[quote=MiniMaxx]Oh yes. I TOTALLY AGREE!

 

Hey Everybody!!!

We're baaaack!

Wow! What a motoring, inaugural journey for Jake's delivery. So much to tell but just got home and need to get ready for the week.

First of all, I wasted no time in getting some miles on Jake. As of today, he has 1044 miles! Only 200 to go and I've only had him since Thursday. The trip to Albuquerque really gave him all sorts of opportunities to break in (including a race)! Actually, it was on a racetrack and there were some pretty fast, crazy turns but it wasn't a race. Needless to say, I had a smile glued to my fast. And, Jake LOVES a racy pace.

I've posted a few photos of the trip in my gallery but wanted to include a few here.

More later! Missed sharing all the stuff with my SG.

 

Yeah, I actually got to drive the MINI today. Now if I only had more than a 5 mile drive I might have made it into 6th gear. Lots of fun stop light racing though, and it'll be out of break-in by tomorrow.

 

My husband's on his way back from the Dallas event. Some people from our club managed to get married at the event last night!

 

LOL Terrance and Phillip dolls, thats great! Clayton, you are right there with me on the mileage rate, I didn't get to put mine on with a bunch of other MINI's though.

Married at MTTS? Thats awesome!

Drew

 

Here's our thread on it: http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ad.php?t=16299

 

Hey all,

I'm feeling out of touch/sync with the group. After being away from the internet for 3-4 days...well, y'all know.

Crusoe, did you ever take delivery?

Where's crishchun? I PMd him and haven't heard a thing. He stopped updating the spreadsheet, too. I hope he is OK. He just dropped off somewhere.

Has everyone taken delivery?

Has everyone GRADUATED?

 

Hey, Clayton-

I think it's quiet in the SG front 'cause most everyone is out motoring! I know I find myself looking for any excuse to get out and drive. I still cruise NAM when I need a break at work, but I'm not as obsessive as I was pre-pickup.

I think there are still a couple hardy PW27SG souls still waiting on their minis. I believe Crusoe is scheduled to pick Pepe up in SLC this weekend.

Anyone doing any fun accessorizing/modding yet? I ordered some Hella "Black Magic" driving lamps, but they're pretty big (7"), so I'm waiting so see how they look before I install them.

 

Hey Rob,

OK. I don't feel ALL ALONE now.

You are probably right about everyone out motoring. It sure is great to finally be a MINI owner.

Btw, LOVE your Nightcrawler custom badge! What did you use to create it?

I have a mod-in-a-box waiting as we speak. I'm replacing the lower grille (that black honeycomb black thing) with a stainless steel (chrome finish) one. Kind of scared to start unscrewing/disassembling Jake though.

And, after having some "work" time with Jake, I am going to be ordering the Euro Parcel Tray. Have you seen it? I need more places for basic stuff...sunglasses, cell phone, etc. With the computer biz, I generally have a few CDs, notes, a tool or two.

Can really tell the difference the break-in period makes (esp. with the auto tranny). I totally LOVE the Agitronic Paddles! If I need to down shift for some extra zip (even in Drive) I can click down and take off. VERY COOL!

What about those driving lamps? What do they look like?

Thanks for touching base!

Clayton

 

Well fellow PW27ers... today is the one month anniversary of me picking up Pi Rho! I can't believe it has been a month! 2360 miles later he is still awesome!

One minor hiccup though: I have to take him in to the dealer on Friday... I think there might be some sychro issues... we'll cross our fingers its nothing serious though.

 

Yeah I am still around, just not as often. BLISS has been keeping me happy and busy lately. I've got over 4,500 miles on him so far and will be over 5,000 before Thursday... Even though it sucks putting so many miles on my brand new car for work, at least I am getting paid to drive him around, and I still enjoy myself.

I'm going to VA on Wednesday to see a customer, and man the roads out there are great! I'll be wearing my driving shoes up and changing them in the parking lot, lol.

Hope you are all doing well!!!

Drew

 

If all goes well, I'm hoping for a Wednesday pick-up. Will prolly be Thursday tho...just watch. Mary got back from the leather people tonight apparently. My MA said it looks great.

 

Hello all,

Well, yesterday was my one month anniversary of my pick up. Since then I was away for half the time, so I've only managed to put just over 500 miles on the clock. Please forgive me. Hard to believe I could drive so little. That's even taking the "long way" pretty much everywhere I go.

I've done some mods though. I had a euro parcel shelf, an aux input and an Ian Cull auto-up circuit waiting at the house before I even picked up. They went in the first day. The tow hook license plate bracket from Go Mini Go even went on in the dealer's lot. All quick and easy mods that make so much of a difference.

