Enjoying your build, I'll likely steal a few ideas for my own!! LOL

 

Appreciate it! And please do, I like to learn from others and vice versa (thats why I document my stuff in lotsa pictures)

 

In the meantime I spent some time painting/repainting the brake calipers. The front calipers were already red, but where in dire need of a refresh. I bought Foliatec Racing Rosso (paint from a can).

Starting situation



Work in progress



Added some red to the rear wheels only



Let it dryyyyyy





Working on the front



I will decide later if I will add the "John Cooper Works" decal, or let them be nice and clean. Any thoughts...?



Finished product

 

I think you should add the JCW logo to your caliper. What is that on your rear wheel? Sticker? Paint? If paint did you use a stencil? It's mad sweet whatever it is!

 

I think the JCW logo will be added, I found them on eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202657813658

On the rear wheel? Its a sticker, bought it from Aliexpress. I didnt add them on the front wheels as well, as that might be a tad "too much".

Link: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005001742295717.html

 

Went on dechroming, a job which I wanted to do earlier.

Dechromed the rings of the HID headlights, using plastidip/removable coating (Motip spraycan)



Before



After. Happy with the results

 

Much better

 

Jep jep! Also changed the indicator bulb with an amber/chrome bulb. Small & subtle mod. It does shine a tad less bright than a normal amber bulb though.

 

Can u plz gimme more info on that BMW throttlebody ? I need a larger one and would rather try that BMW instead of my ported mini one... buuuut I knowtice the mini one has the vacuum port in it , can that just be rerouted or does that control idle or what do you do with that then ? Plz fill me in... I've ALWAYS had great results using larger tbodies on my projects.

 

Most of the information is in here (there is where I got the idea ), but I will summarize it for ya > https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ttle-body.html

BMW partnr: 13541439580
BMW application: BMW E65 760i throttle body, these were on 2003-2008 big v12 7 series (and more)

To make it fit the Mini R53, I needed to:
-Drilled out the mounting holes on the TB (1mm bigger), as the bigger TB has a different spacing (minimal difference)
-Cut into the bracket which holds the TB onto the black plastic intake pipe (as the holes do not align)
-Used 2 extra washers per mounting bolt
-Optional: Bottom part of the airbox trimmed to allow for a 45 angle 3" silicone hose for a custom intake
-Optional: Cut 10mm hole for rocker cover ventilation
-Optional: Cut 8mm hole for EVAP ventilation

Effect on my car:
0.1 BAR higher pressure

If you want you can probably port this bigger TB for even more gains.

 

started the major suspension overhaul! Ordered all kinds of stuff, some has been delivered, but a lot still needs to arrive. Even though, I was able to start

Silver Project Camber arms







Powerflex bushings which should outlast the car
-Roll Center adjusters
-Rear trailing arm bushes
-Bushes for the front arms (+2 caster version). I ordered the normal ones, but got these instead which are 2x as expensive. Decided to keep them and go with it











DTSline SX coilovers, went back and forwards with normal setup or coilovers and a member on a dutch Mini forum talked me into this set.When doing a little research, it looks identical to the better known AP Fahrwerk coilover set.

 

Started with the rear trailing arms bushes, which is a pita! I did this job before on 2 other cars (Seat Leon 1.8T and my Golf 3 GTI), but even so its still a horrible job to do without a press. With the help of some chisels I was able to get one out

Original bushing after some rounds of "battling". Rubber looked quite good, but its still 15 years old.



Whack a mole and its out!



New aluminium bush in the trailing arm support







1 Side finally done. If you need to tackle it, go from this side, not the bottom of the car!

 

The rest will be done over the course of the next few weeks, one thing at a time (no rush)

 

Nice man! I just got Powerflex bushings for the rear of my front control arms. Cant wait to get them on! I will eventually get some lower control arms for the rear too. I may get uppers at some point but def the lowers.

 

I noticed that in your thread I will be glad to hear how hard that job will be

 

At this rate it may be the end of the month before I can get to it 😒 I'd love to know how hard it is too! I also have a motor mount to swap and I STILL have that Braille sitting on the workbench....

 

No worries, take your time...

The rest of my stuff should arrive in the next 7 days or so, then I can make progress again as I cant wait to put coilovers under the car! Yesterday I was able to mount the Camber arms under the car as I was missing spanner 27mm in my hardware collection (you need 2, or an adjustable wrench).

 

Well that took longer than expected. Waited for almost a month, but the rest of the stuff has finally arrived. Got quite some tasks to do, but I will take my time to do so, no rush!

 

Status updates!

Rear axle is complete, swapped the stut over with the new DTSline coilovers. Put it on minimal lowering and I'm already happy with the result! It will drop a little bit more over time, but that is fine.





Shot from the front axle before it will be lowered



On to the rest of the front axle!

Assembling the front struts put me straight into a dilemma. I didnt have no special tools to tighten the top nut. A impact wrench is not recommended so I needed to come up with another solution. I had a "eureka" moment the day after, using a piece of thick rubber and some pliers, I was able to block the piston from turning without damaging it. Nice!





Reassembling the subframe looked daunting, but wasnt to bad in the end.

But the front axle of the Mini decided to put up a fight...
-Replaced the wheel bearing on one side, when I was ready I found out I had the wrong one (pre facelift). The pre facelift accepts M12 wheel bolts, I have M14 wheel bolts. New bearing should arrive in a day or 2...
-When wacking out the control arm bushing, I managed to break the bush holder. So I ordered 2 new ones for me to mod...
-I jacked up the Mini just a tad bit low, which resulted into me not being able to roll out the sub frame from under the car. As I only have 1 floor jack, I cannot raise the car higher. In other words, all work on the subframe will take place under the car

 

Was able to remove 1 outer ball joint (went more difficult than expected). This is how it looks with the Powerflex Roll Center Adjuster.



And replaced the power steering bushing with the Powerflex bushing. That went pretty smooth





More updates will follow (hopefully soon!)

 

Great upgrades, keep it up!

Suspension will be next for me, but with soamy options I haven't decided on what parts to go with yet.

 

Thanks!

Yes correct so many options make it harder to make a choice. For me budget and second hand experience of someone I know, were important factors in the decision making process.

 

Was fed up with it as I could not get the Powerflex bushing in, so I decided to invest a little and bought myself a 12 ton hydraulic press. Off course my reaction was: 'I shouldve done this earlier' haha

Bought it from the company I work for (vidaXL), so a nice discount was in place.



Work in progress shot



The difference between the Powerflex PFF5-101G and a normal hydrobushing.



The Powerflex bushings are already under the car, so I can continue fitting the coilovers this upcoming weekend. Hopefully I will have it rolling again somewhere sunday

 

Having the right tools for the job goes a long ways. No doubt you'll find many more uses for that press

 

Exactly, like making summer cocktails with various exotic fruits :P