Hahah absolutely!! LOL.

 

The wheels are just plain hot.

Nice work by your powder coater.

 

those wheels are amazing and the red touches inside are just perfect with the outside theme!

 

Thanks! We got a good powder coater. =) I will definitely be sending more work their way. Plus they are about a block from the shop, so it's so easy to take parts to them.

Thanks!! Yes, if all the work gets done that I'm hoping will get done--I'll be in heaven next week, lol. I mean AMVIV, lol.

 

I do, my Jet Black mini needs some CF

 

PM sent for 50% off of what I paid for it a few months ago in the marketplace. =)

 

rich's car looks amazing in person. I saw it a few days after he had done the wheels.

Matter of fact my gf liked his car more then mine.... it left her all hot and bothered. :P

 

OG!!!! SWIRLS!!!! ------\


I'm just giving you a hard time... I like the custom paintwork. Esp. the red side grills. Very nice. I tend to lean towards the 'low key' look (I'm calling it 'Modern Brittish'), but I've gotta give you the 'props' you deserve for this. Very out-there and very nice work!

 

IMHO, the red door handles are too much but again, I lean towards very clean designs... not the 'slightly racy' look you are going for... just a personal preference. How about CF door handles, CF mirror caps (if you don't already have 'em, I can't tell) and maybe paint the inside housing of the side view mirrors the bright red for a little burst of color (a mod I haven't seen yet).

 

Hahahaah, she did comment to me as I was washing Monica's MINI that she liked the wheels. That was pretty cool. In fact the next day I was driving through the Marina and I believe a Volvo station wagon pulled along side me. I wasn't paying much attention until I saw both the front and rear windows go down, so I looked over, and rolled mine down--just as theirs was rolling up, lol...so then they saw me and rolled down theirs again--yes this was a long stoplight. A girl leaned out and say she loved my car. That was pretty cool. =)
I agree, and that's why I said that was from the first photoshop mockup. The most recent mockup was

with black door handles. I saw the CF handles and it's nice, but it's not for me. The only CF I have is the JCW mirror caps and the interior dash--I've seen some crazy CF interiors and that's just too much for me. IMO, what I've gotten so far is very clean---having a clean racy look is feasible. =)

If you look at the picture above, I had colored in part of the mirror housing as well--but after actually looking at the housing, if I did that, I would only paint the ring behind the cover because the changing all of the black to red makes it look disjointed. Never thought about painting the inside though--the part that's covered by the mirror???

 

Haha yeah, the swirls aren't pretty, lol. But what I've been striving for and I feel achieving is a design that makes you look twice. The side vents look loud up close but from a few feet away, you don't even notice it. That's the kind of design I like---things that could potentially peek some interest from a far--and encourage people to take a closer look, and then all of a sudden the details become noticeable. The same with my JCW mirror caps--you can't even tell from the photo I have them until you get close. What's changing in this photo is the headlight rings are now Jet Black and the intercooler scoop is the OEM scoop painted Jet Black, so that again will offer a cleaner appearance than what's shown. The side reflectors are also being tinted (paint) black so that will put more emphasis on the wheels.

 

It's 'mostly' covered by the mirror, but there is a gap around the outer edges... I'd bet that a touch of red there would really pop. Something very low key, but another one of those 'draw you in closer' mods... esp. for people who know the car.

 

your car should be the new Knight Rider! after seeing your photoshop - I agree that the handles should be black!

 

Haha, ok so I just bought some red and black leather/cloth seats--but they are from an '03. So as usual, that's not going to set me back--it's missing the seat heaters and the compression pad. Thankfully I've got a set of leatherette seats from an '06, so I'll be having my upholsterer swap the elements to convert these older seats to spec. I DON'T think I'll get this done before AMVIV though.

Richard

 

OctaneGuy, I just cannot get over how incredibly hot those wheels came out! I had Flik Bullets on my R53, gunmetal color and I always loved how they looked. What you have done with them is awesome though, the red inner lip is so sweet! Nice Work

 

Thank you!!! I am super pleased with them!

So finally exterior painting prep began today










This last shot is showing the emblem holes before welding....=)

 

I know this isn't the Marketplace, but just an update so people know and for the search engines--the CF Scoop was sold and shipped already...I sold the BFP (Benfer Performance) Scoop for $75/shipped by Priority Mail.

Regarding my MINI, it got painted yesterday and I saw it today, it looks fantastic. Just needs some colorsanding and polishing on Monday. I'm very excited. =)

Richard

 

Well amen, cuz those pictures above are terrifying! *covers eyes* I'm sorry I looked!

OG's famous words when *my* MINI's paint work was being finished: "Now don't panic when you see your car..." Haha...

The process is not pretty but so far it looks great! Can't wait to see it close-up!

 

PicsPicsPics!

 

those wheels are so dope!!
keep up the good work

 

Ok more pix!!! Sorry I left my camera at the shop over the weekend, so couldn't post pix.













Ok, so then these are shots after the paint has cured for a few days. Bumpers look great!



Airbag ring is getting prepped for painting










My intercooler grill before painting


Minimusprime's Scoop is being painted too!!




My Doors Ellipses getting prepped










Brand new gun is being used for my car!! Woohoo!!


Tach Ring


Minimumsprime's Scoop








That's it for now. The rest of the door will get painted tomorrow, my intercooler cover as well, and then it's assembly time and polishing! My seats will be ready by early evening---oh by the way..these are my new seats....they are a bit dirty and need some cleanup still



Packed up in the car I'm driving for now--to haul over to my Upholsterer. They are updating these '04 seats with the heating elements, pressure sensors, and plastic seatbacks from a pristine '06 set of leatherette seats I bought from Gnatster.


I cleaned up the leather with Leatherique I got from Heather at DetailersParadise.com and the cloth is being cleaned by a process using various stain cleaners and an orbital buffer that I'll save for a future writeup. Btw, I got these seats from Danny at MiniCorsa.

Richard

 

If there are two colours that I really really love, it's DEEP gloss black and eye popping red. Your car is going to look so, so good when it's finished. More pics!

 

oh man i can't wait to see what this thing looks like!!!

thanks for posting pix of my scoop btw. It's gonna look good.

 

Me tooo!!!! =) Tomorrow I'll take more pix.
Me too, lol. Hang on to your girl friend---lol---cover her eyes!! Yep np about the scoop---just wanted you to see that it was painted along with my parts--took some time to get to this stage--both you and me have been eagerly awaiting it, lol.

 

no worries man. You can't rush paint guys... they just work at their own pace... it's how that game works. IF you rush them you get crap work.

This will be the first of a ton of work I'll ask your guys to do tho... I'll need a front respray like you're in not too long. Looks like they do a heck of a job!