Im expecting my aerokit (side skirts) from Classic Mini anytime now.
Are there any installation instructions around to aid me in this event? Im trying to save a couple hundred dollars by installing it myself.
I cant imagine it to be that difficult.

 

OT: Do you mind me asking what they cost you and are they painted? I am thinking of doing the same thing.

 

No problem. They are coming pre-painted ready to go. And the payment hasn't come out of my visa yet but if i remember correctly, they charged me about CDN$600. Thats with shipping too i believe.
I just wanted the side-skirts. I think they will look sweet with the oem front/rear bumper anyway...(plus i couldn't afford the entire kit...)

 

Motoring File has the official MINI instructions for installation of the Aero kit: http://www.motoringfile.com/diy/ (the top link on that page)

I bought the side skirts for the aero kit (in primer) from Outmotoring.com earlier this year: http://www.outmotoring.com/exterior_body_kits.html ($500 US)

I did it myself a few months ago. You have to attach a black mounting rail to each side skirt... It's kinda confusing, but there was only one logical way to put it all together. Before you can discern which way is right, you will have to remove the old side skirts and you will have to look very, very carefully at the figures at the top of page 10 and the top of page 16. They give you these tiny little plastic pop-rivets which, if you assemble the aero side incorrectly (like I did), can be backed out and re-used to get it right the next time.

Unfortunately, when removing the old side skirts, only 1/3 of the clips are visable for you to remove peacefully. There comes a point when you have to take a deep breath, grab ahold of one end (I started at the front) and pull with all your might. The plastic clips will eventually shatter and you will have to use a pair of pliers to pull the remains out of the holes.

Caviat: I did this on my MCS... I"m assuming that the process is similar for Coopers because I know that you can take the side skirts from a MCS and put them on a MC.

 

Thanks agranger for that link!! Im going to print it off at work and study it!
Thanks for the tips too :D

 

I was replacing all of the arches and side skirts, so I had the car up on 4 jackstands with the wheels off. It made it much easier to work on.

 

Is it necessary to put it up on jacks for the skirt install?

 

Hmmmm.... necessary? Maybe not. If I remember right, there were a few plastic screws around there, but you might not have to remove 'em for the side skirt. I was doing all of the arches too, and it's been a while, so my memory of the install isn't perfect.

I seem to remember the jack stand getting in the way a bit because I had originally posistioned it on the rear jack point (that goes through the aerokit side sill).

Most of the attachment point are using plastic clips that press into place, so I'd bet you can get away with doing the work with the car on the ground.

Look around for those little plastic screws. A stubby phillips-head screwdriver might help if they are on the bottom of the car.

 

No, no jack necessary for this project (unless you have a problem with lying on the floor)

 

Well i got the aero kit skirts put on last weekend. And agranger i can see what you mean about putting the under-guard cover on backwards!...took us awhile to figure out why there was no place for us to secure the bottom of the panels! Anyway, we ended up jacking the car up but cost me a slight setback when the cheap plastic pad at the front (for jacking) popped off and the car dropped down. Luckly nothing was underneath! Unfortunately the side-skirt was partially attached and got caught on the jack...so where they masked the skirt for painting it has seperated (about 12"long). Im actually baffled that that was the only damage and it happend right along the seam! So im going to call my local bodyshop here (where all the mini's go) and see if he can run a bead of glue inside it just to seal it up.
I cant believe the jacking points on our cars are Plastic!!!??!!!

 

those are not really the jacking points unless you are using factory jack. this is what greatbear posted in one of the many jacking threads on here

Also see
http://www.ultimategarage.com/minijack.htm

 

This shouldn't be a big issue. One of the side skirts that I got was cracked slightly... they had to build up the back a bit to add some strength, but it was no big deal. I think the extra work cost me $80.

 

I've called the bodyshop and they said bring in my car tomorrow morning (before work), and they will take a look at it. Im assuming they will have spare plastic clips and double sided tape to re-attach the panel after they glue the crack. (This is the bodyshop that BMW and Mini send their cars too.) I just want to make sure the crack is completely sealed for when the extream elements like salt and dirty try to penetrate it.
Someone suggested superglue but i know what superglue does once it dries...im not taking that risk!

BTW: I had a few extra clips from the kit (red and white)...Why is this? I know i made sure i followed the instructions when i installed it. Anyway, ill give them to the bodyshop if they need them for this repair.

 

I had some left-overs as well... I think that the cabrios have a slightly different attachment mechanism and require a different type of clip in different places... don't hold me to that one, though.