Sounds like everyone is having some good adventures with their MINIs. I can tell because the posts are few and far between now! I am always here lurking though.

I gave Pi Rho his third bath yesterday and vaccumed and cleaned the rubbermats/floor and cleaned the leather up so it was nice and shiny!

Our local MINI gathering had done an "around local roads" run the beginning of August and we were each given directions, so I ended up taking the bf on the drive again yesterday (after the detailing) and he said he realized how loose his suspension is compared to the MINI. (He has a 2001 Audi S4)

While I was washing, I noticed Pi Rho's first "battle wound". The right side chrome mirror cap has a little nick where the paint has been rubbed off. Nothing big or major, but still, totally ruins the "uniform" chrome look on it. I should have gotten those clear bra pieces for them! I might still buy them and save what is left of their condition.

 

Hey PW27ers I got my secret decoder kit from MINI today...I just love opening the mailbox to see those black boxes. I also got 2 bars of REAL Dairy Milk (not that Hershey made crap) from my Mum in England....a good british day all round really.

 

I hear you Sheeb! I had the clear bra installed before Jake's road trip and a rock STILL managed to find it's way to the edge of the bra and chip it all the way to the base.

On the clear bra for the chrome mirrors, my guy said he'd put them on if I wanted but that most people took them off as they don't look completely clear on chrome. I know that doesn't help the boo-boo though. Thought you would like some input.

Chimera- Didn't know you were from across the pond! I found out my MA is from the U.K. as well. He came to the States as a wee child though.

 

Yep, born and bred in Kent...moved to the States 10 years ago.

 

Chimera... you going to the Pulley party in Amherst, NH? Its in a few weeks (Sept. 23rd I think) Seems like a good number of MINI owners will be there... and sounds like not all will be "modding".

 

That's not the same week as the British Invasion in Stowe right? I'll have to see about the pulley party, but definitely won't be modding. My wife would kick my *** if I try to mod this car already....especially a mod that adds more power, something I really don't need

 

Mary's finally home! Of course, it was raining. But, I managed to get some photos of her in the showroom. She's very purdy! But, there are a few things that will need to be fixed. There's some scratch marks on the roof, a scratch (that looks remarkably like a sperm) in the tint on the passenger side and lots of overspray on the door panels. OK, maybe "lots" isn't right as most people really wouldn't notice. But, I'm not most people and it's driving me nuts! But from a distance, the PW interior is stunning! They should really offer it from the factory. It makes the interior look so light and airy when motoring!

 

You actually had a Mary Quant shift **** made...that's just too awesome for words The PW interior is specatular.

 

Its the 23rd of Sept. And you don't HAVE to be wanting/doing a mod to attend. There sounds like there will be a few people (including me) who won't be modding.

 

Well, at long last, I'm back from the land of "eh".

Looking back...I can only praise Canada's emergency care. Very responsive, and in my opinion more attentive than I am accustomed to here in Texas.

The spider bite is healing well. No special powers - web slinging, climbing walls, etc - to report yet. Just a hint of a limp. And, thanks to the bite's location (smack on the side of my left hip, where the seams of all pants seem to run), it pushes against the side bolsters, making motoring a less than enjoyable experience for the moment.

Hopefully I'll be back up to speed (in more ways than one!) soon enough, especially now that the weather seems to be breaking!

 

Hey Matt,

Glad you are healing from the bite. Any idea what kind of spider it was?

The weather is finally cooling off a bit here as well. Might even get a bit of rain today. Looks like we had some light rain last night.

Btw, have a new interior mod on the way...oh make that one interior, one exterior.

Going to do the bonnet scoop intake mesh thing and ordered the chrome dash stuff, too. If anyone is interested in the interior chrome pack (20+ pieces) ,there's an awesome deal in one of the eBay stores.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mini-...mZ300025209775

Will post pics when I'm done!

Clayton

 

Glad to hear you are doing better doogs! Even with all the fun Canadian jokes out there, the sure know what health care is all aboot, eh. I lived with a couple of Canadian guys a couple of years ago and it had me talking differently by the end of the year. I didn't say "eh" much, but talked more on a high note. Hard to describe unless you are around it.

Anyone have any new pictures or motoring stories?

Drew

 

Oh, I have a couple of mods on the way for mine too.

Aero Front Grille, and additional Reverse light like in the 02-04 models. I plan on getting clears, so I want to have the right reverse light already for when I do.

Drew

 

I say "eh" every so often, and I've never been there! Saw a funny shirt yesterday that made me think of Doogs up there: a maple leaf with The "eh" Team written underneath it.

 

Wow. Very impressive. Congratulations. I'm a big fan of the mod aesthetic and yours captures this without being a caricature of the style. Well done!

Doogs, glad to hear your on the mend. Some spider bites can really be painful and take a long time to heal. Hope it wasn't a brown recluse that got you.

Clayton, how cool is it, that you made the MINI site?! Way to go!

Went on the MTTS leg from DC to Jersey City. That was so much fun! Pics are posted here. I'm not finished typing up a synopsis of the trip, but it was really pretty amazing. Nothing like driving up the highway in a caravan of over 200 MINIs. More on that later.

-James

 

Awesome pics James!

Btw, if you were at MTTS or just want any of the official pics (I can think of at least ONE I want ), the company that took them (newscast) will have them available for purchase soon at https://www.newscastus.com/MTTS.php

VERY COOL!

 

Nope.

At first we were afriad it was a brown recluse...but after reading up...I think had that been the case, I'd have been worse off by several orders of magnitude.

Best bet is that it was a wolf spider (we have them all over the place, the bastards), and it was the bite's location that caused it to get irritated, then infected.

 

Wolf spiders bite? Really? I guess I've just lived with them so long, I've never even thought about it. I've always been taught to watch out for the Black Widows and Brown Recluses. But, yeah, those stinkin' wolf spiders are everywhere!

 

GBMiniGirl - your car looks fantastic! Wise decision to do it before you started driving her.

Doogs - dang, sorry to hear about the bad side of Charlotte's Web! Glad you're up and aboot again. Motoring will take the pain away.

 

Actually, I think he said Motoring was hurting more than helping. But, pop in the Italian Job DVD...that should help!

 

GBMiniGirl - on the Italian Job esp. the soundtrack! Was motoring to it today. It's hard to keep the RPMs down on the track from the Tunnel Run and the Chopper Chase!

astrochex - LOVE the new sig file. VERY SLICK!

 

It's getting better as I heal up, but those spirited right turns still tweak me as I press into the left bolster.... On the bright side, at least I'm in an auto and not using that leg to work the clutch.

And I'm way ahead of you on the DVDs. The wife is heading out of town this weekend, and I've got me a whole batch of TV show DVDs to wallow in - Rome, 24 (just finished up season 1, moving on to 2-4), Lost, House...and of course the Texas/Ohio State game, hook 'em and whatnot.

 

Yeah, they bite. Or at least they bite me. All the friggin' time . Nowhere near as dangerous as a black widow or brown recluse, usually more like a really nasty ant bite. But this one got me right on the hip, right along where the seam of just about any pair of pants runs, so the constant irritation made things much worse.

I actually got two...the other was on my thigh, and came and went, no problem.

 

One word, Doogs....RAID.

My hubby's gonna be glued to the tv set tomorrow night too for the same reason. He went to St. Ed's, but 5 yrs in Austin will make anyone a UT fan I guess.

 

I rode in the back of Basil for the first time today. Wife was driving, Mother-in-Law riding shotgun. I was very surprised how roomie it was, I guess it helps to have a short passenger but I'm 6'1 and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I wouldn't want to spend a long time back there, but only because that would mean I wasn't driving