Hello all! I'm new on NAM and also a proud new (to me) MCS (R53) owner. I purchased a 2003 MCS as a project, as sadly it was not running when purchased but I got a HOT DEAL on it, and I couldn't bear the though of it rotting away in a field somewhere. I will be detailing the work I'm having to do here (hopefully in the correct forum) and would appreciate any comments or advice from the members here, as I have a lot of professional auto tech experience but I am not well-versed in the nuance of the BMW-built MINIs.

I will attempt to provide pictures for the work I am doing, but have a habit of getting into my work and forgetting to photo anything! I will, possibly later today, list out the shortcomings of this car and the parts and labor I am pouring into it in order to breathe new life into this fine motor.

 

Welcome to the MINIacs...

Yes there are lots of nuances to these cars, but I'm sure you will find it rewarding.

Lots of Club members down there in Columbus so you should be able to find some handy help.

Motor on!

 

I love rebuild / restore threads!

 

OK, let me see if I can remember the things I need to fix or the parts I have ordered off the top of my head…

• New hatch hinges (one broken)
• seat covers (stitching split on both front seats)
• missing fender trim
• broken front bumper reflector/light
• H/K amp is dead- ordered a $40 E46 amp and will mod it to work
• EWS was all screwy- EWS/DME/Key currently at RPMS to remedy
• a few small rust spots (northern car, but surprisingly unrusted)
• The fuse panel was replaced (interior) and a hack mechanic tried to see why it wouldn't start, so all the wiring by the fuse box is hanging out, but connected, and all the panels under the steering wheel are out. I may need assistance getting all that back in place, as I have no idea how it's supposed to be in there, especially the spaghetti wires.

I'm sure this isn't all, as I'm getting a lot of packages I don't remember ordering until I open them. LOL. By the way, I'm trying to get this car in order as cheaply as possible for now, so that's why the cheap seat covers, etc. Running and driving first- looking super nice second.

As always, any help and/or advice is always welcome.

 

I forgot about the brake rotors being very rusty, but luckily the seller had a complete set of brand new pads and rotors he threw in with the car! Hopefully I don't have to rebuild/ replace any calipers. Not beyond me, I'd just like to drive this car!

 

Also cracked windshield. I think maybe this car is a culmination of all the R53 issues. HA. Hopefully a lot of them will stay fixed after I fix them.

Update: My DME/EWS/Key should be back from RPMS tomorrow! Hopefully this thing will fire up now.

 

Best of luck with the project. Can't wait to see the before and after pictures

 

The windshields get pitted enough after 11 years that a cracked one is a welcome
excuse to replace it anyway.

 

I promised pics, so here they are!!






On this one you can see a terrible patch job, which I get to dig out and re-do.

I have no idea how this spaghetti goes back in there… if anyone has a pic or can just tell me, that would be most helpful!!!

Well, there she is. Hopefully she'll be looking and running much better in a week or two!!

 

Got the belt on. Easy enough, even though the first on I was sent was for an R50… doesn't quite fit. I got the right one sorted and fitted.

The newly refreshed DME is installed (sans EWS, because I don't need it anymore) and wouldn't you know??? Both of my batteries are flat. I should have charged one overnight, so for now, I'm waiting to see if she'll fire up!!

Got new bolts for the new ignition coil, without the stupid sleeves. I need to get washers for the rubber bushings I reused, but it's fine as-is for now.

I guess I'll eat something, then start on my brakes. I found silver/gray high temp paint, so that's what I'm painting the rusty calipers with. Painting the spring clips black. I think that will go well with the silver car and black wheels.

Well… food then back to work!

 

Good luck with the spaghetti! That is not something I'd care to work on!

 

I cranked it! Evidently, the battery wasn't dead, but the alternator is seized. Ugh! More parts ordered...

 

Finished with the WORST brake job in history!! All of the rotors and screws had become one piece. I finally got finished after 3 days and 3 broken T50 bits, one of which was an impact bit. Worst of all is the heat we are having outside right now. I also painted my calipers (very quickly and not the best paint job) just so they would look a bit better than the rust color they were. Anyway, here's a pic of the shiny new brakes with painted calipers:

 

Wow, this is a project, glad you are bringing it back, If you need parts. We have them here. Was someone going to use this as a parts car ?


www.ecstuning.com

When you do get the fuse panel in order I beleieve a cpuple of the wires are loomed together. The cloth webbed tape is good for this. Cloth Webbed Adhesive Tape. Thats what they used from the factory on the wiring harness.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/Bmw_Tape/



Good luck and congrats on the fixes. Bring it back to life.

 

This will be a fun thread to follow. Since I'm the soccer mom clubman driving one here and took my clubby in to the mechanic when I thought I had a reverse light out (clubbies only have one reverse light...sigh!)...I drove away laughing pretty hard. Anyhow, I love to read and learn and following your adventures with fixing your Mini up will be fun!

Good luck!!

 

Yep, just one on the rear corner.

 

OK, as of Friday, she is running and driving. I got the alternator replaced, much more quickly than I thought I would… About 1.5 hours. Luckily, the suspension, steering and alignment seem spot on! Everything feels tight and responsive. That being said, I'm not sure this thing is totally stock. The S/C pulley and crank pulley definitely look stock, but the car seems faster on the road than it does on paper. 60mph seems to come faster with this car than in my LS3 Camaro, which is strange, but awesome. Unless the speedo is off.

