We'll join you in washing/waxing if that makes ya feel any better. Gotta leave Tuesday night after work.

 

I'm not great at this waxing business, that's why I'm taking a detailing class while at MOTD.
But your more than welcome to join in my attempt to get this baby spotless.
I just wish I knew how to shine up my new boot stripes (hint, hint.. answers anyone?).
As for the drive up to Fontana, we will be leaving as soon as my daughter is out of school
at 3pm so we should arrive at Fontana around 6pm at the latest..
Look us up or skip out of work early and drive up with us..

 

I'll check with Liz to see if we can manage that, but it sounds great to me!

 

I'm not an expert, but as I understand it, the slave is the mechanism that converts the physical motion of the clutch pedal to a hydraulic pressure. It's mounted on the interior of the car, under the dash, just over your left foot when it's on the dead pedal (on US spec cars).

The first time my slave died, I noticed that it was hard to shift into first. Basically the slave was leaking so that when you pressurized the system by putting the clutch pedal to the floor, the system thought that you were slowly lifting your foot off. Since I was in neutral, trying to shift into first, the transmission was fighting me as I tried to shift into gear while at a dead stop and the clutch half way engaged.

The second time I noticed it going, I pulled into a parking spot, clutched in and shifted into first (parked on a slight incline, planning to leave the car in gear). The car slowly started to pull forward, as if I was lifting off of the clutch pedal (but the pedal was firmly on the floor).

In both instances, pumping the clutch pedal a few times would pressurize the system and restore normal clutch functioning until you stepped on the clutch and held for a few seconds, where the system would start to depressurize. I can remember each time reading the repair documentation and it was diagnosed by the tech by pulling back the boot to see if it was collecting fluid.

The fix is fairly quick if you have the parts (replace part and bleed the clutch), but after going through 2 of 'em in 2 years, I was worried about being in the middle of nowhere Arkansas on my way to MOTD without the part. It's only $25-$30, so I picked up a spare and carry it in the boot with my spare drive belt and tensioner tool.

 

I don't recommend any sort of mechanical polish on vinyl... too risky incase it's a printed graphic where solvents can bleed the ink. Cooperflags recommends 303 Aerospace protectant, but any non-silicone plastic/rubber/vinyl dressing should add the bit of shine (w/ UV protection to help prevent fading).

 

detailing class?! Is it open to anyone?

 

It's in the vendor thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=134714

75$, One hour course, all supplies included.

 

Well, I didn't get much done tonight. I got the rear bumper on, but the couple building a house across from us showed up and we talked to them for a bit. I planned to have the wheel wells back in, the front suspension off, and get started on the front bumper but alas... maybe tomorrow



Also, look what showed up yesterday!

 

Wow! Those are so nice, I would be afraid to drive in the rain for fear of getting them dirty.

 

Fortunately or not, I never fear getting my Mini dirty!

<insert punch line here>

 

Yeah I can't wait to get these on! God I hope i don't have to order spacers for the front

 

i wish i only had 1 car to finish. i have 9 cars all in that state that need to be done by the 20th! lol

 

A night of victories and defeats comes to an end. I got the rear wheel wells back in, which went great except I ended up with a screw left over on each side. I don't know where they went or where they came from, but I couldn't find out where. The wheel well is in correctly so I guess it's alright. I also managed to get the rear bumper to fit better because I put the wells back in. Really happy with it now, even though I ended up with parts left over.

Then I went to the front to test fit the new driving lights!



4 hella 500s (2 driving 2 fog). I got it right on the first try so in my experience it's best to move on rather than jerk with it. Now it's time to get the front bumper fitted... should be just as easy as the rear....



NOT!!! Had to take the wheel wells out in the front to move the fog lights to a new location. Broke 3 of the plastic rivits in the process. Moving the fog lights was the easiest part. The front bumper has also decided to the a royal pain in the ****! The blinkers won't fit because there is some notch on the lens, the side blinkers won't go in becuase I need to open the slot more with a dremel tool that I don't have, the idiots who repainted my bumper put the fasters on the upper grill on BACKWARDS so I had to break clips on the stock grill which will make it hard to sell later. In addition, those fasteners won't fit the new aero grill for whatever reason. The instructions also call for me to cut a slot in I don't know what... I'll have to finish this later when I get a dremel from my dad. I did however find these guys when I took the wheel wells off



Strut mount bolt and cover that got lost during my last suspension install. Too bad they are useless now . My garage is also a damn mess



