Interior/Exterior Interior and exterior modifications for Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.

Interior/Exterior Know any secret compartments?

Old Nov 4, 2003 | 05:44 PM
  #1  
Antranik's Avatar
Antranik
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From: Calabasas, Los Angeles
Hey guys, are there any hollow parts to the mini you can use to store small important things you don't want others to find? There are those 2 panels in the boot on either side, but they aren't exactly secret. Under the boots mat, there is the battery in the middle and next to it are just sealed off, can that area be modified? There is also some sort of small panel on the driver side, left side of wall under dash, not sure what it is, haven't opened it. What about nooks and crannies under the carpeting somewhere? Curious to hear your replies.
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 06:11 PM
  #2  
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Gee I hope I never find myself in a situation where someone is opening interior panels on my MINI.

I can't think of anything I do that would put me in that situation.
I also can't think of anyplace to hide something.

 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 06:12 PM
  #3  
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From: Reading, PA
Ok, I'll ask the obvious question..what exactly are you trying to hide? And from whom........

FYI: And no, I am not aware of any secret pockets in the mini.
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 06:21 PM
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What are you trying to hide? A loaf of bread?

Small stuff can fit:
under the carpet under the front passenger seat
In the engine bay at the areas in front of the windshield
In the roof lining area if you remove the square plastic cover over the rear passenger seats.
If you have a one sided exhaust in an MCS you have space in the rear under the car for something as hidden storage as big as the muffler that would go there. Put a lock box but access is from under the car unless you want to tap into the rear boot.
If you make a custom subwoofer and amp enclosure you could put in a secret access panel for storage within the enclosure- that would be neat.

Most other places are obvious.
Once the Euro parcel shelf if added the area under the dash by the driver is all exposed.

 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 06:45 PM
  #5  
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one word....

WEEEEEEEEEEEED
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 06:48 PM
  #6  
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From: Charleston, SC
Checkout the Unofficial MINI Owner's Manual....


David
-V--V-

 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 07:36 PM
  #7  
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The small panel in the driver footwell is a fuse box.
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 08:34 PM
  #8  
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How accessible do these secret places need to be for YOU?

There's a cavity in the floor under the carpet beneath each front seat. They contain styrofoam inserts which can be removed. To get to the cavities you need to remove the seats, hence my initial question.

Between the downtubes back under the toggle switch bank there's a plastic panel secured by a screw. There is some space behind that panel.

On the non-CVT models you can lift the gear shift boot trim ring - there is some space in there - just don't let anything small fall into the shift mechanism.

If you look up under the dash in the passenger side, there is a small amount of space to the left of the glovebox.

There's some space behind the footwell trim that contains the bonnet release. Again, not easy to get to.

So what DO you need these secret spaces for?
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 08:37 PM
  #9  
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From: Burning-Ham Alabama
How about the small 4-5 inch long tube that connects the A/C to the glovebox? It pops right out and could hold some small items?
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 11:03 PM
  #10  
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I'll be sure to tune in to COPS and look for the MINI.
 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 11:56 PM
  #11  
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>>I'll be sure to tune in to COPS and look for the MINI.<<



 
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Old Nov 4, 2003 | 11:57 PM
  #12  
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this thread is funny.
Lets use our ideas in the brain.

Take away the airbags and put whatever you want to fit in the steering wheel.(saw on TV who was putting junks in there to fool people that airbags was in there)

Get a big shift *** which you can hide some *** inside the ***!! hahah

Under the seat is always a place. except cops no one will ever bothers to look at it.

Under the back seat where you have the emergency hatch release.

a lot of people hide stuff inside the dashboard. go under the steering wheel and hide large size burger or whatever u wanna hide, it is large enough.(too hard to get it out)

Haha hope it can gives you an idea.
How i came out this??? Got a cop friend.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 12:12 AM
  #13  
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Wow thanks for the replies! (well, most of em anyway) Keep em coming, except for you Kurtster, you, you sound like you are dumbfounded by this thread, you can relax, you've had enough excitement for one night.