I got my spaghetti sorted, and that panel back in. I'm leaving the other panels out until my AUX adapter comes in.

I got my E46 H/K amp all modded up and installed. Yay music!. I've been driving around listening the The Clash all weekend. Seems fitting for some reason.

I replaced my boot hinges and struts. Now I can actually access the boot without the lid trying to fall off and scratching the top.

Whilst driving over the weekend, I got my first MINI driver wave!! Thank you friendly lady in the blue R53!!

Now for some bad… The aircon is not working. The compressor makes a tiny click if I jumper the relay, but the clutch doesn't engage. I'm assuming a compressor or compressor clutch will be a reality in the near future. $$$

The driver's window screeches horribly on the felt/rubber seal on the inside. Not sure what to do there, but it needs to stop… any ideas?

The left rear brake says "chirp, chirp" the whole time driving. I think it may be the rotor, as that is the only rotor that is a different brand than the other new rotors, because the brake parts I got with the car had 3 front rotors and one rear, and I didn't notice until I was in the middle of the brake job. I have noticed the odd-brand rotor has different machining marks. It was machined with like a crosshatch on the friction surface, where the other ones the machining lines go around the friction surface. This may be the issue. The braking performance is fine, just an annoying noise.

I do get a slight kick-back from the brakes on aggressive braking. I may bleed that brakes to see if this is the issue. It stops really well, though. My ABS light is on and my DSC is eternally off, I may investigate this, but I prefer my cars with fewer aids anyway, so not a huge issue at this time.

I cannot change the hours on the clock!! Frustrating, especially since clocks with the wrong time bug me to no end. The minutes change fine, but nothing from pushing the hours button. I wonder if I can set it through the computer, but probably not.

The supercharger sounds and performs silky smooth. Strong boost all over, no yo-yo, and not a hint of grinding from it. Impressive for the mileage of the car. No complaints here though.

I still need to wash her and clean up this inside from the car being stored!!

I was also told by the PO that it took me less than 2 weeks to diagnose and fix what a dealership and independent specialist couldn't fix in 9 months. With a minimum of expense I might add. I budgeted 5k total for this project, including buying the car. I am still under 4k so far, so I think I'm going to come in under… hopefully.

I feel the work on the car will probably slow down now, as all I want to do is drive the car!! I haven't wanted to just go and drive in quite a while, so I think I may have found the absolute perfect car for me!! Especially since it is now born of my sweat, blood, beer and a whole lot of foul language…

As always, if anyone has any tips or advice or comments, please do share. Also, thank you to the well-wishers thus far in this thread and a HUGE shout-out to Zach and RPMS in Canada for getting my DME/EWS issue sorted so I could drive my car. Dealing with them was nothing but a wonderful experience and I highly, highly recommend them for all of your DME needs, should you have the misfortune to have any. I think that's it for now, more updates and pics to come soon!

I recommend the E46 H/K amp to anyone with a broken amp in their MINI. I paid a whopping 40 bucks for mine and the mod was extremely easy to make it work properly. Waaay cheaper than sourcing a MINI H/K amp, and the satisfaction of doing something yourself while saving money!

 

This car deserves a zombie paint / vinyl scheme when full resurrected

 

The PO was selling it as a parts car, but I thought it deserved to remain alive, so I got a heck of a deal on it!!

Also, I already had a whole mess of the web tape, which I got from you guys when doing some work on my MK2 GTI. Luckily, I get to deal with a lot of the same companies with the MINI as I do with my VW. Makes things a lot easier.

 

I was very much considering that, but I love the silver, and already have plans for the exterior. Maybe I'll get some zombie eyes for the fender liners under the hood!!

 

If someone could check out the pic of the boot in an earlier post, and give me advice on digging out that horrible patch job without A. Ruining the sheet metal around it. B. Costing a fortune. C. Taking an inordinate amount of time. I would be forever grateful, and if you're local-ish, I'll buy you a drink of your choice. Including single-malt within reason. I'm not sure if that is Bondo or JB Weld or something else. I do know it's hideous and need to be repaired correctly. Thanks in advance.

 

Awesome , Thanks.

If you do need anything else, you know where to go.


On that rust spot that looks like it was fixed with bondo ? , I think you are right out of the rust warranty year, 6 years pre 2004 , 12 years post 2004+ I believe is the body and rust for MINI. Looks like someone tried to fix it, common on salt belt MINIs driven year round with high mileages.

Good luck.

 

Well, compliments of the MINI, I got my first speeding ticket EVER today . 18 years of driving and I suddenly get popped for speeding. Hopefully my insurance doesn't get ridiculous. Gone is my spotless driving record, as well. And now I can't have any more fun on my very curvy, but evidently speed-trap road. it's a nice wide 2-lane, great pavement, but the speed limit all the way down is between 25 and 35 evidently. And this is a low traffic road pretty much in the country. Why such a low speed limit???!!! To top it all off, I'm pretty sure my fine will be more as I hold a commercial driver's license that I had to get for my old job, and decided to keep the CDL just in case I ever needed it. GRRRR!

 

I don't know about GA, but in AZ I can take a driving safety class and get the ticket dismissed. I know, over the decades I've done that a couple of times.

 

I think I can do that here, too. I checked my fine just in case, and it's not really that much, either.