After pulling the masking tape off the headlights, I knew right away the headlights needed to be black to go with the bumper and the roof. I covered getting the buckets out and the trim rings off above.

The problem with painting chrome is it's so hard it's difficult to sand well enough for the paint to get a "tooth". And although it seems counter-intuitive, I thinks it's better to use finer sandpaper rather than course.
I used 800 on a DA sander using as much pressure as I dared considering it's plastic. And it is actually metal chrome on the plastic. In a few small spots I sanded through one layer to a second layer that actually had a very light brass or copper look, just like "real' chrome.

Before sanding I first wiped them down with alcohol then lacquer thinner to get any wax off. If you don't and go right to sanding you're grinding any wax [or god forbid silicone] into the material which can cause adhesion issues. [pretty much true for anything you're painting, unless sandblasting it]

So, after sanding I could see numerous pits, from stones or whatever that were really hard to see prior to, so with painting them black any tiny imperfections will show, I figured I may need to use some spot putty, or at the very least some high build primer to sand back.

Before that, I cleaned them again 3-4 times, then a very light coat of self-etching primer. Not usually supposed to apply paint directly over self-etch but I needed a few coats of high build sanding primer anyway. The self-etch isn't really needed if using epoxy primer, but for weird metals like aluminum [or chrome] self-etch isn't a bad idea, but pretty much just one thin coat.

I waited until that had barely set then a mist coat of gray high build, then after a few minutes one, then a second wet coat to build it up.

Then sanding and spot putty if necessary. I'm going to return to the angst of the spray gun and do the same black urethane [and maybe clear] that I used on the bumpers.

I had painted the mirror covers way back, but with rattle can black and they looked "ok" but just ok, so I popped those off, a quick sand and thin coat of primer on those as well.
In for a dime, in for a dollar!

robj


First pass. I went around 3-4 more times.



Can sort-of see the different layers/colors



Tiny pits. Make sure to sand the inner and outer edges.



Self -etching. I do like the SEM paints but it's hard to find locally. Amazon.



Primered. I forgot the shot of the self-etch. Picture the same thing only black. Ready for sanding.

 

So, all psyched-up and ready to do battle with the paint gun again and? No paint. Most have finished it up on the last bumper episode.

Now, waiting on paint, waiting on M/C tank [to revisit brake bleeding] and waiting for a spot on the hood where I sanded through to harden so I can work on that.

As I don't do waiting well and they were out, I wet sanded the headlights with 5000, then compound, polish 2, then polish 3. They look pretty good.


Tonight I've beed reading about the Hyper-Flash I'm getting. Life was sure a lot simpler when all you had to do was pay $2.99 for a new HD Flaser.

I haven't been getting much response in "Hatch Talk".

I'm doing the blacking out thing and I bought rear LED taillights off Amazon.

These; https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TDB8BU/?coliid=I3UUF7VNN54URT&colid=1D5GRNJ0OXPDL&psc=1&r ef_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I bought them specifically as they have a ballast resistor already wired in. It came with double edge tape for mounting but as I know they can get hot I screwed the resistor to the inner fender liner.

So I'm getting Hyper-flash, despite the resistor. All the other turn signal bulbs are incandescent and all work. It's really a pisser as all the reviews say people plugged them in and they worked great.

We'll not here!

1. I read where someone said you can't mix and match. [ I can't see how this could be true as you need a resistor for each LED bulb, and the resistor "fools" the computer into thinking the LED us using as much wattage as an incandescent]. So mix and match? True/False?
2. Low battery voltage can cause hyper flash. [I trickle charged my 4 moth old batter to float mode and no change.] So low voltage? True/false?

3. I even tried adding a second ballast resistor inline with the first. No change.

I'm not sure I have the computer skills to get a cord and a program for my laptop [old guy] so are there any other possible solutions?

Thanks
rob



Not perfect but much, much better.

 

Now I'm really mystified with these hateful taillights/ turn signals. I tried them again, still hyper flashing. Both sides.

