This project is just awesome.

 

Sweet the eyes look great too.

 

I would ice cream from that mini for sure that is just completely awesome

 

Thanks,
hardwired the roof lights to the headlights last weekend, much better than threading them out the back from the ice cream cone. threaded wires through the roof rack bars and down inside door edging. ground to engine compartment, hardwired to headlights, and switch/fuse to interior above the cup holders. invisible from the outside. lots of little cubbies , places to hide wires, and slots for easy access on this car.
tried coming off of the hazards, but not enough power on that circuit, tried direct connection to the battery with a relay, but couldn't get that to work either. so its now when the headlights are on, i can switch the roof lights on.

I'd really like to find an easy access to the foglight live wire instead, so that the lights don't drown out the autoxcooper headlight eyes.

since it took most all day to do that, i didn't think i could hook up the cnx and mac mini in any quicker time, but only took about an hour. placing everything in the glove box was a big timesaver. did the add a circuit off of the stereo 15 amp fuse, ground to passenger side door bolt by the glovebox, wires hide well from the fusebox to glovebox, already has hole in there for the aux adaptor, just removed the plate.
and voila, mac mini works great.
nice and clean for the most part. I only have the touchscreen and gps powered off of the mini. still need to wire the lilliput touchscreen to the other power receptacle at the cnx. right now its just powered off of a cig lighter adaptor.
have to mention that those little cnx boxes are pretty cool, easy to tinker with, and very small enough to go about anywhere. I got the model that has direct power monitoring and manipulation over all of the electrical system while running windows. the mac mini computer install was totally not necessary, but it does add lots more music, movies for when its sitting at a beach and curious george movies for when kid is in the car, gps ( if I can find a better mac gps software program), and since my wife will be doing most of the driving: a calculator.
tried to hook the aux output into a Harmon Kardon drive and play side aux input-also in the glovebox, but didn't seem to want to work as described in the H/K manual.

while the roof lights are cool, they are technically about 10 inches too tall to be street legal, to solve, this, I am going to cut up the light covers with the words "ICE" and "CREAM" so that only those letters show when they are on.

also replaced the fairing bolts and hella mounting bolts with stainless steel, and added a wooden license frame for the front.
its coming along, and still withen budget.

Is there a place to find specific parts for mini coopers?
I totally removed the passenger seat, shunted off the airbag and seatbelt, cleared the codes, but I still have a dash light due to the weight sensor code. can't figure out how to bypass it, so want to just get a replacment with a pigtail. any ideas? found a few junkyard seats online, but connectors were different.
my seat only has the black, blue and yellow connectors unlike some minis which also have the white connector for the sensor.

edit:
found this link for parts lookup, thanks R56 Ed:
R56 Ed vbmenu_register("postmenu_2212032", true);
6th Gear
iTrader: 0% (0)


Maybe these folks can help!

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

 

re-did the whole surfboard on roof thing again.
found a 6' surfboard at my mother-in-laws garage. patched it up a bit, threaded a 28" tread bolt through it to attach to top and bottom of the ice cream cone. cone is much more stable at high speeds. surfboard is much more prominent then the skimboard. mounted the speaker to roof rack on a more permanent basis. its a much easier transition from daily driver to ice cream machine now. final health inspect for first part of january.
freezer holds stable temp when loaded and with excessive door openings.
car computer is working great except for the usb gps device, think i'll sell it on ebay and get a refurbished magellan.

saw a roll of 24' LED's at the hardware store the other day and started stringing them inside the car, they attach with 3M automotive tape. plugged them into the boot power inverter. but the inverter shut off this morning, so don't know what I blew. I really needed to install a switch to the rear boot power outlet so I don't start the car running the full load off of the inverter, will run more wires this weekend.
got some point of sale software for the carcomputer, but the screen is hard to see for it in the daylight.

