I've had El Toro 3 weeks now. I'm enjoying him a LOT

He's nothing spectacular compared to some I've seen.. Prem Pkg with sunroof auto a/c, etc; NFR with black roof and mirror caps; armrest; sport seats; piano blk interior; front fog lamps, auto trans.

The only thing I've done is put a british flag 'cling' on the rear window (picked it up in March while I was in UK). Oh, and I do have the chrome with UK flag license plate holder, whoopie.

Does anyone have any suggestions on something to dress him up a bit?

Race Stripes? I thought of that, but everyone has those don't they?

What was the first thing you did to your mini?

 

The first thing I did when I got my MINI is learn how to drive it. My '05 was my first car with stick. I had only driven 1 other car before that and it was YEARS before.

After that I got a vinyl cutter and now I can dress it up as often as I want.

 

Vinyl cutter? You'll have to excuse me, but I've never done anything to a car but drive it, put gas in it and take it to get serviced, lol.

I knew how to drive a stick already, but since I commute, often in heavy traffice, I got an automatic.

Yes, I think I'm still learning to drive it! It didn't seem to 'go' right the first week.. the gas pedal didn't seem to respond, then I realized I need to put my entire foot on the pedal and leave it there, not just press the lower part of the pedal with the top of my foot, lol I also need to learn how to use the optional manual/steptronic trans 'thing'.

I generally love it, but I do wish 1. it would alert you when you leave the sunroof open and lock the car 2. I need to figure out if I can do something with the front fog lamps. They seem to point up, and don't do much good.

 

I haven't done a lot of exterior mods on my car, but the first thing I did was the stripes(black with white pin stripes). Those got changed to some custom ones about 6 months later. Aesthetic Creations and Cooper Flags are NAM Vendors who do great work, and will work with you to create custom designs. You can have stripes, but not like everyone else. For example, these are for sale in the NAM Marketplace

Along the same lines, you can get other custom graphics made for your MINI-graphics don't just have to go on the bonnet.

Check out the Interior/Exterior threads, and browse the NAM Gallery for some inspiration.

Have you considered: Driving lights? Grille Badges(change the look frequently)? Different mirror caps/designs?

I realize that probably wasn't a lot of help to you, but it's hard to make recommendations for another person's MINI. For what its worth, we were at the Dragon this year and saw 400-500 MINIs, and the only ones we saw that were identical were the GP MINIs. The only limit is your imagination.

Also, welcome to MINI Ownership and NAM from SE Missouri!

Have you checked out the Arkansas MINI clubs?
Little Rock MINIAcs http://www.littlerockminiacs.com/
Arkansas MINI Owners Klub www.motoringamok.com
Mid-South MINIacs(Memphis) www.midsouthminiacs.org

Happy Motoring!



(P.S. We want to see pics of your MINI!)

 

Thanks.. I'll check out the links and see about getting 'something' done.

I have checked out the Arkansas links, doesn't seem to be much going on though. I'm pretty sure its because there aren't very many minis around the state.

I've only seen 2 different ones in the last 6 mos or so since i started looking for them.

One thought I've had was to see about getting a 'shee' UK and US flag- 1 flag on each half of the sunroof (my mom is british, dad american). The mini site only gave that option for the checkered flag.

here i go, checking out your links when I should be working.

 

El Toro needs a tail glued to the rear bum per and horns for a hood ornament.

Maybe not tasteful, but certainly appropriate.

(typos intentional)

 

thats funny.. and i did 'briefly' consider some horns on the bonnet.. not gonna happen!

there is a bull that is on billboards all over spain that, if I can find a window 'cling' for, I'll put that on the rear window..

I found this
http://www.theblackbull.org/
but they only have bumper stickers.. i'd rather have a 'cling' .. still looking.

 

Hi Tess, good your having fun with the MINI. Do you have a picture of that rear window 'cling' you found in the UK? Is it on some website, perhaps?

I take it is transparent and similar to a replaceable 'tint package'. I would like to put a tasteful British Flag in my DS MINI!

Keep thinking of ideas to make your MINI yours, I'm not much on bull horns on the bonnet, unless your a lost old time cowgirl/boy. Maybe your Caddy convert. would be better candidate for those horns, if you have one sitting in the garage.

A Bull 'cling' fits 'El Toro', good luck and take a picture for us.

Btw, the first thing on 'scooter' was a 4" Alta stubby antenna and the full clearbra for those little Colorado pebbles that blow in our wind.

Now scooter has a Brit. Flag license plate insert and the nice Brit. Flag chome license plate holder. Waiting for my Colorado car plates, when I get the time and desire to go down to the DMV. Then I will have rethink my plate inserts again.

 

I'm no cowgirl and never owned a caddy! I won't be putting any horns on the bonnet, just a brief stupid thought, i have those often.

he just looks like a little bull to me, has something to do with the black and red colors I'm sure.. and Toros just happened to have been my HS mascot when I was in HS overseas. I didn't choose those colors for that reason, just like them.

the UK flag cling is just a small one i put on the center of the window, it's about 4" x 3" if I had to guess. I would love to find something that covers the entire window and is clear and removeable. I may contact my cousin in England and see if he has any resources. He owns a car repair business so he may know something.

What is the advantage to having the 4" Alta stubby antenna ?
Clearbra is something I thought about, do you recommend it? I don't get as many rocks as I do bugs, and they can't really harm the paint I guess? Does the clearbra come clean easily and do you have to remove it in a carwash?

