bar
- 1993 honda prelude with JDM h22a
- 1990 corrado G60 with stage 2 supercharger mods, coils, and a ton of other stuff
- 1984 rabbit GTI stock
- 2001 Honda S2000 stock
- 1993 miata oem hardtop
- 2010 miata PRHT

bikes
- 1995 honda cbr 600f3 exhaust
- 2003 suzuki gsx-r 600k3
- 2005 honda cbr 600rr modded with power commander, exhaust, steering dampner

 

You lucky dawg! Congratulations--sounds like you got a winner!

Welcome to NAM!

 

Love the body kit!

Welcome

 

------------------------------------------
Update 1 (June/July 2009)
mods: OZ superleggeras with lower offset and aggressive tires, boost guage, interior matts (MINI floor mats, cargo mat, rubber interior pieces for under tray and ebrake)

















fitted my old VDO from my subaru into my MINI








------------------------------------------
Update 2. (December 2009 - Feb 2010)
Had to do brakes and some work to prevent mushrooming strut towers. while i was at it, i got some new mods on
Mods: megan racing coilovers, alta stealth catback, ultrik CAI, alta rear sway bar, hotchis adjustable control arms, alta stubby antenna, MINI aux-in, front strut bar

unfortunately no pix, since a week after i did all this work, i uninstalled it all to return to stock in prep. to trade in the MINI for a GR STI.

------------------------------------------
Update 3. (Feb 2010)
unmodded status.
- made a bracket for oem exhaust
- fixed rear brake (had to buy a new MINI caliper since the threads were messed up on the rear brake bleed screw and caliper.

got all the car back to OEM to find out that the brake pedal fell to the floor. luckily i had purchased a motive power bleeder over a year ago so that made the bleed job a snap!!



mess


jacks


back to OEM, with update to state safety (thanks to my wiggling of air bag connectors!)


------------------------------------------
Update 4. (02/28/10)

Semi-remodded
- reinstalled megan coils
- reinstalled alta exhaust
- sold OZs and ultrik CAI
- performed scheduled oil change
- changed spark plugs

So i looked at a few more GR STI's but couldnt get a deal that didnt invole me losing MAJOR $$$$. i was offered between 6-9.5k as trade in teh for MINI plus cash for a down payment. not a deal i wanted to pursue since i dont feel like the MINI should be given away.

my brother came over to buy my OZ wheels and intake, so i got a change to drive his 15% pullied MCS. that made me decide to give up my STI dreams and stick with the MINI. i already have second car, so 2 car payments is enough for me (my S2k is for sale if anyone interested lol). the STI is definitely faster than the pullied MINI but the MINI just seems "cooler" and it fits my personality better.


soooo next weekend planning on installed my Alta Pulley kit, belt tensioner stop, alta RSB. i cant wait to have that 15% pulley power on!!!! it makes the car feel amazing. for those familiar with subarus, i would compare the difference to that of a stock WRX versus a cobb stage 2 wrx..much more exciting to drive.

undecided on wheels to go for...kinda like the OEM look with lowered stance...maybe some hypersilver Rota RBs in the future for non-winter duty.

 

Alls well that ends well! So it's back to the MINI, good decision.

 

some cell pix of it dirty, after my coilover re-install and ghetto beltline blackout

 

short update 03/11/10

sold the weekend car (s2k) so now i officially have room in my life for the MINI to take an obsessive hold over!!!

good bye honda

 

update 03/13/10
- after about 6 months, i finally got around to installing my 15% reduction pulley. no pix of the process since i was busy trying to get the car back on the road and drive it, but it was pretty straight forward. only thing i can mention is that i used the cravenspeed puller and putting a little oil on the threads of the bolt made it MUCH easier. my oem pulley was pretty snug, so using an impact wrench helped pop it off much quicker too.

overall, id say the pulley is the best bang for the buck. next on the list is probably the detroit tuned bypass valve and some rota RBs. also, gonna try out that CF vinly from machV/fastmini.net soon. i'll post up pix after im done with that.

on the to do list for installing parts that i ordered forever ago: adjustable control arms and rear sway bar.

 

hopew to see more mods...

 

looks great so far!

 

03-17-10 update
------------
FINALLY took the plunge and got the wheels ive wanted since i owned my VW Corrado and my MK1 Rabbit GTI - Rota RBs!! i know Rota are not for all people, but for my needs they fit the bill just fine! ive liked the RBs since i discovered them. they remind me of the watabe look wheels of the past. they are more agressive looking than the S-lites due to their lip but maintain the classic look that i associate in my mind with MINIs.

I went into MachV to check out the new Hyperblack RB and was hooked so I put in my order for 17inch with some cheap kuhmo all seasons. if i ever get into autox i will probably get some 16in with grippier tires, but for now these will do the daily grind fine.

pix to follow after I take delivery of them. next on the list is to get my adjustable control arms (and rear sway bar on while i have the subframe off) so i dont eat the tires with camber wear.

 

UPDATE!! 03/20/10
Picked up my Rota RBs from Mach V!!! thanks to dan and all the staff!

Pictures with a cell phone:
and a few cellphone pix of other angles


shows lip and spokes well






Pictures with a camera:
here are the pictures of the car. please excuse the dirt, car is a daily driver and I havent gotten around to washing it since the snow storms. also, i didnt get any pictures from other side because of the bushes next to the driveway.
upclose of the wheel


side pic


pics of fitment

 

good idea of lip width (excuse pix, i moved the camera settings by accident and they are all out of wack)

 

ok more boredom = more pix. i took a study break and FINALLY washed and waxed the car and my new wheels.



so shiney


idea of fitment from rear


last one for now

 

update 03/23/10
- recently fixed exhaust rattle
- recently discovered passenger top motor mount trashed. the rubber is seperated.

contemplating getting an OEM replacement versus a TSW unit...

 

So fixed the motormount. Was really easy, only needed my floor jack, the E-12 torx socket, and basic hand tools!

broken mount


broken mount versus new mount

 

made a DIY rear seat delete today. not the best looking one ive seen but its a work in progress. i plan to add a hinge to it, some carpet, and some other stuff to make it look nicer. its just some MDF board from homedepot with some rubber matting on it.

here are a few crappy cell phone pix that i took after sundown so hard to see (sorry)

seats out


RSD in

 

update: 04/03/10

night pix




plasti-dipped downtubes


plasti-dipped the front end


carpetted RSD

 

plasti-dipped interior dash. i need to redo it though because i was at the end of a can and a lot of air bubbles resulted.

 

wow a turbo boost gauge in a supercharged car

 

The car looks great, mrjasey! Thanks for your business.

Erm...some of your pics are HUGE size. The site resizes them for display, but they still have to download, and that can take a while if you don't have mammoth bandwidth. I'd suggest resizing them smaller before posting them.

Boost is boost. You'd prefer he throw a perfectly good boost gauge away because it doesn't correctly identify the source of the boost?

--Dan
Mach V

 

Dan, sorry about the large pictures. I didnt know that they were so huge, i will resize in the future.

sequence, i know its wierd to have it say "turbo" but like i mentioned, it was left over from my subaru. it is a VDO gauge and functions. later on I will replace it with a prosport probably but it doesnt really bother me. its a work in progress on a limited budget, so i cant always have the best stuff lol.

 

im obsessed with the MINI GP lately...

 

Awesome looking MINI you have.

 

did a quick wash, wax, and wheel clean. used my random orbital. i also redid the beltline blackout with some 3M weatherproof tape.

cell phone pic


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

better pix once im not lazy (left digicam in car)