well right now my mini is at DJ's Mini's in wesley chapel fl being cleaned up and rebuilt while im overseas and dion sent me these pics of the suspension work and brakes

first off the rear brake plates and brakes themselves are rotted through plus the front brakes are being rebuilt and new slotted rotors and pads are being installed




here are some pics of the front brake/suspension area before and after when they did some cleaning up and painting plus new tie rods and boots
before


after

 

Can't wait to see the finished Mini.

 

And now how the brake setup looks now



the new gauge set up








sweeeeeet

 

Love the dash!

 

new arches and hi-lo's installed....the shop wanted to wait to lower it until they asked me how low

 

I can't wait to meet him!

 

apprently in lowering the car more suprises were to be had...apparently the struts are in fact blown...and the rears were a mismatched set...my guess is one was a standard height and the other was a short stroke that was pulled to standard height...plus the knuckle joints were shot....but ya know what just one more thing i can add up on the list of crimes the person in england did to her...quite an extensive list actually but ya know id rather find out now while its apart than later on when im driving her

but on the bright side she got some new KYB stuts and knuckle joints...she is also getting a 10row oil cooler with braided lines and removable bulb halogen lights with a set of fogs...lol its funny someone commented im taking the fun out of her by making her more reliable...but ya know what i bought her to drive her and enjoy her...not tear her apart every couple of days to fix something that broke just from driving

 

A couple words of advice:

1) My Mini is lowered so that two fingers can just fit between the tire and the flare. It looks good and doesn't bottom out when going over speed bumps and entrances into parking lots. I would suggest starting there and adjusting to personal preference.

2) Oil cooler - be careful with the oil cooler. I live in Phoenix Arizona where in the summer the ambient temps reach 110 degF frequently. I have an oil temperature gauge installed in my transmission, and during the off season (like now) when the ambient temp is between 70 degF and 85 degF the oil doesn't ever heat up enough (should be around 212 degF to properly lubricate) if I don't cover the oil cooler. Just be careful to _only_ allow air through the oil cooler if the ambient temp is not really hot. Oh, and my experience is that the oil cooler has no effect on the engine water temp. YMMV.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

oh i live in tampa so the temps really get up there but ill keep the covering the oil cooler in mind...im having a small 10 row one put in

 

wheelgap?i has none!

wide fender flares...no more tire peeking out

oh yes

 

Looks great.

You could always use a thermostat with the oil cooler.

 

thats what i was thinking of getting...

 

Canton makes a nice unit. It might be a little big for a Mini, but it bypasses the cooler until the oil reaches 215ºF

 

and now some engine ****


so clean

 

its coming along nicely. it will be a sweet ride once it is all done. I can't wait to get back from afgahnistan to start on my mini pickup.

 

and here she is with the engine fully reinstalled and the new halogen headlights and foglights installed too...they didnt tuck the wires away but they did route them correctly and cleaned up the connections

 

she is ready to go...the windshield was resealed and a mini sport short shifter is being installed...should be on the ground and ready to roll by the time i come back

 

lol here is an update...me taking pics of boogie on the causeway lol...thats right im back!