Sehr schön Kafer!

All my VWs were pretty beat down by the time I got them. The last was a '73. Orange. Had been parked by feel by previous owners, had rear-ended someone in a truck, and hit in the right rear just ahead of the wheel, and had weird camber that chewed up that tire as a result.

I straightened out the hood and spraypainted graffiti all over it. $5 to make it funny. Would've cost thousands to make it straight and boring. Never had any trouble merging in that car. People saw me coming and made room....

 

I've finished a number of other projects to finally make some time to get the Mini ready for this summer. She's on the lift, for starters:


I have to tackle the following items from a small fender-bender the kids had a while back:

• hood replacement (I have a color-matched used one, with the stripes, too!)
• new radiator
• new AC condenser - and get the AC working, finally!
• radiator support replacement (I found a good used one)

Then, there are some other items I've been wanting to tackle, too:

• Bilstein B6 shocks for the rear (I already have them for the front)
• New rear shock upper and lower spring pads (I'm going with Mini OE)
• New rear upper spring plates (also Mini OE)
• New upper shock bushings (I went with the polyurethane Problem Solving Bushings kit)
• New front wheel bearings (the left front is definitely louder than normal, and I might as well replace both as they've never been done)
• New front brake dust shields (I noticed mine are rusting in pieces)

Lastly, in the engine bay I'll take care of:

• New coolant reservoir
• Replace the oil-filter-housing to heat exchanger gaskets (I'm looking to address oil leaks)
• Replace the oil-filter-housing to block gasket (ditto)
• Replace the oil pressure sensor (ditto, since I'm in there anyway)
• Replace the valve cover gasket (ditto)

I think I've spelled it all out here as a means of keeping my to-do list straight! It's going to be a busy couple weeks of evenings and weekends.

 

@Here2Go that buggy looks sick AF!


I finished up wiring and installation of the main part of the meth kit, have hoses and wires ran and now I just need to installed the direct port kit!

 

Today, I removed the front wheel hubs and brake dust shields, the front bumper cover and reinforcement beam and the hood. I removed the headlights, washer nozzles, wiring and hoses, as well, in preparation for swapping them over to the replacement hood.

The right front bearing felt "chunky" when I turned it by hand - certainly more so than the left front's bearing.

I also adjusted the muffler hangers in the rear to try and tuck the tailpipes closer to the bottom of the bumper cover. The tailpipes were hanging too low after I had replaced the exhaust some time ago with a used take-off system I picked up.

 

I finished the Water Meth install today, took over 5 hours just for what's under the hood...nothing wanted to work with me and a bunch of things needed modification...but I got it done.

The Koala Spacer bolt holes and center top all gad to be grinded down for it to install. The spacer also wouldnt allow the ECS Intake to fit as it touched the bulkhead way before it would slide into the grommets, so I cut the bulkhead to allow room. Then I had to drill out holes for the hoses to slide in with grommets, drill and tap the charge pipe...

 

I'm working another areas of our Mini as I'm waiting for the parts for the rear suspension refresh to arrive. Today I got the old coolant reservoir out in preparation for the new one to go in... it sure looks to be about time for that:


And I'm also tackling replacing the valve cover gasket. In removing the old valve cover the bolt heads were so rusted and corroded I had to hammer on smaller size sockets to get 75% of them off. I'll be refreshing all those bolts as part of reinstalling the valve cover. But take a look at the inside of the valve cover - I think it was modified at some point:

Maybe there was a rattle or something that had to be solved by a previous owner/shop?

However, for having 177k miles, I think the valve train and timing chain look pretty good.




I already have a valve cover gasket. I'll have to order up the bolts for the cover. The cover's been working okay like this, and it has the original mini label and engine label, so I'll probably just keep using this cover.

 

@khnitz - Impressive undertaking/amount of work to tackle in one shot/(several weeks). Including the A/C issues you're facing - Kudos to you!

Your internal valve cover appears to look normal - same as my '04 R53.

Looking forward to reading your progress.