Then I noticed the side marker was out on the drivers side. Replaced that and the drivers side is flashing normally. [I know the side marker was lighting before.]

But the passenger side is still hyper flashing. I'm sure it will all be different the next time I try them.
WTF?

GRRRRob

10 minutes later, tried them again. Drivers side still good/normal.

Pass. side worked normally for about 20 flashes then started hyper flashing. Maybe it is a voltage thing although new batter and trickle charger on. I can't start the engine now as all the intake stuff is off for the m/c change.
I think it's possessed...

 

Nice job with the front bumper!
What was your process with removing the orange peel? We recently had a hood resprayed by a local painter for a project/beater R53 we picked up that someone had wrecked previously. The fresh paint has a good amount of orange peel so we are hoping to try and remove it with just a polisher but may have to resort to wet sanding.

 

tej,
if you go back a few posts there's some photos. Especially noticeable was/is the one of the top of my bumper when I first started sanding. Orange peel the size of craters.But, I had really laid the clear on thick so I knew I had lots of room to work it down. I doubt a polisher will remove the orange peel, it will only make it shiny. You need to sand to level the orange peel, then compound/polish to make it shiny again.

You better grab yourself a beer to get to the end of this. You may be sorry you asked...

After trying any number of products for cars, boats, gel coat, paint, etc... I came across 3M Perfect-It system. It's not cheap but it's almost dumb proof, perfect for me.
Basically you start with wet or dry sanding with 1500. [I found initially dry worked better even though you tend to use a little more sandpaper but the advantage is you can really see what you're doing]
Then 3000, then 5000. This was really developed for body shops to save time. By sanding with 5000 it's reported you can skip the compounding stage and go right to polish #2 and #3. [the compound is considered #1.] [this is the advantage for body shops as a quick sand with 5000 is much faster than compounding, and less clean up] But even though I use the 5000, I also compound as I'm not a body shop and I'm not trying to save time.

So the "official" process is; [more on that below]
1500 wet or dry
3000 wet
5000 wet
#1 compound White lid, White pad.
#2 polish Black lid Black pad
#3 polish Blue lid Blue pad.
This is not cheap, but it works with little guesswork [unlike what I've used in the past, wool pads, Megiures, etc...] with results that were "ok" but I always felt they could have been better. But with the Perfect-It system the results speak for themselves as you noted..

I just ordered 3 more [quarts?] of each and they were about $44 each, And, the white, black and blue pads are not cheap either. I have 10" ,6" and 4", [I think-not positive about the sizes] To be honest, I could get by with the 6 and the 4. The larger sizes [10 and 6] have a waffle face, the small 3-4" do not. The best part is the waffle face does not generate the heat like say a wool pad [and possibly burning through the paint or clear coat] . If you're a professional you can work magic with a wool pad, but I'm no expert.
After sanding, you start out compounding/polishing at 1500 or so rpm with just enough pressure to collapse the "waffles", then as the compound or polish starts to "disappear", lighten up the pressure and increase the speed slightly.
[this is with a rotary polisher-sander] Using a d/a polisher, [the kind with 2 handles] is a joke. The only thing they're good for is taking off wax with a terry-cloth bonnet.
Harbor Freight has a variable speed one for about $49 or $59 that I used for years, [not the $39 one, get the one thats $10 more than the cheap one. I just graduated to a Makita as finally my skill outpaced the machine. But the Harbor Freight one is fine [and much lighter- a consideration when doing a boat hull!].

But, as to the official process. My bumper looked like I painted it with a squirt bottle, [at least the very top, and the top part of the lower grill opening] the rest looked better.
So, the top, and the top of the lower opening I sanded with 1500, then the face with 3000, then everything with 5000 then compound and polish 2 and 3.

A warning here!
On the sharp corners of the bumper cover [or any edges], go very gently as the paint runs away from the edges and isn't nearly as thick, I did one really, REALLY, quick, light pass with each grit on the edges but mostly avoided them.
Another thing. Start with the finest grit first and see what that does, if not enough effect go to the next courser one etc.. Start with the least invasive first.
Sandpaper. Using an air D/A sander you def. want a soft "interface pad". I use 1500 film paper and could probably get away with 3000 film paper but the 5000 they sell "foam backed " paper which is really nice but really expensive, like $50-60 for 20 sheets, but it does go really far.

