North American Motoring - 1st Gear

New Member

z81 — Sat, 09 May 2026 05:07:16 GMT

Hi all, new member here hoping to rejoin the Mini owners club soon.

Previously had an awesome low mileage �06 R53 MCS in Chili Red, slicktop with the Union Jack on top. I loved that car, but life changes meant it wasn�t going to get much use for quite a while, so I ended up selling it about 8 years ago.

Now life looks like it is giving me a great opportunity to justify owning one again! Looking to jump back in with an R52 this time, preferably a JCW.

Future r53 owner

Rybread — Tue, 05 May 2026 22:31:02 GMT

Howdy all,

I figured i would become a member here since I seem to lurk quite a bit when searching for good info on r53's. I am located in Northern California, Folsom to be exact and have been on the hunt for a Mini for a little bit now. I was big time into Japanese imports in my younger years, and then my attention got diverted to motorcycling until this past year when my wife and I had our first child. My whole world changed and I decided that motorcycling was no longer a necessity in my life, and since then I have been wanting to pick up a little fun car to drive and fix up, which will in the future, allow me to introduce my son to car culture.
The r53 has always been a car i've admired and will eventually be picking one up when the timing is right.
Anyways, I look forward to embracing the mini culture, learning and hopefully contributing here in the future.
Cheers,
Ryan

New Dutchie

SolidusSnake — Sat, 02 May 2026 18:46:26 GMT

Hi everyone.

Youri here from the Netherlands. I have read and visited this forum so much that i thought it would be nicer to register. I have a Mini R50. Bought as a One. By now its a Cooper with all the things i modified. Looking forward to keep reading on here.

Gm3

GM3 — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:18:10 GMT

Hello new member.

Long history with MINi stretching back to the late 70s first car through the Rover Mini era and on to owning a concours modified �65� Cooper S in the Mid 90s which won at the International Mini Meet 1996 ,also owning two Rover Mini Cooper S and also meeting Mr John Cooper on the South coast one sunny afternoon.

Along came the BMW cars, owning Cooper S ,MINI Clubvan with full JCW kit wheels etc and then to the JCW itself the car below being my 4th, with 19 �AC Schnitzer wheels & springs plus JCW Alacantara s/wheel.etc.

Rebel Green and of course manual which all of my cars are.

Autos for MINI is just not right in my humble opinion.

Thank you

New Toy - Fredericksburg VA

2014R60JCW — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:44:13 GMT

Hello all, Just wanted to take a second and introduce myself. I'm new to the forum here, as a member, but have been lurking and searching for some time. I recently picked up a new to me 2014 R60 JCW all4 and have just started to mod it.

Directly before this I had an 02 Miata, and about 10 years ago I had a 13 R56 S. That R56 is the reason that I fell in love with Mini's and truthfully I hope to have another R56 one day. However, as the story goes, I had that car as a newlywed and once the wife got pregnant it was time to ditch the toys for a little bit. Now, two kids later and a little more caught up with life, I'm back to having toys. Started with the Miata (another bucket list car from my younger days) a few years ago and was able to build it from bone stock to a very respectable track toy over the course of ownership. However, being a two seater, my kids had to take turns going to the local cars and coffee/shows. Fast forward a little and I was able to work out a deal that would cost me the Miata but would gain me a R60 JCW all4. So, I went from a well built 2 seater, 6 speed, rwd, naturally aspirated fun car to a slightly modified, 4 seater (5 technically), 6 speed, awd, turbo fun car. So far both me and the previous owner are happy with the deal we made and my wife and kids can now all enjoy the car at the same time. The previous owner did do some tasteful mods too it and I'm going to pick up where he left of and continue the build. Goal is to build a fast "B road" car, that will see a few track events per year (hopefully) as well as perform decent as a daily. My daily commute is very short, less than 10 miles one way, so the performance goals will definitely take the lead on this build and if it gets too rowdy, I've got other modes of transportation.

One thing that I've noticed in my time lurking, is there's not a lot of R60 information out there. Because of this, I definitely plan on starting a build thread at some point (soon hopefully) and while the updates may be far apart, I am hopeful that they will be able to help someone like me in the future that is having a hard time finding information/parts/inspiration/etc. Also, I welcome any and all feedback/guidance/advise that can be offered, and I look forward to learning/helping as I can.

New Member Intro

Tstro — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:04:40 GMT

I just bought a 2006 Mini Cooper this morning for a 24 Hour of Lemons race. It should be a fun adventure for myself and a group of buddies. I am familiar with wrenching on cars, but have zero experience with Mini�s. I restored a 1989 Land Cruiser, and have always had fun working on friend�s projects.
She was a FB marketplace purchase. The engine runs really smooth and the 5spd clutch seems to work well. Very easy shifting. She�s definitely a Monet, good from afar, but up close she has the nicks and dings, faded paint, and worn interior of a 20 year old car.
I am mainly going to be interested in maintenance and upkeep with some mods and tuning that would help in a crazy race, all on a budget. A few quick questions:

What are some good sites for parts? New/used etc.
Are there readily available manuals?
Is there anything I should watch out for as I dive under the hood for this year of mini?
We may have some parts for sale, mostly interior.

Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated. I am used to car enthusiast forums and will try not to ask too many questions that are easily searched. In advance I apologize for noob questions
I will dive into the forums and start to figure some things out and look forward to this new experience.
Thanks
Tim Stromatt
Houston, TX

The new guy

12R57s — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:42:35 GMT

Just joined, looking forward to getting future info about our new to us mini R57, Bought it last year from an older couple who kept it garage kept no winter miles super clean no rust. 31k on it. already have done a few subtle things to it.

My 2nd Mini

Aderan — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:42:35 GMT

Introducing my new Mini

Admittedly it's more like a Maxi, but nothing makes me happier than an AWD manual transmission wagon. Mini may have my head for calling this thing a wagon but the silhouette doesn't lie.
It may only have 3 cylinders, but that turbo means I can have fun at legal speeds. Plus, that 3 cyl rumble sounds cool as hell. It's no GTI, but it's certainly more interesting than a golf

I wanted something bigger, coming from an F56 Cooper S. Given the choice between a Countryman and a Clubman, I'd rather drop dead being caught driving a crossover of any sort. After having test driven the Countryman, can decidedly say that the handling of the Clubman is much better too.

I can't wait to start tinkering with things. First on the list, upgrading the tail lights.