This is 'Hiro', a neglected '02 Cooper S I picked up from my friend's Dad, off the road for 3 years. It only has 53k on the clock, but it lived in Detroit and New Hampshire, so there's a lot of surface rust on the undercarriage. It was parked because the brake lines rotted through underneath. The brakes were redone just prior to being parked, but they've been sitting for all that time, so I decided to just replace the pads, rotors, and hoses.

One of the mufflers was also rotted, but it was the one that can be deleted. I've removed the exhaust and I'll take it to a local place to get the flange to connect to the cat rebuilt and to remove the rotted muffler and call it a day. (I don't feel like spending $500+ on a new exhaust.)

It was also obviously an apartment block for small critters, and I've cleaned a bunch of leaves, nests, and acorns out. There are still acorns on top of the gas tank, so that might come out, too. The interior has a definite ammonia smell, so the seats and carpet are coming out as well for a thorough cleaning.

And he desperately needs a bath.

But, it still fires immediately and sounds good. I should have it back on the road before too long.

 

Welcome! And what an awesome, feel good project. Keep us updated !

 

Nice, congrats!

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome, and a nice rescue job.

That looks like a QuickJack holding the MINI up. What do you think of them? Many a time lying on a frying or frigid driveway, I've wanted a lift, but maybe one of these is worth the investment. A usable garage would be nice too.

cheers
MacMini34

 

The QuickJack is great. It's much easier and safer than jack stands, and it gets the car up nearly two feet. I don't have the ceiling height for a true lift, but I think this is the next best thing.

It's not great for quick one-wheel kind of things. But if you need to get under the car, it's the way to go.

 

Any update?