 

@knitz and @Raymo2u, awesome work! Start build threads here so it's easy to follow along: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni-builds-454/

 

Thank you! I didn't even think about that, Ill start one shortly

 

About 18 months ago I picked up a GP2 on Bring a Trailer to replace my R56S that was lost when my garage went up in flames. I have been having fun driving the GP2, haven't done much other than routine maintenance and peeling off the fading and cracked stickers since the GP2 spec covers most of the mods I had done to my S. I had the mod itch and decided to add gauges since I had the Cravenspeed / Marshall water temp and boost gauges on the S. The boost gauge on the S was fun at first but didn't really provide any useful information so I got water temp and oil pressure for the GP2, I wasn't happy with just having a light that turns on once there's a serious problem. After building wiring harnesses for the gauges I got the water temp gauge installed, pretty easy.

My first attempt to install the oil pressure gauge sender ended in frustration. Following Cravenspeed's instructions, I had removed the turbo hoses and coolant tank and dropped the fan down. I was able to reach in and remove the oil pressure switch then thread in the adapter. But I quickly realized that since the adapter moves the switch out a couple of inches, there wasn't enough slack in the cable to reconnect it. I put everything back together and the project sat on the shelf for a while.

Last Monday I decided it was time to get it done. First up was getting the front end into service mode so I could get access to the cable to splice a few extra inches in. On the R5x LCI cars that means putting the front end up on jackstands, removing the GP2 engine undertray, removing the wheels, removing the wheel well liners, releasing the clips on the front of the wheel arches, removing all the screws, clips, and plastic push rivets to take off the front grille and front bumper cover. Then remove the front crash bar, the screws for the headlights on each side, the coolant tank, turbo hoses on each side, and the bolts by the shock towers that hold the U shaped bar that runs around the front of the car and supports the radiators, the manual calls it the lock bar. Then the radiators and fan can slide and tilt forward. By the time I got all that done I was questioning my life choices and wondering if it was going to be worth it.

Over the next few days I spliced the wires to lengthen the cable for the pressure switch, which wasn't as simple as it sounds because it's part of a harness of sensor connectors that all had to be disconnected, then take off the cooling hose for the turbo to get the whole bunch up out from below the turbo and behind the thermostat hoses so there was enough room to work on it. Doing the splicing was the easy part, then I got it all re-routed back to where it belonged. OK this was starting to feel like progress!

Next up was getting the adapter for the pressure gauge installed. The adapter is a beautifully machined hex bar that has a male threaded fitting that goes into the block where the oil pressure switch was and has ports on all six sides to connect the tubing that goes to the remote pressure sensor. The original oil pressure switch then screws in the end. You have to install the adapter, tighten it, figure out which one of the 6 sides has clearance to install the tubing connector, remove it and plug the other 5 holes, then put it back in. The connector for the tubing has to be screwed in after the adapter is in place because there's no clearance to screw in the adapter with it. Instead of using the connectors and 1/8" copper tubing provided with the Cravenspeed kit, I purchased a 90 degree swivel fitting and braided AN-3 hose from Summit Racing which added some extra challenge. Getting the adapter threaded in meant dropping it a couple of times into nearly inaccessible places, shifting it with a long screwdriver to where I could just barely get my fingers on it, and trying again.Through a near-miraculous combination of persistence, dexterity, and luck I got it all together once I had made the required blood sacrifice and turned my right forearm into hamburger. Even with those extra few inches from moving the radiators forward it is still really tight in there!

I think it was Thursday evening by the time I got the adapter, fittings, hose, new oil pressure sensor, and original switch all installed. I quickly reconnected the coolant lines and turbo hoses, plugged in the gauge, crossed my fingers, and started the engine to check for leaks. Whew! No drips or seeps. Here's a pic showing the adapter, swivel fitting, and AN-3 hose to the pressure sensor, and the original pressure switch with the extended cable. I zip tied the sensor to the lock bar under the connector for the hood release cable.



Friday it was time to start putting the car back together. After getting the radiators back in place I was about to put the front crash bar on, then decided as long as I had everything apart I'd install the Wagner intercooler I had saved from my old R56S. Many of the large aftermarket intercoolers for the Gen2 LCI cars require cutting a notch in the lower crash bar since they are much thicker than the factory intercooler. Fortunately I had been down that road before, out came the angle grinder. A few iterations of grind / test fit / repeat and I had clearance, then I touched up the notch with some black spray paint. I was feeling pretty stoked and went to put the front bumper cover on. Crap, the lower grille was hitting the intercooler on both sides. That was a sign to put the tools down for the day and go fix dinner.