 

coming up on the final stages now.
have the health inspection and final licensing scheduled for next week.
I'm thinking this is starting to show some potential. we started a semi-partnership the other day with the local hospital to provide ice cream to a nearby orphanage, won't make a dime that way, but its good to give.

the led's make it really stand out, but pictures are hard to show everything.


getting all of the inventory images set up now, printing on waterproof paper, laminating, cutting into magnetics to can swap signs as inventory changes.

some mods:
48 feet led's interior and exterior.
1000W inverter
6.3 qt sub zero freezer
HK drive/play
hula girl
under bonnet eyes
awesome custom headlight eyes courtesy of AutoXcooper at www.EyesforMyRide.com
surf board mounted to roof rack with 2' ice cream cone
ice cream music player with external speaker and microphone.
roof mounted 6" hellas with ice and cream cut into covers (old covers shown)
mac mini PPC 1.42 car computer with 7" touchscreen lilliput mounted to AC vent (running hear, AMP and PC point of sale inventory software) has wireless and bluetooth
cnx 2350? dc to ac converter
GPS with VR and custom POI index for repeat customers
stick on led lights interior for spot lighting.
external chrome kits
side, boot and hood stripes and pinstripes
got an old timey change dispenser
custom made badge holder (not shown)
custom made wooden front license sign (not shown)
ect.

 

I know I've said this before but

WOW! Like WOW! This is just...

Like Wow! I wish you lived in my area!

Love the LEDs...are you allowed to drive with them on?

 

blue lights on the outside of the car are probably illegal. but they aren't wildly bright amperage like spotlights so it might be borderline. was going to just take the risk of a ticket or get a remote switch for them, might be a good excuse to get a radar detector, since those things don't work for speeding or anything.

 

we're official now.
got the health inspection this morning.
planning on grand opening on groundhog day.
lots still to do, but its coming together most awesomely.

 

Haha, this is awesome! I'd love to see pictures of you out and about serving to the kids at the orphanage!!

 

found out friday that blue lights are illegal.
the cop was cool though.
went ahead and started stringing white lights.
they are much brighter and I'm taking the time to put them onto the outside of the car with the 3m auto tape. nice and clean instead of just stringing them along the surf board.

 

My hat's off to you!! True entrepreneural spirit and enthusiasm. I wish you the best, and will make a point of getting hooked up with a Nutty Buddy if I ever cross your path.....

I'm old enough to remember this:



You should rock that uniform!!!!

and when business expands:

 

ummmm .... hmmm i dont know what to say!

 

I think the white LED's really make it more prominant. finished cutting up the light covers. re-did the 3m tapes. have a little touch up still to do on interior led's with the 3m. getting some more transflective films from 3m to try to brighten the display during the day on computer. getting the ice cream signs tomorrow with stock. wrapping the 24' of blue lights around the freezer. have them both running off of a surge protector linked to the inverter for a remote switch. tested the freezer only powered to the inverter all night with no problems. wife drove it around last weekend all decked out. got all positive feedback. I think its pretty much done now.

 

Ho - Li - Crap

 

#1-caused our first 3 car pile up. wife's been driving on nice days recently, sales are not bad for winter. anyway, she was on the beach road and a worktruck saw the cooper, pointed, slowed down to stop or something, she said they looked awestruck and were both waving like crazy. a car slammed into the rear of the truck and another car slammed into the rear again. slow road so i'm sure no one got hurt, but hate to be the cause of misfortune.

#2- was first parade: and basically the first time i've gotten to drive it as an ice cream truck, threw out a big case of beads and about 6 ice creams. decked the car out in mardi gras attire.
link to some pictures in paper:
http://thedestinlog.emeraldcoastphot...istSubAlbums=0
thanks to baycountycoopers for applying to be in the route, think all had fun with it. took awhile to find "when the saints come marching in" song on the music box.
winning vehicle of the short parade-(mainly just golf carts, bikes, boats and minis) had the same model bubble blower which i had to return because of the sloshing issue. i'm gonna have to revisit the installation of the bubble blower. its too good of an idea to just let go.

lost a fog cover this week so got an ill-fitting non-matching replacement from the manufacturer. i made it look ok, but its not as clean and matching as i'd like. added some transflective anti-glare screens and films to the computer monitor and reloaded software on the route to the parade. I think i've over maxed the possibilites of the car computer, think a trade for an ipod touch with POS-light is in order.

trying to cut down on handing out freebies all of the time, but my investment into the transformation is officially paid off and in the clear. this has really been fun to do, but i've been having to drive my other non-mini cars every day that she makes runs.