Also, if a "professional" painted the hood, he may not have used a ton of clear, so proceed with caution, you don't want to cut through the clear. I would start with the 5000 wet in one spot, wipe the wet off and see what it looks like. The orange peel will really stand out with sanded spots and shiny spots. If after a few passes it doesn't look like you're making headway, go to the 3000 then 1500. Start with the least aggressive first.

In general when wet sanding clear, you get a slightly "milky looking" residue. If you start to see any color at all, STOP. then proceed very, very gently, as you may have cut through the clear, at least in that one spot. Not the complete end of the world as you can spray another coat or two of clear, or what you have will still polish up, it just won't last as long.

So, the "perfect-It" system is somewhat dumb proof, but it's not for "dummies" and you can't go in like a "bull in a china shop". it still calls for a careful process and judgment. But it's better than anything I've ever used. An there's a ton on YouTube videos on the process.

Probably more that you wanted to know so be careful what you ask for. Ha!

The only downside is, if you do this to the hood you're going to end up doing the rest of the car as it will look so good you won't be able to help yourself! And then your buddies car, etc... So in the long run it could be worth the investment.

Good luck and let us know how you make out. [I was going to post about taking on the challenge of painting the mirror bases, but that may have to wait, as this wore me out...
robj

 

Very nice job with the headlights!
UV resistant clear coat can help to keep them like this. (if you have nothing else to do )

 

Gabor,
I never thought of that. I think with the "fun" I've been having with paint lately I may just leave well enough alone. Now that they're smooth, it wouldn't be that hard to hit them with a little polish, even after mounted.
Right now, [at least until some parts come in] I'm focusing on painting the mirror bases. I think cleaning them will be the key as I'm sure in 15 years they've had all sorts of goo spread on them in an effort to keep them "black". Should be interesting...
rob

 

Mirror Brackets.
I'm repainting the covers but the brackets themselves look pretty faded so I'm going to try painting them as well. The challenge here is going to be getting them clean enough. I'm sure in the last 15 years all sorts of concoctions have been smeared on them in an effort to keep them black.

I first sprayed them liberally with the 3m spray used for cleaning in-between compound/polishing. then alcohol, then lacquer thinner.
Then, I brought them home and scrubbed with a grey Scotchbright and really hot soapy water. So that's where we stand.
Next, another wipe with alcohol, then a thorough sanding with a scotch bright pad.

I also have some SEM "adhesion promoter" for plastic I'm going to try. Sort of a primer, but paint needs to be applied within 30 minutes. I bought it for something else but never used it so we'll see...
rob



Hot water, microwave hot.



Hoping they're clean enough.

 

Painting 101. [maybe 102?]

So the black urethane came in today and while mulling all this over I decided as I was mixing up the black gloss anyway, I would spray the mirror brackets gloss as well.

It'll hold up better than the flat and will match everything else. For once the painting went well, [I think- I've been surprised before] and I used the smaller spot gun I had and it worked out well. I mixed about 16 oz. which was maybe 3-4 oz. more than I needed. but better a little too much than too little.

I watched my painter buddy, Alfredo the other night and we discussed things, [as best we could given the language barrier], but he was patient with me and I think I learned some things. Basically I needed to use higher pressure and thin the paint more. I watched him and he almost goes by feel and the sound and "look" of the spray.

He was admiring my DA sander, so I bought him one, [even put a bow on it] for his help and advise. He pretty much does everything third world country style- by hand. It was $59 on Amazon but you would have thought it was the holy grail. I was happy to do it.

Anyway, enough of that, lets just go to the photos.



They say preparation is 90% of the job. In addition to wiping with alcohol and with a tack cloth. This also includes how and where you'll support painted parts. I actually figure out how the part is going to sit, and go through the motions of painting and sitting them down to make sure it will go smoothly.