Saturday morning I got started early. With a fresh mind I looked at where the grille was hitting the intercooler. Ah ha, just a little trim of some of the plastic required. The Dremel tool made quick work of that, the bumper cover fit, and I put the bumper cover back on. Right after I put the last plastic pop rivet in place I saw the brake duct that I had forgotten to install, so I had to take off the bumper cover and crash bar, snap in the brake duct, and put it all back together again - wheel well liners, GP2 undertray, wheels, get it down off the jack stands, and go for a drive around the block. The oil pressure gauge responds nicely, no leaks. To celebrate I washed the car.

OK that was "What did I do to my MINI last week", it was a long project!

 

Almost all of the parts are in for the various repairs and updates I'm making to prepare the Mini for Summer.


Just a few more parts shipments have to come in through the rest of the week.

The new radiator support came shipped as three pieces, with the wings bolting up to the middle - I like that new design a lot. I'm going to explore if I can reconfigure the attaching bolts so that the center section can be removed on its own to make front-of-engine servicing easier.

I also was able to remove the old warning and info labels from the original radiator support (a hairdryer made it easy). Then I cleaned off the old adhesive from the labels with rubbing alcohol. I have some old sheets of 3M VHB adhesive lying around (earlier in my career, we would use these to attach prototype PCBs to aluminum heatsinks - this was for ABS controllers), so I cut and attached those to the labels and installed them on the new radiator support.



I like to keep things looking original, if possible 😁

 

That 3 piece (R52/R53) radiator support :
Since its comprised of 3 bolt together sections; Does it feel pretty sturdy/solid once bolted together?

The factory original one on my 04 R53 (manual) had a couple of small cracks on each side/"wings", but I managed to heat weld/plastic solder them back even stronger. But sooner or later I plan on replacing my radiator. I'm pretty certain that my original heat stressed, brittle radiator support may not survive the transplant.

Your thoughts?
Thanks.

PS: I like the fact that you too like to keep things looking as original by moving the factory stickers over from the old to to the new.
Perhaps insignificant to some - but little things like that matter to me as well.

 

The pieces interlock as well as screw together, so that would add some strength. I fit all the pieces together, and it felt at least as sturdy as the original.

I thought about using a hot stapler to fix the original one, too, but for just over $100 this replacement was a decent solution.

 

Replaced the old and failed "egg yolk" lights on MINIMNT with new Union Jack ones from VLAND. While I really like the egg yolk lights the OEM ones had completely failed to the point of dimming the light output. It was difficult to get the OEM lights out as they had been in there 20+ years. The spring clips are very springy, the space is tight and the weather stripping had turned into adhesive but eventually I was able to push the old ones out. I had to run to the hardware store to get the correct nuts for the mounting studs- the M6 ones on the OEM lights were too big as the VLAND studs are M5. Two flange stop nuts and two washers took care of that.




Here you can see just how faded the OEM ones were.




Half installed with the hazard flashers on. The VLAND ones can do either the full "T" when signaling or just animation on the horizontal line. The vertical line does not light up red when braking when the turn signals are animated so I'm not sure yet how I want to use these. In other words, when signaling there is no brake light on that side no matter which signal version you are using. I will be asking VLAND if the vertical can light up with the animated signal.
As this is a pre-facelift car I will be running the backup light to at least one side and may find a way to make the other one a fog light.
I usually shy away from aftermarket lights due to the poor quality but these are totally worth it IMHO.

Val

 

Found this interesting…. I opened up my airbox this morning to swap out the air filter, and found that the airbox has a small valve on the back side. Is this just a JCW thing? I don’t remember hearing this valve being mentioned before. It was all junked and sticky, so I pulled it out and cleaned it up so it moved pretty freely. Is this a noise release valve? Thoughts?

