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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
NOTE TO SELF:
When scouring the boneyard and you come across a "gem" of a part in a perfect condition or rare item but can't afford it at the time; Pull the part and stash it several rows away in or under an unrelated junker. AND NOT in the junker right next to the one you found the "gem" in!
Odds are it ain't gonna be there 2weeks later when your ready to buy it.
Another kit you don’t see around much anymore Orciari. Not a fan of any of them to be honest, though some components like the Orciari rear wing may be an exception. https://www.facebook.com/share/1Dm9qhtLRe/
I have to admit; I've done some custom builds similar to this on older cars...but I would NEVER do this to a Mini.
Such a shame
(but hey,...that's just me)
also this morning --- got an alert from LKQ but ever since they "updated" the interface it doesn't work on my phone for some reason and i have to get on the desktop to actually find out where it might be.
this one ended up being in Greer S.C.
then, as i am prone to do sometimes, had a glance around amongst far-flung places just to see what was out there because it's always interesting to me to see these old R53's
here's a couple from South Bend and it's been a while since i've seen a Cherry Bomb !!!
although almost inevitably always damaged,
it's still cool to see the aero skirts in junkyard . . .
I dunno; but those aero side skirts look pretty salvageable to me! The rest of the kit looks really good. I think that'd be a great score even if a little repair was in order.
BTW: Correct me if I'm wrong; but I'd always thought that LKQ was not a pull and pay salvage lot (?).
I now live near an area that has a 3+ mile stretch of road that is nothing but auto salvage yards as far as the eye can see!. There is a U-PULL & PAY and a huge LKQ lot. But I've never been to it for parts.
So far I've documented at least 20 or more "shamers" over the last year since I've been out here, that I've yet to upload the images.
Sadly this area is all about flipping junkers...Seems I've noticed that most of the salvage yard Minis are haphazardly ripped apart by guys that don't know that much about Minis and just rip things apart because they don't know how to properly disassemble them. Unnecessarily damaging good parts in the process.
Savages!
but their site is somewhat clunky --- i did find an aerokit on there in 2020 but did not pursue it
just now when looking for a storefront pic, came across an article as to why perhaps the interface got "updated" (it was so good & simple before)
looks like PYP got bought out:
by the way,
like me, you have probably been in many many examples of these cars in the junkyard --- have you ever came across one fitted with a cassette player?
i have not, sadly.
but i've always wanted a factory tapedeck so finally bit the bullet and ordered one online --- it came today!
just now when looking for a storefront pic, came across an article as to why perhaps the interface got "updated" (it was so good & simple before)
looks like PYP got bought out:
I've yet to read the article you linked but are you suggesting that PULL - A - PART is being bought out ??
Yikes! - That would suck!!
Originally Posted by Oldboy Speedwell
by the way,
like me, you have probably been in many many examples of these cars in the junkyard --- have you ever came across one fitted with a cassette player?
i have not, sadly.
but i've always wanted a factory tapedeck so finally bit the bullet and ordered one online --- it came today!
Wholly smokes - Oh you lucky dawg!!!
That audio head looks totally factory - I dont even remember that being an option when we bought our Mi i (2003)....
Wow!!!
Shameless personal anecdote ahead:
I once was the proud owner of over 500+ cassettes of punk, post punk and new wave I'd collected since I was a teen. Some really valuable stuff that had limited release in the US. Before I moved from FL 12 years ago, I had donated my entire collection of cassettes, CD's and vinyl to my friends that owned a record and rock 'n' roll memorabilia store.
I never imagined car cassete players would ever make it back. I spent 5 years copying and digitally encoding my collection to FLAC & Mp3 format onto a 1 terabyte hard drive. I now re-live my youth listening to all that stuff now off my 128gb cell phone.