I did use the adhesion promotor [on the mirror brackets] and it seemed to work ok. Directions say a mist coat, then a wet coat and paint within 30 minutes. I didn't quite do a "wet coat". A little less than that.


The "sort-of" wet coat.



First coat of black. So far so good.



First coat covered, but I wouldn't call it "wet". Second coat after 8-10 minutes] I was a little braver, relatively wet. Then about 8-10 minutes and 2 somewhat wet coats, almost, back to back: Then about 8-10 minutes and a touch here and there. It probable ended up being 3 somewhat wet coats. Where I saw "orange peel" I added some additional then a slightly wet mist on the whole thing to even things out. Flowed well and no runs!



I think it will work out.



I was thinking about forging ahead with 1-2 coats of clear. I decided to quit while I was ahead.



I'm good with this. I'm not going to touch them for 2-3 days...

I'm getting a little more comfortable with the painting thing. It's not so much about what the instructions say. It's more about "feel" and actually seeing what's going on on the surface and the spray pattern.

So all in all a good night. Parts still look shiny, the gun is clean and I'm 3 beers in.

robj

Now 4....

 

🍻

 

No posts for a few days but I have been working.

Got the new brake fluid reservoir and got that and the master cylinder back together and the brakes bled.
The pressure bleeder worked great but does not work well with "speed bleeders", Probably not enough pressure to overcome the check valve. I ended up putting the old bleeders back on and all was good.
I went all the way around, then waited a 1/2 hour, then unhooked the speed bleeder and pressed the brake pedal hard a few times. Then went around and bled them all again but really didn't get much in the way of bubbles, [maybe a few super tiny ones].
So the brakes seem "done".

I couldn't remember where I left off on the drivers side paint, so I polished I with the blue #2 polish [maybe for the second time-Who knows?] and put a coat of wax on.

Then wet sanded the corner of the hood where I had accidentally cut through the paint, that Alfredo had blended for me 2-3 days ago. 3000, 5000, then compound. Then , polish #1 and #2 on the entire hood.

Turn signals;
So I'm pretty sure my turn signals are possessed.
I read where someone said they got hyper-flash when their RPMs were low, and it went away with increase in RPM. Although I have a "new" battery, [5 months] and I have it on a smart trickle charger, I thought maybe this could be voltage related.
So I charged the battery for a day or two until it was def. in float mode.

Then tried the signals. They would blink normally 5-10 times, sometimes more, [10-15 times] then hyper flash. If I turned the key off and on, each time it would blink normally fewer times, then hyper-flash. Or one side would hyper flash after 1-2 times, and the other side would blink normal [for a while], then it might switch sides...

At that point I had to walk away for a day or two. Then got the brakes, etc... back together and could start the engine.
With the engine running both worked normally, 2 successive tries for about 20-25 "blinks".
Maybe it's working? Who knows? I'm almost afraid to try it again but I guess I'll have to eventually...
I'm not calling it fixed quite yet.

Today, I'm taking all the tape off and cleaning up all the compound splatters. Going to try to get to the hood stripes today. Then tomorrow I can install the top grill, and headlights along with the scoop and the under hood insulation.

Seems like progress is being made.

robj

 

Some progress being made.

Got to the boat shed about 2p and just got home. So about 11 hours. But it was a good 11 hours.

I sanded the corner of the hood then compound, polish #2 on part of the hood and #3 on the entire thing. [I had already done the drivers side.]
Then took all the plastic and masking tape off everywhere.
Then went around the entire car with hot soapy water and got all of the compound "splatters" from all the nooks and crannies, including the fender wells, the door jams, everything. Washed the springs, backing plates, LCA's , all around the edges of the hood and the door jams.
That was about 3 hours worth, maybe 4.

Then installed the grill in the hood. That was a little tricky as some of the stupid little plastic "studs" had broken and the rest were somewhat "stripped". I tried regular 6mm nuts with loc-tite, to sort of glue them on and when I slammed the hood, one or two fell off and one broke off with the stud.
I obviously needed a different plan. Effing plastic sh*t.

