Hello everyone! My name is Shaggy, and this seems the best place to start out and introduce myself.
I'm an alcohol interlock installer in the Northern Virginia area, previously installing car audio before that and being MECP certified as well. Single bachelor, early thirties, and a hardcore do it yourselfer. I enjoy anything having to do with working with my hands. My other projects include two older Honda cafe bikes, and a vintage VW that I'm converting to EFI.

So on to the car! I just acquired my first Cooper, from a real good close friend of mine. I'm super excited about it, but it has its quirks that I need to work through. A little history so you guys can see what I'm up against... Said buddy have a 05 MCS JCW, but ran it over a two foot curb at about 45mph. Trashed the front end, took out the bellhousing, and ruined the oil pan but the rotating assembly still in good condition. After that, this Cooper, the 04 was purchased with a bad motor to make a good motor swap candidate.

The Good
My first Cooper!
Alta parts include intake, 17% pulley + overdrive/lightened crank, air diverter, and crank saver
120k on the body, 88k on the motor
New headgasket and crank seals
Lots of spare parts

The bad
Body has seen better days
Unknown condition from previous owners
Swapped parts has caused problems with no solutions
Slight overheating due to air in the coolant system

In the weekend that I've owned it, I threw on the HR lowering springs that came with it and plastidipped the beltline black. I know I'm going to be asking a lot of questions you guys, so thanks in advance!
Piccy for clicky... The first dark pictures are of its spot where it sat for months, waiting for it's new owner...

 

Welcome to NAM, Shaggy! What a great introduction. If you need help with tackling your new project, we have a bunch of awesome tech articles here that may be of some assistance. There are a lot of great individuals that can help you out on this forum as well so don't be afraid to ask for help when needed. If you need anything for your project please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

 

Thank you so much for the enthusiastic welcome, Pelican. I've dealt with you guys in the past with my E30 for parts and tech articles. Good to see you guys have kept up the great work.

 

You're very welcome! And thank you! Glad that we have been useful to you in the past and hopefully we can help you out with your new-to-you MINI as well. Looking forward to watching your progress.