A little update. My knee is slowly recovering, but I can barely get into my truck and I think it will take a while before my knee bends enough to get into my Mini!
The healing seems slower than the other knee, but I remain hopeful it will move better soon!
My Mini is in my shop and staying out of our snowy/raily weather right now!
I still need to do a few things to it, for the new season coming up, but my knee is keeping me from getting it done!

 

Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery. Hopefully everything starts to loosen up some more as the weather warms up.

 

A little update:
My knee is playing hardball and does not want to bend more that 90*. I am seeing him in a week and a half and it it is not getting better, the plan is to torture me while asleep, to break free scarring. I am hoping this will not need to be done. I am working on it every day.
My internet has been down for a month, so I am behind on welcoming new members!
I hope to be driving my Mini real soon, but I can not even get into it yet!
The weather has been quite rainy here, but with some real nice days mixed in. My Mini was calling to me, but all I can do, is go out into the shop and look at it! I have been relegated into driving my pickup! Not really what the good weather calls for!

 

It took my knee years to get back to "normal", if it ever did. Sorry your recovering is giving you trouble. You've still got a few months until the summer weather shows up!

 

Hi Derek,
This is my second knee replacement left was done in 2011, right should have been done then too! It is getting better, but way harder than the last replacement. I am thinking this one will never be 100% as the other one is!
I just keep plugging away at it, so I can start driving my Mini again!
It is so lonely right now!

Just put off to the side and neglected (like the vert behind it)

 

It is March 28th 19 and I am happy to say, I sat in the drivers seat and was able to work the peddles, so I could drive it now, except for the fact it is raining like crazy outside and my Mini is clean, so I won't be doing that, until the nice weather shows back up!
The only glitch is it is not pretty when I exit the Mini! I will work on that, but the fact that I can drive it again, shows me I will be ready for the nice weather. Meanwhile, I will be driving my 13 F150 pickup!


Itsme Wayne's 13 F150 4X4

 

Baby steps.....slow but sure.....don't push it

Bryan

 

I am on the road again! Leg is working well enough to drive my Mini and have taken two rides with it. The weather has been very rainy here with some flooding, so I am waiting until the weather is good, to take a long drive!

On the road again! 4/14/19

 

Nice! Just in time for spring and summer.

 

Nice! That's a cool Mini that first JCW model. I never drove a Gen1 Mini of any type, just my 2 Gen 2's and friend's F56. Go for it!!!

 

Thanks
I have really enjoyed this Mini. I have kept it stock, as I want to preserve it. I had wanted to put the areo kit on it, I decided not to in the end. It is a well optioned car for hot weather driving. (other than non tinted side and rear glass.) AC works well, so I have just lived with it. There is some pain, keeping it original!
I have owned many Minis' and really drawn to this one! Such a fun car in the twisties!

 

Glad to see you’re back on the road! And boy, what a pretty MINI. I never see that color combo on the road around here.

 

Hi mslatter,
I searched almost a year to find this one. It needed a ton of work to bring it back to it's former glory, as you can see in the earlier posts, but I felt it was worth the effort to "save" it. As stated, I have owned several, but this one, I want to keep as long as I can still drive it! This is my daily and not a garage queen, or a weekend driver. I have owned many sports cars, luxury, cars and trucks, but this little Mini makes me smile every day I drive it! It handles so well on the twisties I live in and a great west coastline touring car!
My favorite before this was a 2005 MCS in BRG color. I sold it to a girl, it was not for sale at the time, but I let her try it and her smile and her need to own it weakened me and I let it go!
I still remember her smile and her resolve to own it!


05 with stripes and chrono pack.

This one went to another girl that had to have it! Her mother was mad at me, but she loved it! I guess her mother could not drive a stickshift! Ha!

 

Wayne your cars look great! I can tell you share that passion for them that I have for mine.

 

My silver '04 R53 S had that same ugly (my opinion) roof rack on the car when I bought it.....that was the first thing to come off...I went to the dealer and got the factory covers to put over the nut plates that were in the roof.

I tried to sell the racks after I took them off, a lot of people wanted them, but the nut plates that have to be installed into the roof are not available, so the racks just sit in the rafters of my garage

Bryan

 

yes, thanks, I am a true gen 1 addict!

 

Hey Bryan, I sold the dark silver one over a year ago, as the racks might be what the doctor ordered for some, I was not one of them! It had to go!

 

A weird thing made my Mini throw the dreaded P1498 code today. It turned out to be the tiny necked down vacuum line that feeds the airbox door! (on JCW air box) It worked itself between the firewall and broke off! (it is about a 1/8 inch hard plastic line) it only thru the code when it was at idle!
It is funny that I even found it, as I have the door set at always open! Easy fix anyway!

 

Good to hear both you and the car are running fine! Owner of 3 2006 fJCW's so yes they are fun

 

Yes, R53's call to me! Thanks!

 

Thanks, it is good to be back in My 06 R53 JCW. Such a fun car to get into the twisties!

 

A wise saying: Do not try to move immovable items! Words to live by!

