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After owning about 8 different R53s, I finally decided to do something I have always wanted to do.
See how cheaply I can build a fun autocross / street car. I intend to be into this, less than 2,000, including the car. Not including labor, obviously.
so ~1750 in parts. Anything I have laying around, I will deduct a "realistic value" from my budget from, and show an excel sheet once the build is done in a few months to see how I did.
background:
23 year old guy, have had supercharged M3s, V8 BMWs, V8s Jaguars, lots of MINIs, including a bolton tuned N18 R56 JCW, lots of random cars. Very fortunate that I am able to have the cars that I do at the age that I am.
Currently in the stable:
2007 Z4M
2008 535xi wagon (The daily)
2006 R53 (Royal Gray)
2006 R53 JCW (Royal Gray, GFs car)
2006 R53 (Pepper White, first MINI ever)
2004 R53 (Pepper White, this car)
(Picture of me and the GFs MINIs)
I used to be a Jaguar Land Rover mechanic, "retired" early, got told at 19 if I was going to continue being a mechanic I would need a spinal fusion due to early arthritis in my back. Sick! So I went into IT, and do this for fun now.
Now onto the build and plans
I purchased this car for 250 dollars. It needs a supercharger, and more. It is a salvage title due to a flood.
Bought it, towed it home, here how it is now. The car RUNS and drives, it just overheats and make horrible grinding noises. Engine is "healthy enough" and I do not think it was overheated too bad, so head gasket seems fine.
Car has 124k miles on it currently and it is pretty rough.
Goals - clean it up, do cheap mods to test parts I always looked at and went "hmm, wonder if those are any good.." AKA eBay parts.
First and foremost - will be refreshing the car, below is what is being replaced. (Sure I am missing some things)
New radiator
New coolant hoses (eBay silicone hoses, gonna try them)
New plastic coolant pieces (might as well)
New coolant bottle
New water pump
New belt tensioner
New idler pulley
New crank pulley
New injectors (380cc)
New spark plugs
New coil
New spark plug wires
All new fluids
All new suspension (struts, tophats, springs)
New front and rear brakes
Onto mods:
ECU tune from Adrian
11% pulley (I have it laying around, just heat it up with MAP gas and hammer it on, then cool it)
380cc injectors
eBay catless header
eBay catback exhaust
eBay intake (Megan) or might do one of the 3D printed assemblies in my stock airbox, we will see
eBay silicone coolant hoses
eBay springs (Manzo)
eBay struts (FCS)
eBay rear lower control arms (Dorman, aka SPC)
Superpro engine mount insert kit (transmission, engine and lower engine)
Other modifications:
R56 front brakes (I have R53 JCW brakes from my GFs JCW, since hers has a big Wilwood kit)
Putting a different grille on the car
Performing a headlight retrofit with eBay housings
Installing driving lights (Also have them laying around)
Misc items planned:
New headliner, not a big deal, easy and fast
3 Spoke wheel as cheap as possible
eBay head unit (we will see)
Basically, anything that needs to be fixed on the car, will attempt to be fixed using cheap parts from eBay, outside of major engine repair, just to see what is possible with a pretty limited budget. This will be something tailored to "high school kid got his first car" as I had one in high school, and wanted to know about these mods, but I was again, fortunate that I worked full time with going to school.
I will then take it out to Autocross and compare it to my R53 that is set up specifically for street hooning with autocross and open track days.
I will be documenting my adventure via this thread and a youtube channel I will edit into this post, documenting each modification with a "real time" style guide, where the repairs are as unedited as I feel is necessary to get the point across for the repair.
If anyone has any questions / comments / concerns, post em.
Thanks everyone - need to finish refreshing my MINI and my GFs MINI, then I start on this.
First set of parts have arrived - below is the price break down.
