During my first build, I got in the habit of looking for more cars to build next. I (as well as my friends) cut me off after picking up 4 cars. Luckily I already had buyers lined up for 3 of the cars (I'm keeping the 4th) and they were in no hurry.

You can see my original Build #1 - 2008 Red MCS auto. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-rebuild.html

I picked up this 2008 S from a friends dealership about a year ago. It had ~140K on the clock and they didn't want to deal with it, so I got it for a very good price. It's difficult to see in the picture, but this car looked like it has 140K worth of dirt inside & out. I'm not sure if it ever received a good cleaning in its life.



It had a small oil & coolant leak, which I fix immediately and then gave it a thorough cleaning. This means removing the interior. It smelled of old, long term dirt. The wheels were either bent or scratched 360 degrees, so I knew they would need replacing when it came up for rebuild.



Everything had to be cleaned, wiped down, scrubbed, then reinstalled.


I drove the car for a year, which was a lot of fun, but I could tell it needed a rebuild. I a few months ago, I let a friend borrow the car while I worked on her SUV. Two days later, she asked if she could buy it. Naturally I said yes, but it needed a rebuild and I wanted to build it to match her tastes & personality. She had a simple plan, "Black out as much as you can, make the brakes red, and add an offset stripe."
After my adventure with Build #1 (link above), I knew exactly what this car needed. Since it was already running, I was confident it only needed a top end rebuild.

Here is the parts list of the rebuild.
- Cleaned and rebuild cylinder head
- thermostat housing, water pump/pulley & water pipe
- New gaskets and seals for the Oil cooler/filter housing
- Fuel Filter
- Oil Pan Gasket (had to drop the oil pan to make sure it was clean of debris)
- Turbo
- Turbo oil lines (Feed & Return)
- Wheels & Tires, TPS Sensors
- Painted or Wrapped Chrome Trim
- Headlight & Fog Light lens polish
- Head Bolts
- Timing Chain
- Dip Stick (one that you can actually read)
- Crank & Cam Bolts
- Fuel Injectors & Spark Plugs
- Shocks
- Friction Wheel
- Serpentine Belt
- Vac pump gaskets
- Wiper Cowl Trim
- Windshield
- Radio Display replacement
- misc nuts, screws, clips, & small trim that were missing or broke
- Fix a dash rattle
- Clean and Polish the paint

I ordered all the parts prior to starting the rebuild because I wanted to see how quickly I could turn it around.

I backed it in and got it ready for disassembly.


First thing was to remove the trim and get it in for paint.


Then I started on the engine.


I was very happy to see the pistons were in excellent condition. Just a little cleaning to remove a little carbon, but otherwise, they were solid and the walls looks great.

The water pipe was broke where it meets the pump on the block. When I removed it, the broken piece fell out. I'm surprised it was still holding a seal.


I also wanted to fix the dash rattle. It's been a common rattle I've experienced on a few cars and I know how to fix it. Add foam tape to areas that make contact with the dash substructure and it goes away. Since the windshield was removed, it made it very easy.


here is a picture of the underside of the top dash pad.

Since the dash was out, it was perfect timing to replace the radio display. It had faded to the point that it was no longer a display. I found the display on Ebay and was pretty easy to repair. This is a pic of the CD player and display/station buttons. It's one unit that's joined by a ribbon cable.



One thing I was very sure about correcting was the suspension. 11 Year old car and it still had the factory shocks/struts. I went with Bilstein B4's and Wow, what a difference it makes. The rear shocks are really easy to disassemble and replace with set of spring compressors rented from the local auto parts store. After doing a couple of front sets, I've learned its easier to have a local shop disassemble for me. They can do it in minutes what took me over an hour for the fronts. I then cleaned, greased the bearings and reassembled. The reassemble is easy.


I don't have a picture, but it had a clear bra on the front bumper and front section of the hood. It came off pretty easily with a heat gun and patience. I then tackled the paint & headlights. Claybar, Compound, Polish, Polish, Polish, then wax for the paint. Thankfully the car is small, but it's still a time consuming process. The lights were clouded, so I started with 500 grit, then 1000, 1500, 2500, 3000, then polish. Wow, they looked brand new.

3 Weeks later








I like the "CEO" license plate. That was luck of the draw, but still funny.


I used some grip tape for the entry trim. I didn't think the aluminum Mini trim matched the theme.

My friend was extremely happy and commented it came out exactly how she had dreamed.

I also want to recognize member MWMWMWM for his assistance during my builds. He's helped me work through a few challenges and his technical knowledge and extra pair of hands has been extremely helpful.

The only thing left to do is clean and prep the garage for the next rebuild. Look for Denver Rebuild #3 to post soon.

