Hi everyone-

I just purchased a 2010 R56 in Chili Red and am slowly collecting the aftermarket bits to make it a look-alike of the red R53 from the Italian Job, complete with nonsense like the diamond plate box full of gold bars in the trunk which should be a big hit at the Children's hospitals I do car events with in Los Angeles with the good folks at www.starcarcentral.com.

Looking forward to using your classifieds quite a bit!

--Brian

 

That's a cool thing you're doing. After looking up those cars to refresh my memory, I learned that some of the cars were electric in the film.

 

Welcome and a great thing you're doing.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I come from BMW E38 ownership (James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies replica car) as well as classic VW beetle ownership (Ex-Disney Herbie the Love Bug special effects car), and I thought those two groups were the best I could expect from an owner's club - but I'm very impressed with the camaraderie of modern Mini folks as well on here!

I've only had the car two weeks, but in that time I've found the correct front bumper on here, most of the JCW upgrade kit for the back and sides, as well as the correct Italian Job wheels on local Craigslist.

One more side skirt, some Chili Red paint, and a diamond plate box full of gold bars in the trunk and this build is ready to go meet some kids!

Brilliant balance on this car - it's as much fun to drive as my Herbie which has a custom racing suspension, but with enough manners that it's a comfortable daily driver.

Cheers

--Brian

 

Welcome, Sounds like fun.

 

Yesterday's trip with the mini through LA found me one of the major pieces left - a pair of screen used Italian Job gold bars to mold and fill the trunk area with lightweight foam copies!



Wheels on the car, JCW rear bumper and side skirts in transit, waiting for a shipping quote on the front bumper... This thing will be done in no time!

--Brian

 

Looking forward to the pictures, thought about getting one of the special badges they used on the original film Mini's,...

 

That's hilarious! What are those gold bars made of?

 

Nice Find.

Remember there were some IJ hats and chairs made that for on/off screen crew and workers , some times they pop up on ebay.

The early IJ days: 2003

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...y-station.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ow-people.html

http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/05/...s-mini-coopers

 

Thanks for sharing those, very fun reads!

I'm going to be giving ECS tuning a call soon once all of the big pieces come in to sort through all of the small brackets, sill plates, JCW grille, etc.

Cheers

--Brian

 

Awesome, you are welcome. And look forward to helping with the parts on this project. If I find any other cool IJ 2003 stuff I will post up

The new Pixel Movie ( Columbia Pictures ) is coming out and MINIs are in it. Kind of a IJ 2003 MINIs vs Bad guys theme. It has the new F56 Gen 3 MINI and they are the ghost.











So some cool stuff on the way.

 

Yesterday I gave her the first full wash and wax after removing the previous MC40 decal set. The body kit is still in transit, but even with just the wheels she's starting to look the part:



Just ordered the side skirts today from a fellow member. Have I mentioned how much I love the classifieds on this forum?

Still to do:
- Post facelift front bumper and JCW clubman lip (the one I'm getting from these classifieds is already the right color!)
- JCW rear bumper, paint in red
- JCW side skirts, paint in red
- Cooper S chrome gas cap, paint surround (in transit)
- JCW grill and black trim
- Cooper S side scuttles
- Shift paddle wheel (in transit)

Then the fun stuff, making a bunch of gold bars and a getaway storage box / car show A/V system.

--Brian

 

Getting there... The body kit is done except for the hood and rear bumper (both of which I have, but they need to be painted).

Gold bars and gold bar boxes are coming in the next few months....

 

Very nice, looks great.

 

She had her first car show yesterday morning, a benefit for an injured motorcyclists' fund. A few famous friends joined her, of course...

 

Looks like a fun time! The MINI looks great as well.

 

Awesome !

 

The gold bars are being worked on, I have the correct faux diamond plate for the gold bar box - and with the new spoiler today, all that's left on the body is the hood:





(Cooper S exhaust and other go-fast bits will follow later, I had an extra S bumper finisher painted along with the JCW bumper).

This should finish up nicely in a month or two...

--Brian

 

Looks great!

 

Thanks for the update , looks great.