Just thought I'd throw out my newest smiley I got off another site:



Hope it helps the thread out.......

 

Love that smiley and it is VERY animated on my screen. We used a air driven skill saw to cut mine. Cut like Butta

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

You a bad example? C'mon...

I guess I should have said, "the only one on this board with a cool, level head that jumps in the pit when the sh*t is flyin' to restore order.

 

So far, what is considered the best tool to cut this hole i the hood?
Particularly for the DIY guy.

I have compressed air at home and perhaps could borrow a nibbler.
I also have a basic electric jig saw.
Are people actually using or considering using a sawsall? Seems a little brutal to me and somewhat hard to control for finer work.

Paul

 

Hi Paul...use a nibbler but don't cut right to the exact line as it can wander a bit if not held with a tight grip...leave slight room for final sanding...you could try a disk cutter but that is only good for straight lines...

Anything with teeth could grab and shake your hood violently...potentially warping/bending/chipping paint...

 

Hey Sid, . . .Thanks for the good tips, I'll need them.
I can rent a nibbler, I believe, or borrow from a friend. I'm hoping this kit comes from M7 soon.

Paul

 

Paul,
As you have compressed air, you could try cutting with a die grinder/cut off wheel. That's how I cut my hole out. You'll have to touch up with a burr, but it works nicely.
Joel

 

... agree, thats how I would do it. We call it the 'wiz wheel'.

 

Cool, I'll shop for one at Harbor Freight Tools.

 

Just got my GrillCraft grill to do the AES. Hope M7 has sent
the AES

 

Me too.
As a side note. When working on the AES, I found some expanded AL2 mesh at the local H.D. used for gutter leaf control. I'll paint some black and epoxy it in place on mine. Not trying to match any other mesh, as some will do, but just to keep things from falling into the engine bay.

 

Yea JS. That is the way I would have done it. But I decided to go with the
"together" approach.
My AES grill is just necessary to keep stuff out while it is parked.
Once moving the "extractor" will obviously produce thrust. Once the thrust
gets to my silver stripes and Astro Black hood middle section the color/temperature differential will cause a vortex ( anticlockwise---Northern Hemisphere) which will result in an ever increasing vaccum which will
propell the car to Mach 0.9. Oh sheet too much coffee

 

Darn, I never calculated in the vortex effect. But now that you mention it and I see the merit of parallel alignment, on thrust vectors, I'll have to add a front mesh to my BMS (big mouth scoop). Of course I will be very careful not to misalign the mesh orientation, less I create an opposite vortex effect, that tears away the fabric of the universe.

 

Now you are on the correct wave length JS.
However, we are getting ever closer to a Dr. Obnoxs intervention here:impatient .

Meanwhile ,back at the ranch, I hope the M7 AES is " in the mail".

 

In the M7 photos of the green and silver hood with the AES installed, I cut out the opening with a battery operated portable saber saw with a fine tooth metal blade. I taped the area of the hood with two layers of masking tape and had no problem with chipping paint of destroyed vinyl stripes. I placed a blanket over the engine and proped the hood open with a 4 x 4 on top of the DFIC to keep the saw blade from hitting anything under the hood. If you cut slowly and are very careful you will be able to follow the pattern line exactly. This worked very well for me and I hope it helps others interested in this mod. AES install time took about ONE HOUR. A couple of photos of install in my gallery.

 

Man, I can't wait to see other's pics of this.

 

Thanks for the info GMIR GreenS. Looks great.

Okay UPS guy---where is my M7 AES

 

Man, I'm glad there has been such a good response to this somewhat limited production mod. I'm hoping that it will signal M7 and others to keep dreaming, keep up the R&D, keep asking questions, and keep the R53s in mind.
There surely is a day coming when we (R53s) will be old news and mods only found in the latest JC Whitney catalog.
The interest in this thread may not add up to that many sales for M7, and perhaps then (like Wendys) they will only make them as they are ordered, so I'm willing to wait for my CF AES, just grateful they're making them.

Paul

 

Don't worry Paul...as long as I have my R53, you can look forward to something interesting down the road...wbk...

 

so you aren't going to jump ship on us and get a R56 or a Clubman .

 

Ultra cool.

 

MSFITOY is one of my favorite cars on NAM. I think someone needs to start a new thread so we can vote on the best car(s). We could do it once a year with a top ten approach ( how about Dopamine, Dr Obnoxs etc.)

Yea, Mini Car of The Year. Classes : R-53 ( I don't know if they ever made a different kind------OH SHEEEET---here we go ).



M7, where is my AES. I NEED it to compete in MCoTY

 

Lol.....how about the r50 and r52?

 

RallyMini, I never heard of those other kinds ( ) but I am easy

 

R53 = 2002-2006 Mini Cooper S
R50 = 2002-2006 Mini Cooper (non-s)
R52 = 2002-2006 Mini Cooper S and non-s Convertibles
R56 = 2007+ Mini cooper S and non-s
R55 = 2008+ Clubman Mini Cooper S and non-s
R57 = 2009+ Mini Cooper S and non-s Convertibles