 

Totally awesome. So glad it is actually working out. What city are you in?

 

she's been doing runs between panama city and gulf breeze, florida. mainly destin/niceville/south walton/seaside areas so far. spring break in panama city beach aught to be awesome. the way it lights up at night would be perfect for the clubs.
thinking about going to the ice cream run along the blue ridge trail this summer, can't sell stuff out of state, but it's a nice scenic drive.

just noticed that i didn't have any pictures with the ice cream signs all decked out. will have to post more soon. lots of people taking pictures of it every day. we're carrying 17 varieties now.

 

Bump this back up... sweet machine!

how's spring break business? I bet you're going gangbusters right about now...

 

been crazy busy lately. kinda started a printing business a few weeks ago, lots to do there.
wife's been doing pretty well with driving the ice cream mini part time. she did a total sell out last week. 3 orders in now and we're self supporting, paid off, and looking forward to a busy spring and summer. she's got over 20 kinds of ice cream in that freezer, keeping it organized pretty good so far.
took out the car computer mac mini, was just not as useful as i needed it to be. installed a 2G ipod touch, mounted using the plastic case it came in to the existing AC lcd mount, with a little bit of drilling and dremeling to match the plug for the HK drive/play. works great. the point of sale and inventory software is much more useful and useable, has the ability to email receipts and keep tabs for repeat customers, create reports, ect. an iphone would be capable of taking credit cards anywhere, but cash is easy enough to find for the neighborhoods.
reaction from public is always positive. the other ice cream trucks are creepy guys driving lame panel vans.

installed an industrial bubble machine behind the ice cream cone on the surfboard saturday night. was an awesome sight seeing those bubbles come out. took alot more time to think about installing it than the actual work did. lined inside with sponges, covered outside with ice cream stickers. mounted with 2 8" eye bolts. corded through trunk with 3m auto tape into another surge protector. need one plug swith from the hardware store to make it complete. easy to mount with existing bolts. the eyebolts keep it lower and more stable, so sloshing isn't as bad. actually found a good use for the "level" application on itunes.

keep losing fog light covers. lost a few signs too, might've been taken, but they are easy enough to make. the painted covers with industrial double sided tape works better than the cut out covers.

she keeps planning on hitting the night clubs at panama city beach, the cone can light up at night using the original 24' of blue led's.

 

GREAT JOB on the project!!! It is nice to see another unique project floating around on here...

Keep at it wish there was one driving around up here...

 

your car looks awesome, much respect!

 

this before the bubble machine was added to the roof.
i honestly can do no more to it. the bubble blower just amazed too much to carry the mods any furthur. now, trying to add a teardrop trailer and make the blue ridge run and ice cream run in June.

 

Dude, That is definitely the cooolest Ice-Cream machine ever. I can totally understand that you could cause traffic jams/accidents! Way to go, it is outstanding that you can make $$ with this idea.

 

ok. next phase is starting.
went to a car show last week. realized that just sitting out with the mini for events makes twice as much as driving routes. so we are expanding our possibilities with the ice cream mini business.
adding a mini-do-more hitch. getting a 3X4 motorcycle trailer to mount the main storage freezer. either with j-hooks mounted to freezer base, or the guy who runs the trailer shop may mount it with some custom fabrication. adding a pop up umbrella to the trailer. painting base coat blue with flames on the side of the trailer. the flames will be woodgrained. also plan to airbrush vinyl flames for the sides and boot, bonnet stripes in woodgrain for the mini.
I've never seen woodgrain flames, so if i don't like them, want them on vinyl so i can start over f i don't like it.
getting involved with community activities for more events. she would drive it, park it, and sell from inside freezer and have the outside trailer to sell from as well. she would do parties and ball games too.
the freezer is under 3'X4", and is fairly lightweight even when fully loaded, but holds a ton of stuff.

this is an awesome little project that just keeps growing.

probably won't be able to do the great ice cream run this year, but with the trailer option, we are thinking of adding a little teardrop trailer for camping.

the bubble machine just blows me away. have been putting too much glycerine in the mix, but the quantity of bubbles it makes is incredible.
1/3 joy, 1/3 bubble bath, 1/3 water, 1:16 glycerin.