 

Can't answer the question about the clear bra, but I can (maybe) answer the one about the antenna.

A short antenna takes away the "remote control" car look of the large antenna on the back of the car. I have a short antenna on my cabrio, and the reception is the same as the larger antenna. If you switch to a short antenna, keep the long one in case you are at an event with antenna flags-they don't fit on the short antenna.

There is a Poker Run planned for October in SE Missouri if you are interested. We have some really nice curvey roads. You can watch this thread for more info. We had a great time last year.

 

Well, the 4" antenna gets rid of the RC toy car look, some of us love the look, some don't. I'm a don't really care for the RC look, radio reception is the same, but we have a lot of stations packing the FM band in Denver. I keep the long antenna in the boot for when I'm far out in the boonies or use the Ipod which is my preferred listening.

Clear Bra, I highly recommend, it washes and waxes well, it never is taken off after it is applied unless you are getting it reapplied because of a collision or some other misfortune. If it gets hazy/light scratches, my guy recommends you use rubbing alchohol to take out the haze.

I understand your 'cling', I will have to see if any of the shops in Denver can do something custom for a full rear window or check out AC a vendor here on NAM. Guess it is time to contact AC anyway, as they will be up in Copper Mountain with MITM2 in August.

If something becomes available, I will try to remember to let you know.

 

Always looked like a bulldog to me.

 

How about some pics so we can help you decide which mods would give your MINI some Eye-Popping bang for your buck ?

And for the clearbra... I highly recommend it and have had mine on for almost a year now. But if you're looking to make visually appealing mods, that's not it. One of the best things about the clearbra is that you can't see it unless you're VERY close. If that wasn't the case, it would be called a Notsoclearbra.

Anyway, pics please !!

Ps. I'm the originator of The Mad Modder Club. So I know of what I speak when it comes to exterior mods.

 

http://www.zaragozatoros.com/MyMini/torito.htm

here's a few.. i'll get some more this weekend and post them

 

It's PERFECT, I wouldn't change a thing !!

Kidding.

Okay, I'm normally a checkered freak-a-maniac. But on Nightfire Red, I don't think it would be the right move. So... if that were MY MINI, the first thing I would do is add the bonnet and boot stripes. I would go with black with chrome pinstripes on the edges.

My second change would be the wheels. Those are too plain for such a great car (man, I hate to use the word car when talking about a MINI).

Next, I would change out those mirror caps for chrome caps.

And then, I'd start on the interior 'cuz the exterior would be pretty damn hot.

 

great suggestion, i actually wanted chrome mirror caps originally, but i got this one without having to wait and the caps were only a minor sacrifice.

I had also thought about black stripes.. didn't know you could do chrome trim on them, but then again, I guess you can do just about anything for a price! Also, on some thread here, someone had 'sort of' checkered stripes, just black, not black and white, adn instead of square they were diamond shape.. I liked those!!

I'll have to find that thread and see about getting some! Do you have a link that would show me what the blk w/chrome stripes look like?

So, where do I start if I want stripes, do i attempt this myself? Do I find a pro somewhere to do it for me?

And.. yes I'd thought of better wheels.. I'll do some shopping around.

I guess i can 'rebuild' my mini online with the different wheels offered and see what I like..
I'm such a mini newbie, lol

 

Start here:

http://aestheticreations.net/bonnetstripes.htm

Also check out the pics on the gallery:

http://aestheticreations.net/galleryframeset.htm

I think you're talking about the "flying checkers" bonnet stripes. Yes, there is a thread with some pics and those are also nice.

Okay, you have some ideas. Giddyup and go !!

 

you dont look very happy in your pictures! SMILE!! you just got a MINI!

 

yeah i know...i'm weird about having my pic taken, plus i was hungover a bit :impatient

 

I attached some not very good pics of my black/chrome stripes-and yes, the car was dirty at the time -but I hope they help you. If you want better pics, let me know.

I got my black/chrome stripes from Aesthetic Creations. They were more expensive than stripes without chrome, but were still less than the factory stripes. He included installation instructions, and I did that myself. I spent over an hour measuring, measuring and measuring to be sure they were in the right place, but about 20 minutes to install. It was really pretty easy. If you don't want to try to install them yourself, a vinyl sign/vehicle graphics shop would probably install them for a reasonable price.

If you want chrome mirror caps, keep an eye on eBay. You can frequently find a set that someone replaced at a pretty good price(I found a set of new Hot Orange caps for $20), just be sure they are for a 2007 or R56 MINI.

 

thanks so much.. I love that orange! When I bought mine there were a few orange ones an they are beautiful.. but the ones in stock were sidewalk.. and way over my price range!

I like the black with chrome trim, better than "jake's stripes" that had more chrome.. i'll go over to the website and see what i can get ordered. I just realized that a good friend of mine is into Nissan Z cars and has done this before, maybe I can sweet talk him into doing it for me or with me!

I have a GB sticker also that I am going to put on the boot and am on a continous search for a rear window union jack graphic. But, I'm wondering, would the heat of the rear defrost mess with that? (thinking out loud)

 

Tess, take a look in my gallery...there are the driving lights, the retro gas cap, exterior chrome package, different wheels, and the bonnet stripes...you can browse and decide what things you like and don't like....I'd like to find some kind of graphic for the roof, but I'm really debating that too.....My next upgrade will be interior...the stereo!!!