You youngsters may not remember but I remember when cars were put together with metal and nuts and bolts.

Anyway I had ordered some H.D. double sided tape to put the headlight rings back on the buckets so I used that on the grill, with the 4-5 studs/nuts that were remaining. I think that will work. Seems pretty "stuck" Wiped the hood area were the grill goes with alcohol, then warmed every thing up with a heat gun. Seems pretty "stuck".

Then put the black stripes on the hood. That went pretty well, the second better than the first. I put little tape tabs about 1/8" away from the line where the original stripes were at the w/s and the grill to line them up, then plenty of soapy water.
I started out with a body putty squeegee, with a piece of smooth tape over the edge, then went to the same thing wrapped around a micro fiber towel. The squeegee alone seemed to scratch the stripe, despite the tape. The towel wrapped squeegee worked better.

Then sanded, compound, and polish 2 and 3 the hood scoop. [off the car, in my lap]
Then glued up a little tear, and painted the hood insulation with flat black. That dried pretty quick so I installed that.

Then went to install the hood scoop and the piece under the hood, but couldn't find the nuts for the hood scoop. 6mm were too big so after measuring, looks like they're 5 mm.
I have a pretty good selection of nuts and bolts [none in 4-5mm though, odd size] as if I need a few I order a box from MsMaster-Carr, For the price of 5 at the hardware store, I get 50 or 100 from them.

So that's where we are. Waiting for a few nuts. Maybe Tuesday. They're not quite as speedy as Amazon.

So I'm thinking tomorrow, the front inner fender liners, then start on the flares and the rockers. Hell, It might be on 4 wheels next week.

I still have the roof to sand and polish, and I may sand the faded plastic drip rails on the roof and paint with gloss black, but some progress, for sure.. And the tailgate, as between the boat and the Cooper there's about 10" of room between the back of the car and the garage door, it's a little difficult to work on the back.

When on 4 wheels I'll turn it around, paint the little piece of fender flare in the back [the rear bumper portion] on both sides and compound/polish the hatch. I may even do the "rear seat delete", we'll see.
Also waiting on the early model clear bumper light. With early models the bumper light was the reverse light, and when they moved the reverse light to the tail light, the bumper light went to a red lens. Mine is red,. I think with a separate switch for that it makes more sense to have a clear lens to switch on when needed. But thats' just me.

A few pics for your viewing pleasure.



Hood looking good...



Hood insulation painted and installed. It was pretty crusty looking after 150K miles.



Double edge tape on the grill. I think it will work. We'll see...



I think between the stripes, the scoop and the trim rings, it pulls the black bumper together. I like it. I think it looks kinda badass.



Tomorrow headlights and trim rings.



And last but not least, a new shiny Mini badge!

Hopefully some additional progress tomorrow.!

robj

 

I was in Europe in a heavy fog and the car in front of me had their rear fog lights on (red). They actually worked pretty well. Saw the fog lights before the tail lights. Not sure what you need the light to be white other than a backup light booster. I think it is illegal to drive with a white light shining back. But that's just me.

Aren't you just a little anxious to get the Mini on the road? Man, I would not wait for nuts...

 

"Aren't you just a little anxious to get the Mini on the road? Man, I would not wait for nuts..."

Nuts for waiting for nuts?
Story of my life...

The rear fog light I'll just use as a back-up light when needed.

I still have plenty to do so waiting a day or 2 for nuts is no biggie... [for work while still "on the street" I did surveillance for 20 years - I have the patience of a rock]

So, headlights, front inner fenders, rockers, wheel trim, inside of pass. door to put back together, mirrors and brackets, fog lights, etc...

robj

 

Tonight I got the headlights in. It didn't go smoothly. I ended up cutting the tiny clips off the bottom of the ring along with the ones on the top and just going with the sticky tape, [which almost works too good]. The problem is/was, when trying to slide the ring up, the tape would engage making it hard to get the rings lined up with the lens.