Enjoy your great find my friend!!!
i'm pretty stoked & ready to re-visit some old mixtapes !
not many people in USA chose this option, but i think they were available at least up until 2005 because that's the latest datecode i've seen them with
mine has a 2004 datecode
from what i've read they never offered a Radio Boost Cassette Owners Manual in English,
but i did find a pdf of Dutch version haha...
sounds like you had a great collection!
i was mostly a record collector who reluctantly also started getting cd's and i always made mixtapes but didn't have a vast collection of factory cassettes,
although yes, Bad Brains on Roir was mandatory !
not my favorite by them but fitting for our forum,
i still have my feedtime cooper s tape --- lost the sleeve tho,
think i did some art project zine thing with it or something LoL
had to swipe a cover image from discogs
^^^Hahaha -That's awesome!!!^^^
BTW: That was a great article about this 'seen better days JCW junker'.
When I first started this "Such A Shame" thread; I honestly never heard or knew of anyone else doing the same. I feel so enlightened now.
Thanks for sharing!
i'm pretty stoked & ready to re-visit some old mixtapes !
not many people in USA chose this option, but i think they were available at least up until 2005 because that's the latest datecode i've seen them with
mine has a 2004 datecode
from what i've read they never offered a Radio Boost Cassette Owners Manual in English,
but i did find a pdf of Dutch version haha...
sounds like you had a great collection!
i was mostly a record collector who reluctantly also started getting cd's and i always made mixtapes but didn't have a vast collection of factory cassettes,
although yes, Bad Brains on Roir was mandatory !
not my favorite by them but fitting for our forum,
i still have my feedtime cooper s tape --- lost the sleeve tho,
think i did some art project zine thing with it or something LoL
had to swipe a cover image from discogs
Wow the rare and little seen factory Tape Deck!
Now you need to find the super rare MINI disc deck
Whilst I haven't received any notifications of any 1st Gens landing the U-Pull It yard for a few months now, I still go out occasionally to check on the remnants of the few that were already there.
But many times I just walk around looking for unique cars that have met their unfortunate demise. While strolling the yard I came upon a "WTF?" moment when I came across an '06 R52 that had never been recorded as or when it landed the yard.
Evidently; It appears that only a select few knew of its existence...but just the same cannibalized only what they needed and left the rest....
Outfitted with wide fender arches....
Although significantly "dismantled" - Interestingly there were many good usable parts left behind...(inside & out)....Including a brand new OE coolant reservoir w/cap...
It was pretty obvious that this R52 had been pretty well modded for performance. I would venture a guess that it once had a HOBO or large Intercooler
and judging by the modified injector wires probably had larger injectors that the scavenger saw fit to score but for some reason passed on the SC...
Given the case that the supercharger dated 3/28/2006, was passed up but appeared in excellent cosmetic conditi0n and spun smoothly and effortlessly....
...Waterpump looked fairly recent as well all coolant hoses all looked upgraded and recently replaced...
....OEM pulley swapped for an ALTA 17%....
.. ...Paired with an ALTA 0% crank pulley...which appeared to be that someone had a difficult time removing as it appears pretty beat-up...
The idler pulley certainly looks to (me), be a much improved version as well...(?)...
...A neatly heat wrapped stainless steel header of unknown (to me) brand was installed...
...it's anyone's best guess as to what brand it is
An OEM left drive axle in perfect (if not fairly new) sits on the tail gate along with this strange, perhaps unrelated to a Mini, beefy structural bar....or whatever it is?....
Found the packaging in the R52 for that mystery bar....Any guess from you car gurus as to what it is?
EDIT: A quick search on that "mystery bar" reveals it to be a premium rear suspension stabilizer bar for a late model Ford. Hmmm; Why it was in the back of this R52, brand new, complete with packaging? Kinda out there but -
Perhaps the previous owner had a crazy/ yet creatI've idea to mod it to their Mini at some point.?
I'll stick with Forrest Gump's aphorism on this one.
This R52 currently resides "off the grid"
You can be pretty certain I will be back next payday!
time will tell i guess
