Hello !

A while ago I decided I wanted to learn more about car mechanics. Something that's hard to do without actually owning a car (I've been driving for 16 years now, but I've never needed to own one yet).
To get my hands dirty, I wanted a cheap fun car that was at least an Euro 3 with emission. Turns out the only car that really fits the bill is an early BMW Mini! (and I learned afterwards it's actually Euro 4, even better!).

I'm now the proud owner of a 20 years old yellow 2002 Mini Copper r50. Not my color of choice, but so far everyone else likes it.

While it passed the technical inspection recently, it still has lots of things that requires attention: whining clutch (probably a poor install, it was changed 1 year ago), weak brakes (the rear break disks are at their limits, they should have been changed with the last caliper change but weren't), a cracked strut mount (not too concerning yet, it isn't mushrooming, I'll monitor the crack), and a myriad of cosmetic issues.
And since I have very limited maintenance records, I'll do a full service maintenance, just in case (despite the indicator telling me I've got plenty of time).

I hope to get it back in tip-top stock shape, and it's future is not decided yet. Maybe I'll resell it to get a new project car, maybe I'll keep it. It has to stay strictly stock because unfortunately my country laws are really really strict (France) and modding is a big no-no.

I already found plenty of useful infos on this forum, and I hope to continue learning!

 

Awesome to hear about all of this! Welcome aboard. Lots of info here on just about anything you would need to do, and Modmini on youtube is also a great source of DIY knowledge. Pics of your ride?

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! I've already watched a few Modmini videos, along with other Youtubers. That's a great things about having a fun old car: lots of people getting their hand greasy on it and posting nearly every info you could look for!
Talking about that, I actually registered to ask for help after failing to find some info (an unidentified part felled out of the engine bay during oil change), more details here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4639103

I've yet to take good photos of my ride, but here is a photo from the day I got it:

 

Welcome! Nice to the old liquid yellow as they are pretty rare now.