Just picked up this 2006 JCW, and although it's virtually stock, I'm probably going to revert everything back to OEM, and refresh whatever's reasonable (i.e. PDR, paint correction, fixing broken cup holder type stuff). I may also get different wheels and tires for it as well (but still OEM MINI).

My newb question that I researched but couldn't get definitive answers on is regarding the grille. The car came with what looks like a Chinese part, piano black front honeycomb grill. Looks fine, but I want stock. I also received a box with the car that had what I was told was the original chrome and red grille. It's in decent shape, not perfect but usable. The parts in the box look exactly like the second photo (JCW from a BaT auction). I've already installed the lower trim piece and chrome, but for the upper grille, there were no 11 flange nuts/washers in the box, and there are a couple of nubs broken off the original black base piece. I'm contemplating buying all new pieces from ECS and just painting the slats, along with a new primed hood scoop and tail lift gate handle assembly....all of which have faded to a nasty milky red color as compared to the Chili red metal body panels.

My actual question, are the red painted slats factory done? Was this standard for the JCW models? I know you can get an all chrome grill too, but I want to put back on the car what it was originally built with. This car has had a few previous owners, each who have made their own personalizations, but I'm just not familiar enough with the R53 platform (yet!) to know what was factory and what was aftermarket 14 years ago. In short, what's the deal with painted slats? (p.s. I actually do like the painted parts as opposed to all the black out mods people do, but just want to make sure it's a factory thing).

Any help is appreciated!

My car:


BaT car with the same exact grill as I received in a box with above car:


JCW on Craigslist with exterior chrome package:

 

Body color painted slats were standard, JCW or not, unless the exterior chrome package was ordered. This included chrome slats, mirror caps, and hatch handle. The aero kit and grille were not JCW branded items, and I believe only dealer or port installed. The only JCW exterior body parts that I know of are the carbon hood scoop, mirrors, hatch handle, and the JCW spoiler. This was different than the optional, and rare, aero spoiler which was not part of the aero body kit.

You can run your VIN through an online decoder to get the build specs of your car. If it's a factory '06 JCW it will list options 3AL and 2TA for the JCW package and limited slip differential. If factory built, your car should also have the 1st gen JCW brake upgrade which included bigger front rotors and calipers in red and upgraded pads front and rear. The rear calipers and rotors were left stock for the 1st gen brake upgrade. The brakes were not part of the dealer installed JCW kits, but were available separately and as far as I know, an LSD was not available as an accessory or upgrade from MINI.

 

Thank you for the quick reply! That makes sense now, as I've seen mention of the chrome exterior package, but for some reason in my head I was thinking the chrome would have been the default option, and body matched painted parts would have been the 'upcharge' option... But of course, the chrome grill, mirror caps, trunklid handle etc. = the exterior chrome package - duh on my part.

Funny I just ran across the JCW CF scoop in RealOEM (NLA of course), so thanks for filling me in on how those special pieces were sold back then, along with the various aero bits... Quite a confusing mess of add-ons!

Yes, my car is a true factory built 3AL/2TA car, born 03/2006. Believe me, I was all over the VIN decoder long before I decided to buy the car...since it wasn't what I would call a 'cheap' purchase (as far as 14 year old MINIs go). Yessir on the JCW 294mm(?) front brakes too.

So that settles it then, I will be going back to the red grill slats. I just have to decide if I want to buy all new parts or just install the existing parts as-is. I'm tempted to just order all the primed parts (trunk handle, scoop, grill slats) and paint them myself, or have them professionally sprayed along with a bonnet respray. The car has the two white bonnet stripes, but I don't see those listed on the build sheet, although I do have a copy of the BaT car's window sticker showing that they were optional on the Combo #2 Sport package. The driver's side stripe has apparently been replaced, as it isn't cut the same as the pass. side, and I can also see a paint defect below the stripe, leading me to think that somebody put the bonnet stripes on there to hide the chipped clear coat/paint. Depending on how long they've been on there though, I can imagine I'd almost *have* to have the bonnet re-sprayed due to different fading on the exposed vs. striped areas.

As a side note, I've already removed the black checker vinyl. They came off easy as I think they were just applied earlier this year.

Thanks again for your comments!

p.s. just added an example of an exterior chrome package car in my first post...

 

Everything RB said is correct with one minor addition. For the mirror caps, the default was to match the roof color, but I think you could no cost option to the body color if your roof color was black or white.

 

Great looking R53 JCW in the classic red/white color theme. Glad to hear you are going more in the stock/restoration direction.

Good news is you can still get most of the standard MINI interior and exterior bits to do the things you are planning. I’ve refreshed two of them in recent years in a similar manner, and replaced many of those same parts. Bad news is that most accessories are NLA, unfortunately.