So yeah, I'm hiding lots of crack cocaine, 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, heroin and the occasional LSD paper squares. Now some of you can relievingly say, ah ha! I knew it! :smile:
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 12:41 AM
  #14  
'*Ace*''s Avatar
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From: CT, Litchfield County
>>>3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine

If you can spell it correctly, I bet you don't sell it or use it...

LOL...
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 01:33 AM
  #15  
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From: In the Tube
I was thinking something like this could be fun, but might limit the size of the individual.









_________________

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. - Frank Zappa
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 02:23 AM
  #16  
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Have you ever thought of hiding your precious things out in the open? Like put the important things in something that doesn't look important and put it in the net that is right behind the driver's seat or perhaps the pocket in the door or a front cup holder. Or even put it in the jack bag that's in the boot. Who'd steal your jack tools? and who'd suspect you had your diamonds hidden in there!

Often you see in people's cars - a make up bag, a mint tin, sunglasses case, a kid's toy pen or crayola marker holder or a small tool box, etc... and you don't think twice about it. What ever is in them is safe.

There are also the money keepers that look like soda cans. You can just leave it in one of the front cup holders - only risk is if you let a friend wash your car, they may throw it out, thinking it's trash!
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 05:46 AM
  #17  
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From: Yinzer in Exile
Pebbles makes a good point--if it's out in the open, I'd think the criminal element would be disinterested. Kind of the way dogs (or at least my dog) would dig through stacks of paper in shoeboxes to find credit card bills, pay stubs, etc. to chew and mutilate, but it you left aforementioned sitting out on coffee table they would remain untouched.

Or, perhaps that was a poor analogy, but I digress...

You could also stick a bit of something small under the steering wheel adjustment lever thingie. There's a little space there.

Are you just asking us so that you can get a better idea of where MINI drivers store their precious bits, making a break-in more efficient?


 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:12 AM
  #18  
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Perhaps inside the shift boot (Required disassembly- plus awwwfluy suspicious).
For my Garmin GPS (Street Pilot III)- I bought a $4 fridge lunch bag. Put it in there, leave it out in the open- and it looks like I left my lunch in the car :smile:

caio,

-Matt
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:23 AM
  #19  
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Pebbles makes a good point--if it's out in the open, I'd think the criminal element would be disinterested.
A few members might choose to disagree when the item in question is a $375 Val 1 radar detector. I seem to recall a post from a Chicago-area member who ended up with a cinderblock through his window due to that.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:30 AM
  #20  
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Sounds like a run to and from Mexico is on the horizon...
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:52 AM
  #21  
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If you want to go through a bunch of work, there are boxed sections of the "frame" underneath the plastic side sills. It is not completely weatherproof, but there are a couple of rubber plugs that can be removed for you to get your hands in there.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:53 AM
  #22  
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Cut the shifter boot (at the front facing dash) and sew in a small zipper.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 06:57 AM
  #23  
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From: Yinzer in Exile
<<<A few members might choose to disagree when the item in question is a $375 Val 1 radar detector. I seem to recall a post from a Chicago-area member who ended up with a cinderblock through his window due to that.>>>

Well... there is that

But everyone knows a radar detector is valuable. If it's hidden in a lunch bag out in the open, I think then you're safe.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 07:00 AM
  #24  
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>>Have you ever thought of hiding your precious things out in the open?

So I can leave my 10 kg brick of marijuana an my AK - 47 on the front seat? That's a relief!
 
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Old Nov 5, 2003 | 03:39 PM
  #25  
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From: Over there -->
>>>>Have you ever thought of hiding your precious things out in the open?
>>
>>So I can leave my 10 kg brick of marijuana an my AK - 47 on the front seat? That's a relief!


Yeah...AK-47...but make sure you disguise it by putting a MOMO shift **** on the muzzle!

Theo
 
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