So, took the plunge and purchased my mini from another member here on NAM a little bit after Christmas after my 1.8t Jetta was totaled while sitting still, waiting on oncoming traffic to make a left(attached some before/after images for anyone curious)... All said and done, basically traded that Jetta for my mini sitting at just over 100k miles, whilest the Jetta had 207k.
Needless to say I am officially addicted to this spirited little go-kart.


The car seems to be in strong running condition, it now has new rubbers on all 4 wheels, and only things engine wise my local mini mechanic could find wrong with it is the common power steering pump leak (claimed it to be on recall, should the pump actually fail and not to really worry about it) and thermostat housing has a slight leak which will be replacing with a full OEM kit and coolant flush towards the end of this month.

I have a nice suspension refresh of sorts planned for this weekend. Hopefully the sub frame isn't too difficult of a task. Did all my own work from timing belt/water pump to struts/control arms/etc on the Jetta so I don't see it being too difficult after looking at the write ups here. The control arm bushings were recently replaced with powerflex so I don't have that headache to worry about.. Just a rattling sway bar due to shot bushings for a couple more days.


Already have the mod bug. Or rather, the bug that bit me while I had the Jetta has gotten 10x bigger. Looking forward to being a part of this community and seeing what I can do to it whilst still keeping it as a CA legal commuter.

 

Welcome to the MINIacs...

So many MODs, so little time.

Motor on!

 

Welcome....you sure got a nice car. Seems like the accident actually worked in your favor

 

Congrats on your new-to-you R53. These are great little cars that are fun right outta the box, and even moreso if you add some go-fast parts. As you're in Cali, you might contact Jan @ Revolution Motor Works when you're ready to modify the MINI. He has some fantastic performance parts, and does tuning too.

 

Congrat for your new ride and welcome the NAM! I got mine last year and enjoy it every single second riding it. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do.

 

Congrats on a nice looking R53!!

 

Had a nice day, washed her and fixed a couple of minor things.
Reattached the lower aero grill that was starting to peel off (previous owner opted the 3M route over potentially butchering bumper, not necessarily a bad thing).

Also got the passenger door inner latch working again as the cable disconnected from the mechanism, so that minor fault is now fixed as well.

Only other thing I can recall to get it up to tip top shape is the driver side window... Currently it works with the "Fonzie" fix, but would like to do a more permanent fix. Should I be looking at replacing the motor itself or is there a different route?