After that it went fine. Then I broke the tiny part that the washer cover clips on. [Super Glue to the rescue]
Then got sidetracked and started installing the fog light brackets. They were originally screwed on but I used stainless pop rivets as they won't come loose. The brackets for the Hella fogs were stainless so cf course I had to polish them.

The wiring was "dealer installed" and I think they had the car wash guy install them. I ended up doing most of the wiring over again but looks pretty good now.

The lights are a little on the large size, Hella 500's, but looking at old rally photos this was not an issue.

Photos below, [original questions about fog light activation below that] any suggestions appreciated.



So below is repost from Hatch Talk.



Go big or go home ...



Lit. Chloe is like WTF?

So my well used Mini came with "dealer installed" fog lights. I think they assigned this job to the same guy that washes the cars.

Pelican Parts has a very detailed post on the installation of the factory fog light kit and my installation looks nothing like that. As this installation involves taking a bunch of stuff apart, [including the radio!] my gut feeling is the dealer, [or at least this particular mechanic] found a quicker way to do the installation. After all, time is money. But still, wires cut too short and twisted and taped together, etc.. Really?

My original fog lights were completely rusted out, [the chrome buckets] and I took them and the brackets off and threw them in a box. As I actually remember when an original Mini won the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally, I was looking at some old vids and photos and they were not shy about aux. fog lights so what the heck? I got a set of amber Hella 500 which were a little bigger than the OEM.

Anyway, after hooking them up I realized they only came on with the high beams which is really stupid. When really driving in the fog the last thing you want is all the white high beam reflecting as much white light back at you as possible.

I have a really thin green and yellow wire quickie crimped to one of the wires going into the drivers side headlight bucket. {the pelican instructions have that wire going to a completely different place]
My gut feeling is this goes to the relay to say there's current which allows the fog lights to come on when that portion [light] of the headlights is getting current.

What I would really like to do is to be able to have the fog lights come on with the low beams, [or no beams] Like the first switch setting.
I have the felling that moving the yellow/grn wire to one of the other headlight wires would accomplish this. The question is which one?
I have the Bentley shop manual and looked at the wiring diagrams and couldn't makes heads or tails out of it. It doesn't even look like a wiring diagram to me.

Anyway, am I on the right track with the little grn./yel wire and the relay?
And it so, which headlight wire is low beam, [or no beam]? I had actually though about running the wire to a constant positive so they would come on "whenever". Think that would work?

 

Rob! Connect the Hella to the "original" fog light with a relay. (The lights at the bottom of the bumper) Then then you can use the fog light switch to turn them on or off.

 

Gabor gives a good suggestion, but it may be overkill if you're just rolling around town.

You may want to double check the laws regarding auxiliary lighting in MD. I know in PA fog lights are required to go off with the high beams, only working with the low beams. Driving lights are the opposite, only on with the high beams, which is how yours were originally wired. Now that all depends on the person inspecting the vehicle, or the cop writing the ticket. I've had fog lights that would work with either high or low beams and never had an issue. If you want that you could either wire them to a constant or switched ignition source of their own, or for that first headlight switch position, use one of the front parking lights as the signal.

 

Do you think that's determined by where the little yellow/green wire goes? I was going to take a test lead over tonight and see what happened if that was connected to a 12v. constant. I would really like the fogs to come on with just the parking lamps. If it's that foggy, any white light is going to reflect back.

I have to assume they're wired to a relay and that small wire tells the relay it's ok to turn the lights on as that, [formally the high beam] light is energized. At least that's what it looks like to me with that wire going to one of the wires at the headlight bucket. It's too small a wire to carry much current.
rj

P.S. a friend is doing the inspection, [only required once, when getting tags] He insists on "safe" but will let some "nitpickey" things slide, [a little]

 

A quick update.
Fog lights- I connected the tiny Yellow/Grn. wire to a constant 12v. source at the fuse box and the fog lights come on with any lights, just what I was looking for.

Got the front inner fender liners installed. That went smoothly as I had them on and off before.