 

Awesome build. I am amazed at your proficiency and tenacity, especially after the trials and tribulations of the lil red devil mcs. Silver is begging for a cross country road trip.

Ginger be like...... Quit messing up my garage.

 

Love me a good build ending

 

Nice as usual Tex!

 

Got any pictures of where you placed the foam tape for the dash rattle?

I'm kicking myself in the butt. I replaced the radio display last week and had most of the work done to get to the top dash pad but stopped short and did not find the source of the rattle. For me it is definitely coming from the top right hand side. If I place a sandwich sized bag of sand over the area where the glove box is located it completely goes away. But without it the noise is terrible, its ruining the entire Mini experience.

 

Great build! Looking forward to seeing some more get rebuilt!

 

I’ll make a separate thread on the dash noise. Each one of my builds had the same dash sound, but each one came from a different location. Driver’s side or passenger side. When I took the dash off, I just figured I’d cover all chances and add it to the complete underside at the contact locations.
It definitely cured the noise. It made the interior sound so cheap going over bumps in the road.

 

I’ll be looking forward to the new thread.

Thanks,

John

 

Great job! Just wondering if you have an idea of how many hours you had in this?

Also, "Claybar, Compound, Polish, Polish, Polish, then wax for the paint".
You might want to look into the 3m "Perfect-It " system. I used to do like you but the Perfect-It makes the job much faster. It's pretty much what was considered "paint correction". It is really pretty foolproof.

They recommend starting out with 1500 wet, [or dry] then 3000, then 5000, then you can compound or go straight to polish #1 then #2. My paint wasn't bad so on most of the car I used 3000, then 5000 then I actually did do the compound anyway although it says you can actually skip that step with the 5000. Then polish #2 and #3. [the compound is considered #1] It's possible I could have started with the 5000.

This really works and in the end I think it's actually less work. It takes a bit of fortitude to put sandpaper to paint, but they've got this figured out.
Just a thought.

Again, great build.
robj

Below is the door after doing the Perfect-It "system, [or at least part of it.] As I didn't start with the 1500 you can still see a tiny bit of orange peel but not bad for a 15 year old car that had little in the way of maintenance.



Before wax.

 

Already a step ahead of you. haha. I found the Perfect-It system online a while ago and thought “that’s exactly what I’ve been wanting”. I’ve been tied up with work lately, but planning to apply the Perfect-It on the next rebuild.......currently in process. Another build thread coming soon.

That door looks amazing!!

 

Texas,

Good! You're going to really like it.

I used to do the claybar thing, but it seemed like it did more for my muscles than the car. [mostly wearing them out]

I have to say the Perfect-It wasn't cheap. For the 5000 grit I did get the "paper" that each sheet was foam backed but boy was that pricey, but being "wet" they lasted a long time. I think you could do most of a car with maybe 4 sheets, max..
For the 1500 and 3000, I just got regular paper and used a soft interface.
I actually just ordered some 3000 foam backed, again quite pricey. With the 1500 I think I'll stick with regular sheet and the foam interface.

And the compound /polish, #1,#2, #3. Again not cheap. And let's not forget the white, black and blue foam pads. I got the 4", 6" and 8". [I might need to check in on the sizes to make sure] To be honest I'm more comfortable with the smaller sizes and could have probably skipped the 8" [or is it 10", I'll double check]

And on top of all that, I had been using the "best - Horrible Freight" rotary polisher, and finally my skill level surpassed the tool. Don't get me wrong, I used the H.F. tool, [the $59 one I think] for over 5 years, on 2-3 different boats plus cars and it worked pretty darn well for $59.

But up until now I was all over the map with Meguires products, etc... really not knowing what the heck I should be doing. The results were "pretty good" But I always felt they could be better.

I just got a Makita soft start 7" and it's darn nice. But it is a bit heavier than the H.F. and on cars it's not so bad but holding that puppy up against a boat hull? I might switch back to the H.F.
[My best buddy just bought a really oxidized 26' motorsailer, {dark green no less} and I promised him I could make that baby shine!]
At 68 I don't quite "bounce back" like I used to.

So I probably have $200 [ok, maybe $250 but don't tell my wife!], or so in not counting the polisher, but you know what? It works and really works well.
Makes me look like an expert!

I think you'll like it. In fact I'm sure of it looking at your work. It truly is a "system". Sorry about being so long winded, but it's nice to be doing a job with the right stuff, knowing it's going to work and not "wondering..."

This week I'm doing the side that was just painted and after that the black roof and after that the black bumper I painted that has no shortage of orange peel.[more reducer needed]
I'll post the results on my Bargain $500 Mini build thread.

Again, nice job on your's! Wait, nice job on her's!

robj

 

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