This past weekend I dropped in angel eye side lights. From doing that Clayton, I can tell you that getting the bumper skin off the front is maybe 15 minutes work. It's astonishingly easy. To make things even more rewarding, it goes back on just as easy as it comes off!

I didn't play with the grill, but it seems like something quite easy to change. If it helps, I used the instructions at http://mini.uglydoris.com/archives/000020.html to get the bumper cover off. As a note, the instructions are for 02-04 body cars. For the 05-06, you'll also need a 10mm socket for the three bolts on the underside of the bumper lip, which are screws on the earlier model years.

Happy motoring!

-James

 

Hey James,

Thanks for the article. It came a wee bit late (actually I was in the throes of the project when it came). I got all of it right but disconnecting the lamps/lights and that would have helped A LOT!

By the time I got it all back together it was dark so I'll have to take some pics in the morning.

Unfortunately, without disconnecting the lamps and lights, the bumper dangled and the underside got a bit scraped (on the driveway). It's the black plastic part of the bumper (vs any painted section) and it's pretty much under the front lip. I think some of it is going to show. So, I learned some good things during my first mod but am a little disappointed about the scrapes. Is there a way to "buff" scrapes on this plastic/rubber stuff?

I'm too tired to think about it any more so I'm off to bed.

Nice to hear from some PW27ers again. Congrats on the new relationship Drew!

 

If you have a heat gun or access to a hair dryer you can heat the section with the scrapes and they will pull back in to shape if they are not too deep. Just be careful to protect the painted area and do not heat the area too much, just a little bit at a time, enough to just soften it up and make it pliable.

 

Ahhh...very good suggestion! They are really scrapes and not gouges (fortunately). They are not as visible as I thought they would be in my somewhat frustrated state last night.

Thanks Greg!

 

So after some frustrating moments of "easily replacing the OEM lower grille" , here is Jake's new grille. There's a "before" picture in my gallery.

I am so-so on it. I don' know if this is something that I'm over-analyzing or will grow on me.

I'd like input and please be honest (just not brutal).

Thanks folks!

Clayton

 

Hi Clayton,

Congrats on the mod , though I'm sorry to hear about the scuffs on your bumper.

There are some real detailing wizards in our community, so making a post in the detailing forum might be worthwhile.

I too have a few scrapes underneath the bumper (though I'm really not sure exactly how I got them, since I've not hit anything). There were two things I was thinking of trying that I found on the pages here and here. But since my scratches are so far underneath the bumper, and in an area likely to get future scuffs from road debris anyway, I've not really pursued it with any urgency. Still, maybe the stuff mentioned on those pages will be useful to you.

Happy motoring!

-James

 

Finally! I pick up Pepe on Friday. I'm going up to McCall, ID from SLC to visit a friend and spend a day or two fly fishing maybe. Will be off line most of Labor day weekend motoring back to Seattle.

 

I like it OK Clayton, but I'm just not feeling it, you know . I think with all the chrome you've got on there I would like it better if it matched the upper grilles and had a few large bars instead of the mesh. Then again I'm biased as I only like a little chrome.

 

That's GREAT news Crusoe. Been wondering when you would finally take delivery on Pepe. McCall, Idaho, eh? Most of my family is in Boise and my brother and his wife have a cabin there. GORGEOUS country and the lake is bee-you-tee-ful! Enjoy!

Oh yeah...TWISTIES for days on the way to McCall. An excellent motoring adventure!

 

I hear you Greg. I have been "trying it on for size" today. I think the not-so-good installation experience was clouding my judgement earlier today. But I think that a mod that is "right" would make me say "SWEET!" and this one does not. It's just OK. So, I'll live with it a while and then keep or switch. I think your point about matching the upper grilles is a good one.

I DEFINITELY agree with the "too much chrome" idea. It looks great with red for sure. Was thinking (before delivery) about a chrome scoop but now - NOT! That would be overkill. In fact, I'm liking the idea of a black scoop.

 

Clayton, looks like you did just fine on the installation. Trust me, I have had many mods that took waaaaay longer than they should've, but in the end it is usually worth it. I'm not much of a fan of chrome though, so it's not something I would do to mine, but that doesn't make it bad on yours. I'm planning on getting rid of as much chrome as possible on my MINI, going with as much Blue/Silver as I can, with Black mixed in as my third color.

Drew

 

More baby picts! The seats are done and came out fantastic! I couldn't be happier! Sorry they are a little grainy...camera phone.

 

Just got bad news. The body shop is having a hard time painting my panels, so I won't be able to pick Mary up until Tuesday. That means I won't have her for the Hill Country Rendezvous after all. That sucks big time. A friend of mine is even coming out from California to see her there.