Lots of really good OEM wheel options. I highly recommend R90, R98, and maybe R99. 2nd gen R112 will fit and look great. You’ll want to stick to 17” sizes with those brakes.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

I might have a 'slight' adjustment to my game plans... As cliché as it is, I think I'm going to go for a 2003 Italian Job look. Obviously I'm not going to fall into an Aero kit any time soon, but with black mirror caps, silver R90 wheels, and some OEM chrome rally lights, I'm most of the way there. Even those 3 things are going to be pretty pricey, but I'm in no hurry, with a 2021 JCW on the boat, I've got to take it easy on the cash bleeding.

There's a guy on eBay selling a refinished set of R90s, but they're anthracite from the MC40 car (although he didn't seem seem to know that when he changed them from silver). I think the silver R90 wheels are going to be the hardest to get.

Back to the grille...the Italian Job car has a black insert, not the painted slats, and not the chrome line package... So for the movie, what did they use? I heard the Aero kit came with its own grill? Or was it an aftermarket black honeycomb grill? Or was there an OEM black grille option? Maybe I'll keep my shiny black Chinese grill after all? If I want matte finish, it seems there are plenty of eBay options (bleh).

 

That’s the factory aero kit grille. The knockoff grilles are gloss black or chrome and have the 2nd gen mesh pattern instead of the correct 1st gen honeycomb. Too bad all of the JCW knockoff stuff like the grilles, badges, and wheel caps aren’t correct for the 1st gen MINI’s.

It looks like they painted the support behind the main grille black, but not the recess behind the bumper piece. A lot of people don’t paint these parts which can really stick out on brighter colored cars.

I think silver R90’s were more common so they might not be as hard to find as you think. Also, R90’s have both part numbers for silver and grey cast into the back of them so you won’t be able to tell what the original color was on a refinished wheel.

 

You have good taste. I’ve got that exact look lol. The Aero kit came with an OEM black 3-piece grill. Note that the center and lower sections were unique to this kit, and won’t fit a stock R53. All of this is NLA, occasionally can find second hand.

Saw those anthracite R90 refurb wheels on eBay, and you can get a new set for less!



2006 JCW

 

Wow guys, thanks for all the info- and what a great looking JCW you've got there JackMac... That's exactly what I'd like to do...down to your black seats (not much of a fan of my red/grey cloth/leather seats). I'll keep my Craigslist, forum and eBay eyes peeled for the R90's... I missed out on the Rally Lights the other day on the Marketplace (as well as an LED set for my '21 too).

Understood on the aftermarket grill info, I guess I won't sweat the Aero/JCW grills unless I have the rest of the body kit anyway... but I'm bummed all the replica stuff is 2nd gen pattern. I suppose I could cheat a little bit and paint the rocker panels for similar look, and just leave the shiny black grills on my car. Then it's just R90 wheels and black mirror caps along with a driving light set... I just have to decide if all that effort is worth it, when I still won't end up with a car that looks as 'correct' as Jack's. I could always just say screw it and restore it as is (my original plan A), but the Italian Job idea was a nice bit of motivation especially when this car is going to have to compete for attention when my Gen 3 JCW arrives!

I've been talking with the guy on eBay about those anthracite R90's as I was giving him a bit of trouble about him not replacing the Ti hardware. I gave him a link to the company in the UK who sells the bolts. For that kind of money, he should be using new hardware.

 

If you are considering an aero grille, front bumper, or any other aero parts, I would still look for them. They are hard to get now and will only be harder to get and more expensive in the future, unless a proper replica is made or they are re-issued. Same for the JCW and most other 1st gen accessories. Now I wished I ordered the complete aero kit when they were blowing them out for around $600 shipped a few years ago. After the regular kit was sold out they started clearing out the R52 kit. Both times I had them in a shopping cart, but didn’t complete the purchase.

On the driving lights, I think the OEM is Wipac and can still be purchased new, but they won’t have the factory switch, brackets, or MINI covers. Minimania has a set on eBay for $56. They should be able to tell you what the differences are, and what factory parts can be used with them.

There’s also an extension harness from MINi to locate the switch to the blank by the handbrake on the facelift consoles. They were only about $3 so that might be something to order now if you think you’ll want one in the future.

 

Chamberlin -

One note to think on.
If you notice your current grill, look at the two cowl vent grills, and now at the lower inserts in the back bumper (if you have them)... They all look the same. You can also get the side vents with the same grill design. so all of the grill openings are the same.
And yea, by the way, most likely, not...Chinese copies.

Also beware. IF...you decide to reinstall the "bar" grill, be sure to check the attachment pins on the backside. They may be broken off, or otherwise unusable.

Mike

 

Thanks for the tips guys!

I found a brand new red bar grille if I wanted it, and yes a couple of tabs are broken off half-way... And there's that blue high mileage Blue MINI in San Diego for less than $4K if I were to really want to get the full aero kit.

Bottom line right now however, we've just decided to make a big move with our living arrangements, so unfortunately the JCW is up for sale.... even though I already ordered rally lights ($$$), and hundreds of dollars of other refresher parts...