I hope I am not going to jinx myself, but my Mini has been running well. My only issue is the key fob does not work at all now and I think the receiver in the mirror has died. I have not looked at it yet, as I am more interested in driving it right now!
Summer is for curve carving and not repairing the small stuff!
I hope you are all getting the value in you Mini ownership! The motto: Drive it like you stole it!
I am fortunate to live in an area, where there is no shortage of curvy roads, and a cool coastline to enjoy, with curves and views!

 

Hi Gang,
I found a review of the 06 MCS with the factory JCW package and thought I would post it, for you to read. It was done by MF, or Motoring File, back in 2006:

MF Vault: 2006 JCW Review

This week we take a look at the other JCW of the time, the MINI Cooper S factory JCW. This was a time of transition for the JCW brand as it moved from a dealer installed kit to a factory installed package. It also represents the pinnacle of the factory R53 (not counting the special edition GP).



Over the last week or so my respect for the Cooper S JCW kit has grown immeasurably. Driving almost 1,500 miles in seven days is a great way to find a car’s potential and its faults. Yet with the JCW MCS, the latter was almost impossible.

But before I get to my final thoughts on the car let me recap a bit. MINI USA gave me the keys to a 2006 MINI Cooper S with the JCW package and basically said, have at it and let the world know what you think. As the owner of a Cooper S with a pulley and a number of other modifications, this was a chance to do a direct comparison between the two cars and see what it was like to actually live with the JCW MCS. The test car was lightly specced. Chili Red/White roof, Sport package, JCW package and 18″ Matte Black JCW wheels. From a performance standpoint one couldn’t ask for anything more save for the JCW suspension or a full-on GP.

So I set out on a week of driving that included trips to the USGP, northern Wisconsin and my usual jaunts throughout Chicago. Highway mileage, Chicago grid-patterns and curving country roads provided the test-bed, and I’m here to give you my final thoughts.
Let’s start with the comparison that everyone seemed to be asking about. How does the Cooper S w/the JCW kit compare to a modified MCS? First and foremost the JCW is smooth. I know it’s been said before but you just can’t say it enough. The car feels as if countless hours of testing went into every component in an effort to make the drivetrain as close to perfection as possible. It not only shows in the power but in the way it drives at low speeds around town. Where my MCS with a 15% pulley, Supersprint exhaust, and JCW intake can feel a little urgent and, at times, frantic (not bad things mind you), the JCW feels completely smooth and unflustered. It’s actually easier to drive smooth than any other MCS I’ve ever driven.
The JCW MCS also excels when the comparison turns to sheer power. The pulley (and the other mods) increase power, but they don’t add it in such a unified manner as the JCW kit. The 210bhp of the JCW is seemingly everywhere, in every gear and whenever you need it throughout the rev range.

There’s also the badge factor to consider. I had more than one person come up to the car and ask how I liked the JCW package. One guy came up to me while getting gas in central Indiana and said “nice MINI”. He changed that to “really nice MINI” once we noticed the JCW badge. There’s no questions $6000+ can get you more respect from people in the know. But since the kit contains no visual additions to the car, any added attention is from either the educated automobile enthusiast or other MINI owners.

For those who couldn’t care less about added distinction, yes the kit’s performance is as good as promised. Simply installing a pulley on an MCS does not match the experience that the JCW gives you. But that performance comes at price that makes the value of the kit all very relative. $6300 is a lot of money no matter how you slice it. And with the sport package a mandatory option for JCW equipped MINIs in the US, the price of admission is a stratospheric $29,150 including destination. That’s $4,000 over the price of my very well equipped 2005 MCS.
But asking if the JCW kit is worth it is a loaded question because it’s such an individual answer. Sure you get enormous piece of mind and performance that is untouchable by most modded MINIs. But there are many out there that simply can’t justify the cost despite how phenomenal the car is. In the end you simply have to ask yourself one little question; How fast do you want to go?

If I could order my car all over again, opting for the JCW package would be a very difficult decision. Part of the fun of ownership is slowly creating a faster, more individualized car. With the JCW kit there’s simply less to do and less to be involved in when it comes to mechanically modifying the car. But I must admit the power is addicting on a level that surprised me. Having driven a 210bhp JCW before, I had expected not to be very surprised by it all. But learning to rely on that power and even taking it for granted while flooring it in sixth gives you a new perspective on what you need vs. what you want. And sometimes what you want is what you need.

It is fun to look at the old reviews and see what was being said back then!
I have owned several MCS models and none have felt like my 06 MCS with JCW package
What do you think?

 

Beautiful JCW Wayne! Color is absolutely stunning!

Do you have the quicksilver package? My car has the exact same silver strip on the hood.

 

Thanks Wayne for digging up that review!

An interesting read.

I like reading the old press too and got a compilation from Brooklands Books --- it can be found cheap and it's full color.

Provides nice reading.




Unfortunately I don't have much varied experience with different MCS as I only test a couple of examples before I bought my JCW,
all I know is that it ran like a scalded dog and I was highly impressed,
and I continue to be impressed after driving it 22,000 miles!