Sunflower's Inaugural West Coast Adventure
 

Hey guys!

I joined NAM 5 months ago, right before buying my boss’ irresponsibly maintained R53 MCS. I then worked as much as I could at my internship to be able to fix my newly acquired MINI before the end of the summer, so (hopefully) I could go on a West Coast road trip with my girlfriend….

Everything that could have gone wrong with preparations went wrong. Two weeks ago, my A/C compressor seized and blew chunks of metal through the entire system. The following day, my window motor broke. Last week, when I went to get an alignment on the $600 of suspension components I put in, they couldn’t align it because BOTH wheel bearings were jiggling (the following day, they started growling btw). Good eye, Mr. Mechanic.

Well, against all odds/speculation, it happened. Without a/c, sure—but it happened. I’m not much of a blogger/internet type, but I’ve really come to appreciate the community and advice I’ve found here. So...I’ve decided to tell the following tale of Sunflower’s West Coast Adventure here! Nobody I’m friends with on Facebook gives a crap anyway, haha.

We're still on the trip (currently finishing up day 2 of San Francisco), so bear with me if I don't post daily. :thumbsup:

————— DAY 1 —————

9:30am: Woke up 3 hours late. Consequently waste another hour arguing about whose fault it was that we didn’t wake up. Decide to depart despite the temperatures we would face, because we had AirBnB reservations we wouldn’t get refunded if we delayed the trip by a day. “Well, I guess this means we’re not gonna have a hell of a time getting through the desert,” I think to myself. Little did we know…

1:00pm: Pull out of my dad’s driveway (in the Westernmost part of Phoenix, convenient last stop to check fluids/tires before we hopped on the I-8. Coolant looked low, added coolant.

2:00pm: Begin I-8 to San Diego. Quickly realize that my radiator fan is no longer functioning, as we hit traffic and my temperature starts to spike. This is the moment I began to religiously monitor my coolant temperature via the handy dandy startup menu system in the speedo (19, LI-OFF, 7). Turned on motor, and the temperature read “101”. :eek:

2:15pm: After a short freakout/cigarette break, I realized that I added coolant while the motor was on, thereby overfilling the system. Gingerly opened the tank, as a small geyser erupted out of the cap. Allowed boiling to settle. Back on the road.

2:30pm: Temperatures stabilize at 80C. Heat+pressure=more heat, apparently. Who knew? :lol::lol::lol:

4:00pm: Begin to question our decision to embark so late (luckily, gf had the foresight to bring a spray bottle, which happened to be the sole reason we survived the drive (120F in direct sunlight for 6 hours, not fun).

6:00pm: Started ascending mountains, began running into misfire issues. Dang, guess I need spark plugs and wires. Called in an order to O’Reilly’s in El Cajon.

7:00pm: Stopped at Desert View Tower shortly after crossing into California. Snapped photo #1 of the MINI!

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8:00pm: Watched sunset while coming down from the mountains East of El Cajon.

8:45pm: Stopped at O’Reilly’s in El Cajon, picked up a scrubbing brush kit for the ignition coil terminals.

9:00pm: Got $30 worth of yummy seafood tacos, ate picnic-style in Balboa Park, went to our AirBnB and promptly fell asleep from heat exhaustion.

————— DAY 2 —————

8:00am: Woke up, installed spark plugs, cleaned ignition coil terminals. Snapped some awesome photos. Note: AirBnB owner drives a MINI too!!! Tried out my new-and-improved MINI…holy cow this car never had this much low-end acceleration! VGS mod+DIY intake+new ignition system is quite the experience.

10:30am: Passed a beautiful Clubman passing by LAX airport. Cool lighting in the tunnel. Got a great set of airplane-landing photos too!

1:00am-5:00pm: A combination of LA traffic and various shopping outlets set us back. Got to Mulholland, drove a few miles, realized what time it was, decided to drive Mulholland and Old Topanga on our way back down the coast.

6:00pm: Beautiful descent out of LA area, on the way to Morro Bay!

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9:00pm: Roll into Morro Bay Dunes RV park, set up camp. Went immediately to sleep.