Can't work on the car tomorrow night, or saturday afternoon. This weekend I'm shooting to get the coilovers on (about to adjust them now) and do the modifications in the rear so I can adjust them without removing them. Maybe do the side skirts if i'm feeling ambitious, then work on the front some more. Probably will change the oil and bleed the rear brakes (since I put new lines on) this weekend as well. I absolutly have to get the car rolling by next weekend to get it out of the garage so I can detail two cars that weekend. I had to order a required but OPTIONAL to order part for the rear aero bumper today, and it looks like I have to do the same for the front for something else that does I don't know what. Parts won't be here till next week. I really, really hope I don't have to order spacers for the front wheels to clear the coilovers... I'm running out of time

edit: oh and I also found out, after I dropped a fasterner into the engine bay (that was never found) that my cooling fan is catching something. I guess I'll work on that as well!

 

I see all this great you-ification going on with Paco, but what about Pepe??? Gosh... talk about step child. It's like that movie, Flowers In The Attic. That could be a good one, MINIs In The Attic. Starring Pepe, as the abused and tormented MINI that gets cast aside. She grows weak and ill as the better model gets more good-looking and takes over! I love it.

 

I try hard to take care of pepe but it was hard while she was working two jobs

Pepe will inherit my old bumpers with the chrome. Once the dept monkey is off her back were going to remove the old strips and get the dents removed and have several panels repainted (mainly passenger door, passenger rear quarter, hood, and drivers door). The whole car might use a respray... Then a roof decal and new stripes. I've got the replacement roof molding piece but haven't been able to put it on yet. Before the dragon definitly, though.

edit: I'll also be putting my 5 stars on pepe when I upgrade because I really don't like the rockets she has on now. I wish she kept the holeys.

 

I just can't believe Pepe is getting left out in the cold.

 

Another productive day. Before I got started I set myself a optimistic goal and a realistic goal. I met my realistic goal which was to get the coilovers on, and I normally never met my realistic goal when I work on big projects. I started off by getting the BC coilovers setup and ready to go in the car



Then I gutted my rear interior



Just to drill two big holes for the flexible adjusters that haven't arrived yet...



Fronts are in!



And the rears as well!



But all that left me with another pile of parts...



I hope I remember how it all goes together...

Tomorrow I'm shooting for the side skirts installed and the front aero bumper installed and get the driving lights sorted and ready to wire, change the oil and bleed the brakes. Still a long way to go and alot to do. Once I get it driving again I'll need to take it to my mechanic to have the coolant flushed, to my friends body shop to wire the driving lights and install my aero spoiler, and then to tire barn to get an alignment

 

Sigh... I'll get this thing back together eventually. My helper didn't feel well tonight so I couldn't get my extra set of hands. I took the old side skirts off and put the aero skirts together. The aero bumper is ready to go on and right now it looks like I can get away without spacers for the coilovers.

Wednesday I want to get the Bumper on, the wheel wells in, bleed the brakes, and drop the car down on it's wheels for the first time in weeks. Thursday get the side skirts on, the front grill cut for the driving light brackets and have them ready to wire. Whenever my flexible adjusters show up I can put the rear interior back together. Various other things still need to be done still.

I'm hoping by next Monday I can drive it and take it to the various shops to get work done to it that I'm not going to tempt. I'll have to take the front coilovers back out and trim the top strut mount so the alignment people can get to the screws and adjust the camber.

I started to feel like I got in over my head but I realized theres really not much left to do and I just needs parts so I can finish putting it all back together. I wish I could work on it for more than 2 hours a night.

 

Nothing like a deadline for an event to keep you motivated. Keep at it!

Geesh. And I'm just wondering if I'll have a nice weekend to get the polishing and waxing done.

 

Yeah, I need to work in a two day detail there somewhere. it supposed to be nice the day before I leave...

 

man, I am glad I chose to do the "hose it off then turtle wax ice it" method of preparing my car. I mean I have an 800 mile drive....its just going to get dirty again.

 

1: Tried to replace the front brake pads and rotors last night... Rotors were the wrong size... gotta try again soon. New parts on the way.

2: Air horn is still working strong after 6 days... looks like I got the leak fixed!

3. Ran the MINI by a local tuner garage this morning for a comprehensive inspection... I do most of the maintenance myself, but it's always good to have a pair of professional eyes on the systems to confirm what my untrained eyes are telling me. Everything checks out A-OK.

 

Well, I did manage to clean up the engine bay on the weekend.

 

Hmm, head is off, pistons might need to be re-ringed which will entail pulling the block out and splitting it. Yeah, I'll be there and hopefully in time for the wedding too, cause not much needs to be done...HAH!!

 

And this is what I saw when I visit the MINI today