Hello,

A lil bit about myself. I've been married 21 yrs. to my crazy but Awesome wife Sheryl, we have two Awesomer sons Noah 18 and Seth soon to be 16 and taking his driving test !
I grew up around cars, race tracks and street racing !! Worked on a pit crew for a BBC street stock at Saugus Speedway, a modified at Mesa Marin, a Toyota Formula Atlantic at Willow Springs and even owned a front motor dragster when I was just out of high school w/ my best friend and his dad.
I've owned a ton of cars and raced many of them on and off the street. From a 73 roller crammed 468 Camaro to a 73 Datsun 240z w/ 450 hp SBC !
Yes I'm a Chevy guy but no longer discriminate against any brand.
I love cars !!!
Never been rich and could never afford a new car so I've always done my own repairs and can fix anything thanks to decades of blood, sweat, gears the Internet and forums like these !
I live in So Cal w/ some of the worst traffic in the world and bought a 6 speed Mini to teach my boys how to drive stick and don't regret it one bit this lil monster is addicting !! And moves threw traffic like greased lightning.

I did my research and scoured craigslist for months for a deal and Scored a 2005 MCS Salt w/116k for $3800 ! The exterior isn't pristine but I can live with it. Never cared for trailer queens and living in LA someone's gonna bump or scratch your car. The interior was filthy, bought her from a rich college girl... Go fig.
Amazing what a magic eraser can do to tan vinyl and black n tan leather, truly magic !!!
The most important bits on her where perfect, car was spotless under the hood and top n bottom mechanically. Motor and clutch are strong ! All she needed was 2 rear tires $130. Driving lights are non op and one of the driving lights glass lamp was busted managed to find a set w/ brackets, housings and covers from Mini World for $100 and he threw in a used cig light since my orange trim ring was busted. 75 cents for a cig light bulb.
Oh and she needs a windshield which can wait till winter... Still under $5000 which was my limit for a used car.
This lil Beast is a Blast to drive cuts through traffic like a hot knife threw butter. Love the feel when the sc kicks in. It's like a kick in the but unlike my wife's Saab ARC turbo which is like someone is pushing you.
Also lookinto forward to getting back to my roots ???
Racing.
I've always wanted to try autocross and since you can have a passenger I'd love to bring my wife, boys and my sjcam to video the experience.
Also looking to join a mini club.
Looking forward to meeting new people/mini owners. What do you call mini owners ?
And solving issues here with my mini which I call itty bitty or squirrel for short ; )

Cheers,

Jeff

 

Before w/ broken driving light...

 

Driving lights w/ NOS covers and headlamps.

 

Welcome to NAM!

 

Welcome to the MINIacs!

Nice looking car, a little TLC and it will be a head turner for sure.

Thanks for posting the photos.

Motor on!

 

Welcome to NAM, Jeff! Great background and story. Congratulations on your purchase. We are also located in SoCal! You should come on out to one of our Coffee & Cars events. Our next one is looking to be October 17th. If you need any help with fixes/repairs/upgrades be sure to check out our tech articles here and of course our parts here. You can order them ahead of time and pick them up at the facility if you're close and don't want to pay for shipping. Otherwise, if you have any questions about modifications or repairs, please do not hesitate to ask. This forum is great and there are a lot of helpful individuals here.

 

first MINI

this is a Mini next to a MINI



biMinual owners are particular about this . . .

 

Great color combo like the PW with the Cordoba beige / gray, very classy .

 

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome

Id love to bring my Mini to the Coffee and Cars event ! Visited Pelican Parts but couldn't find a location for the event ??? Did find you have parts for Saab's too which is sweet since my wife drives an 04 Saab 9-3 ARC.

Love the 1st Mini but she'd prolly sit in the garage then be driven ! I hate garage queens more than trailer queens !! My boss has an 84 Vette that he's driven twice in 5 years ! Shameful to put a car through such a slow painful death !!!
I also older and appreciate air conditioning when sitting on the 101 in the middle of summer !!!!!!!

Knew this Mini was mine when I first saw her... It's a long story but interesting to say the least.

So my kids turning 16 and taking his driving test on 9/9 and I know he'll pass. I found him a black 06 HHR for $1800, put $300 in it on repairs. Perfect car for him, great gas mileage and gutless.

Wait til I teach him stick in the Mini !

Anyways I'd been looking for a Mini for months cuz I'm driving his car. Low and behold my Mini pops up on Craigslist posted 40 minutes ago $2500 !!!!!!
$2500
I immediately called and told lil blonde rich college girl I wanted her, take her off craigslist. I'll be by tomorrow with the cash.
"Ooooh!!!" She said "I'm going on vacation for a week starting tomorrow."
WTF ??? !!! K go on vacation I'll talk to ya when you get back.
10 minutes later she texts. Someone called after I took the Mini down and offered me 4k ! Sry I didn't know there would be this much interest in the car...
WTF ??? Who offers $1500 over asking price ???
Played text with her til 2am trying to pull the Mini away from the other player in the game. No dice !!!
I CALLED DIBS DAMMIT!
She gets back from vacation and I offer $4200. She budges but still decides to sell her to the Other Guy.
WTF Is wrong with this world ?
So I spend the whole next day hot and bothered from the heat and grumpy as hell from getting screwed out of a sweet deal! My corvette in the barn find!
Anywho guess who calls an hour before I get off work ? Yup other guy flaked.
2 1/2 hour drive to Isla Vista and $3800 later and she's all mine ! WOOT !!
Did I get scammed ???
I don't think so, corporate lawyers daughter driving daddy's new mini roadster cuz he's buying a new Chevy truck cuz he's moving to North Carolina wasn't that bright.
Do I feel bad, nope. I'm married with children driver carries no cash !!! Do you know what 2 teenage boys do to a referigerator and pantry in a week ?
I won't even delve into the lil princesses lifestyle.
Lucky me, nope I'm just good at finding deals on used cars. Go fig. I should have stayed in school ! Doh.

Oh yeah the Black and Tan was the piece de resistance. Think I'll go have one to celebrate !

Cheers Jeff

 

Welcome and congrats again. What a story on the car.

 

That's a pretty interesting story. Glad you were able to walk away with the MINI in the end. So the event hasn't been announced, but I'm pretty sure it'll be October 17th at 7AM to 9AM at the upper deck of the parking garage at the promenade on the peninsula (550 Deep Valley Dr, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274). Here are pictures from our July event. Yes! We do sell parts for Saab's as well. Glad we are able to assist your car and your wife's! Let me know if you have any questions or ever need any help. Hope to see you out at the event!