I also installed the fender flares. Not quite as smooth. The lower went fine, but the middle clip on the hood was munged up. I had new clips, but a new one just wouldn't go in. I fought with it for probably 45 minutes, then thought I had it in and tried to install the flare. The clip wouldn't quite line up with the hole and left a "lump" in the flare. I finally said screw it and took the clip out.
The flare laid flat so screw it.
The funny thing was I had the same issue in the same position with the clip on the drivers side. I took me 5 minutes to say screw it and chuck that clip. I think it will be fine, the flares lay flat so there's that.

Before I painted the bumper I installed it and the gaps from left to right were perfect. I checked it tonight. Not so much. High on the left , low on the right. I started taking the bumper cover off, but thought I better do this tomorrow, getting a little tired and a little grumpy. It's a pain having to do something over you thought was done.

But the fog lights look neat.
robj



The iffy dealer install.



12V. constant at the fuse box.



Chloe getting tired of waiting for a ride. She's always "right there!"



Plenty of light for an old guy...

 

Back to the bumper cover.
The passenger side seemed to fit fine, nice gap to the hood etc... about 3/16". The drivers side, not so much. about a half inch gap. Had the bumper cover on and off a half dozen times. Had the bumper carrier on and off an equal number of times trying to raise the right side to reduce the gap. Re-adjusted the big round plastic things that "locate" the bumper carrier every time the carrier is off. And to "test" the fit, every time, everything has to go back together... Even tried adjusting the latches, no help...
Grrr....

In addition to moving the bumper carrier you also have to move the radiator support as the top screws for the bumper cover screw into that. The real pisser is before I painted the bumper cover the gaps were perfect. WT..Heck?

Anyway, after 4-5 hours of messing with this, I said "screw-it". [Actually I started about 630p, and it's now 1am]

As a result, I cheated on my Mini.
I confess.
And it was willful and I knew it was cheating as I was doing it. I put a rubber spacer under the corner of the bumper where it bolts to the radiator support. This raised that corner the 3/8" I needed. The gaps are now within about a 32/nd of an inch.

Do I feel good about it? No. Can I live with it? Maybe. Am I going to have recurring guilt feelings? Of course. Am I going to tell my garage buddies? Yes, confession is good for the soul...

And to make me pay for this transgression, as I was moving the light to take a pic of the washer, the hood slammed shut, the unbolted scoop flew off and broke one of the clips for the bolt off. So, that's what you get for "cheating" on your Mini. The good news is it didn't mess up the paint and super glue may fix the plastic where the bolt goes.

On a brighter note, I did get my 30 day temp. tags today and I did get the black covers for the fog logs to tone that down a little.
So tomorrow the bumper cover has to come back off, and everything hooked up for the perminate installation. Really hoping the gaps are the same tomorrow...

Pics;



Passenger gap, pretty good.



Drivers side gap, [with the rubber washer.]



The offensive rubber washer. Some times ya just have to say "screw it..." No one will every know but you guys and my garage buddies. Just hoping my wife doesn't find out I was "cheating". But at least I used a "rubber".



Black fog light covers. And a tag! Good for 30 days before inspection.

Chloe is like, come on dude, I wanna ride! WTF is wrong with you...

robj

 

I really like the look of the blacked out front end and the yellow Hella's. Awesome build thread.

 

Are you positive that both hood latches are latching? I thought my bumper was 1/2" low on the left once, but opening and closing the hood a little harder fixed it.

 

Thanks!
The bumper ended up black as it was broken and I fixed it with epoxy and F.G. mat and already had black paint. I was a little skeptical about it but the black stripes and headlight rings seemed to pull it together. After that I thought what the heck and did the mirrors and doing the wiper arms tonight.
And the roof is black so that helps as well.

thanks again,
rob

 

Try adjusting the hood latch a bit. I had an issue where the passenger side hood to bumper gap was pretty large. Just moving the hinge that mounts to the chassis down a bit did the trick.

 

I wish it had been that simple. I actually tried to adjust the drivers side lower but it only had about 1/8" lower to go.
Screw-it, I'll have to live with the rubber washer.

Alls well that ends well,

rob