I noticed that ... AFTER I put the new painted trim on! There's always something!

 

I believe so. I know very little about the process they actually used - but the pieces that came back were as good as the finish on the original bodywork.

 

I know!!! I keep going back and forth over that. There are some places I drive where I already scrape my diffuser.

Maybe just an inch ....

 

id drop it one inch (H-Sports/S-Techs) and dremel that little lip
under the front bumper off. You really don't need it.

im running H-Sports and Aero kit but 99% of the time i don't
scrape.

 

Wow that looks amazing ... i wanna do that to mine, has anyone done this? im wondering what kind of paint and coats should i use.

Again, looks good, congrats!
MaC

 

it is true that painting the arches makes a big difference on the total look and I think it's the best thing to do. Here is another pic I just took of mine at night. Sorry for the poor quality I used my mobile phone ... here is before and after

 

It looks good

 

Bad a$$. I need to start saving my pennies...

 

I hate threads like this.

Now I want to do it. This has probably been covered 20x on NAM, but can the stock arches be painted or do you need an aero conversion?

 

These were stock arches. Took them off, painted them, then put them back on. It was actually pretty easy.

I took about 45 minutes taking them off. I first tried to save some of the pins and clips, but ended up just breaking them all. It was much easier to just buy new pins and clips.

Putting it back on took a little longer, but not much. Just wanted to make sure that I used the right pin/clip for each hole. I think my model used about 5 or 6 different pin/clip.

Good luck!

 

How's the ride with the H-Sports? I've heard that the H-Sports w/non run flats is actually more comfortable than stock w/run flats.

Still thinking about it ....

 

I've always thought that it would make a huge impact on JB. Very nice work. Great choice!

Now you don't have to worry about dressing the arches every time you wash the car or getting wax on the arches whenever you wax/seal the paint.

It's actually a PITA to paint these arches properly... the textured plastic likes to retain silicones and oils, causing the paint not to want to stick. Most body shops I asked to do it turned me down completely. It takes lots of sanding, chemical stripping, adhesion promoters, high-fill primer and someone good with a paint gun to do it right.

It took over 24 hours of labor to do my PW earlier this year (just the paint and prep... I did the assembly myself): https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=62191


PS: Nuff... check out the new lowering springs at www.texasspeedwerks.com. They drop the rear about 1" and the front about 5/8". They are more comfortable than stock (w/ the runflats) and do wonderful things for the handling (Start around post #104 - http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...5&page=3&pp=40). The modest drop allows 'em to play well with the stock shocks if you aren't ready to do the whole package yet.

After the painted arches and TSW springs:

 

Nuff and Agranger,

Stop it. You guys are killing me! Wow, both jb and pw are fantastic! The ride height (visually speaking) is perfect on Jango. I'm sorry to see that the prep is so intensive, though. 24 hours of labor = tons of extra cash that I'd rather not spend-- I have no body shop connections.

edit: My first MCS was black because it hides (minimizes, at least) all the black plastic trim!

 

Looks fantastic!!!

 

Holly caw... that looks ... no words for that.

MaC

 

Yeah, but how is Jango in the mud now?

 

Would you share the detail ... i swear that if you share the detail with me, i will go buy sand paper and some paint and ill do it myself ... even though my wife said no way .

MaC (Shhh!! don't tell my wife ).

 

Thanks, Aaron. Jango has always been a bit of an inspiration!

That looks like a perfect solution for me. I may have to pull that trigger next.

 

Sorry, I didn't do the painting myself. Left that to the pros. I think Aaron painted Jango himself, though. I'll leave it to him.

Removal of the trim is pretty easy if you don't need to save the pins and clips.

 

I just did the same thing to my Jet black MINI!


I have a question for you though...have you noticed the front two arch pieces have gotten little dents in them? I have had that problem with mine recently... :(

 

Wow great job. I know when the time is right, I'll be following this path as well. Excellent!

 

Checked mine last weekend when I washed the MINI. No dents.

Are the little dents from driving? Rocks, etc?

 

Damn I jealous!

Beautiful!

 

No idea!! They just majically appeared the day after I installed them on my car... kind of upsetting, but they are VERY faint, and pretty hard to notice too...

 

I don't know if it's me, but the JB/JB or White/white looks FANTASTIC with the arches, etc. I have seen Jango pix before and think it one of the best looking MINIs on the planet. I'm trying to figure out if I should do it with CR/W. I think it will look better than stock but don't think it will have that same effect of the monochrome scheme.

Keep the pix coming so I can make up my mind.