 

hi I'm15 I just finished fixing up a 2005 mini cooper base r50 to be my first car. i have it pretty much complete no issues now but i was wondering if i should do any sort of upgrades because i plan on keeping this car until it dies, any suggestions for upgrades
or tips to keep it running for a long time would be great

the cooper

 

Tonight I finished installing new front wheel bearings (I used NSK 62BWKH01A1 wheel hubs/bearing for our 10/05 build R52S). I had to wait for new brake dust shields to come in from AK24parts.com in Estonia - these are Febi/Bilstein parts 175303 (for the left, Mini PN 34 11 6 754 927) and 175304 (for the right, Mini PN 34 11 6 754 928) - they were very reasonably priced, I just had to wait about 3 weeks for them to arrive.

More parts will be installed through the evenings this week and over the weekend.

 

First post! Welcome to NAM.

Nice looking MINI and appears to be in really good shape. Hope you get to enjoy your MINI for a good long time.

As for any upgrades? Nope, none. These were pretty bulletproof by 2005. As for things to do to keep it running forever…
Oil and filter changes at no more than every 5000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Make sure that it is always full, even if it is a quarter quart low.

If the coolant overflow tank is no longer white, replace it. Check hoses. If soft, replace them.

You didn’t say whether it is a CVT (automatic) or a stick. Either one, do a fluid change. If it is a CVT have a dealer do it. I know, big $$, but I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else. We have a 2004 base Cooper with the CVT and have had the fluid changed every 30K miles. Hope to make it last for ever.

If it is a CVT, if it is cold out let the engine warm up until the temperature gauge has moved to about 1/8th inch past the lowest mark before putting it in D.

Exhaust system, if it needs replacement go with the Milltek. It is stainless steel and it has a great, but pretty quite sound.

Use quality parts if anything needs replacing. Search NAM for what others have used.

Give your car a Name! And start your own thread and tell us about your car and what you are doing with it.

Enjoy and motor on.

 

The part description is "Intake noise attenuator / air duct", I have seen similar things on other airboxes and intake ducts. It appears to be on the unfiltered side, I'm guessing it is there to eliminate a resonance at some particular RPM.

 

Definitely pre-filter. When I pulled it out, was all bunked up and stuck closed. I cleaned it all up and reassembled it back up. To my untrained eye, no way is there enough air flow to make any performance difference. The majority of the intake air is coming from the front of the car. It almost seems to me like it’s there to make intake whistling sounds. The car always sounded like it had extra intake noises, even though it’s all stock. With it functioning as designed, almost seems like the whistling is now louder than before. I wish I took more pictures when I had it all disassembled…

 

I was sidelined a little bit this weekend, so I didn't get as far along with work in the Mini as I hoped. Still, today I was able to replace the 2 pieces of the hydraulic clutch line for the slave cylinder in the engine compartment.

The areas in the circle are why I decided to replace these 2 (of the 3) clutch hydraulic line sections. I didn't want them to fail in some short time after already having had the front end apart for all the other service work I'm performing.

I slipped a section of fuel line hose over the new upper one in that area to further protect it.

It's a two-man job to reconnect the upper hose to the line that's inside the cabin. I had my son give me a hand for a few minutes on that.
I still have to finish seating the grommet at the firewall. It's a real pain as it's behind the vacuum booster and there's no easy way to reach it. Also, it seems the battery lead, part of the hood release cable, and some other stuff is a little bit in the way making it more difficult back there. I'll get it handled tomorrow night.

 

Nifty new smoked LED corner marker lights:

 

I've created a thread for my Spring refresh here. I left it in the first-gen section, though.

I was able to finish getting the grommet for the clutch hydraulic lines seated at the firewall - the key was to attack it from above by removing the cowl grille/vent above it 🤦(details in that linked thread).

 

I had wheels installed on my car, and then took the time to install 15mm spacers, ignition coils, plugs, DINANtronics, intake, and exhaust. It's a totally different car now.

Dinan coils and plugs

Dinan Badge

Dinan Exhaust

Dinan Intake and Dinantronics

Dinan Spacers

Voxx Felina Wheels

 

I almost forgot - I did some appearance pieces, too - Black Jack mirror caps and Scuttles that go absolutely perfect with the moonwalk grey. Thank you ECS Tuning…