Radiator - 61.79 (CSF)
Idler Pulley - 26.79 (ACDelco)
Lower Engine Mount - 11.35 (Anchor)
Strut FR - 32.79 (FCS)
Strut FL - 32.79 (FCS)
Strut Rear (x2) - 41.58 (FCS)
Valve Cover Gasket - 3.76 (Felpro)
Supercharger Gasket (Green one) - 3.76 (Mahle)
Fuel Filter - 25.79 (Mahle)
Oil Filter - 5.28 (MANN)
Coolant Bottle - 23.79 (SKP)
Thermostat + metal housing - 15.35 (SKP)
Belt Tensioner - 58.79 (Uro Parts)
Water Pump - 42.79 (Uro Parts)
Low speed fan resistor - 22.79 (Uro Parts)
Spark Plugs FGR7DQP x4 (one heat range colder) - 20.40 (Bosch)
Rear rotors x2 - 28.08 (Centric)
Rear Brake Pads - 15.57 (Centric)
Front R56 Brake rotors x2 - 16.22 (not posting brand, as I am unsure to their quality)
Front Brake Pads - 15.87 (Centric)
Front Strut top hats x2 - 55.28 (Lemforder)
Quad coolant plastic bit #17127518613 - 11.37 (OEM)
Three way coolant plastic bit #17127518615 - 4.04 (OEM)
Three way coolant plastic bit, smaller #17127518614 0 3.97 (OEM)
Rear Strut top hat bushings x2 - 20.78 (Lemforder)
Crank position sensor oring - .75 (Reinz)
Front R53 JCW brakes (used, charging a realistic value) - 75.00
Used Teflon Coated supercharger - 225
Car had a new coilpack and new wires installed prior to me owning it, so I am not buying new parts.
I already have the R56 front calipers, from my GFs R53 JCW, so I suppose a realistic value for these is 75 dollars. It can be done much cheaper via junkyards.
Shipping for everything was about 75 dollars. Mostly from RockAuto.
Total so far, including 6% tax in Maryland, not counting tax for the R56 brakes or the supercharger, for parts and shipping, is $1,192.72.
So far we are up to $1,442.72 - if including the cost of the car.
Parts left to buy:
Headliner material (will be like 85 dollars)
eBay headlights + retrofit parts (should be around 200 for everything)
Fluids (Should I really include those in the price?)
eBay catback (250 dollars)
eBay header (110 dollars)
Looks like I will be slightly over budget, maybe 200 dollars or so, when done.
Things I might not consider in this build, still debating.
I will NOT be considering cost of inspection, registration, etc.
Car has new tires, but, if it didn't, I wouldn't consider those into the cost either as those are things a car will need regardless.
Last edited by qolor; Dec 6, 2020 at 10:22 AM.
Reason: first round of parts price breakdown
Edited my second reserved post to go over a parts price break down for the parts I have in hand already.
Looks like I might be a little bit over budget, which is a real shame. Oh well - we will see what I can sell any part I take off for.
Some of the items (like all of the coolant hoses and radiator) don't need to be replaced, but I am replacing for my own entertainment since I will be in there anyways!
As always - let me know if there are any questions.
Curious to know why you're going with an 11% SC pulley if you intend to race the car, especially since you're paying to have Adrian tune it. A 15% makes a lot more sense for your application.
Curious to know why you're going with an 11% SC pulley if you intend to race the car, especially since you're paying to have Adrian tune it. A 15% makes a lot more sense for your application.
budget
I have it laying around, and people give these pulleys away.
Unless I find a smoking deal on a 15% pulley - otherwise it'll get what I have around lol
I KNEW someone was buying up the cheap deals lately. 250 what a steal! Man I feel like a chump now for spending 1000 on my clunker build haha.
Thanks for the write ups, I’m sure I’ll be frequenting this thread for tip and ideas with all the R53 experience you’ve got.
I look forward to deal hunting / battling on parts with you
I do hope this build thread helps people building MINIs on a budget. I have *always* wondered about the quality of some of these parts - so this thread will be a great indicator of them. I am not worried about the majority of parts, really my only worry is going to be the Manzo springs and "ebay" struts, as I am worried the car will ride very poorly.
I maintain my vehicles, but, I beat their asses, so this will be no different. I regularly buy R53's to flip, along with other vehicles. I am kind of greedy for the deals and making money, so it helps :D
I suspect this vehicle will honestly turn out pretty decent. I am looking forward to doing a "real time" youtube series on this vehicle as well. I have my DSLR, and a few GoPros, along with some lighting equipment. I am trying to go for a bit of a MOD MINI feel with the GoPro strapped to the forehead.
I picked up a bunch of my favorite Samsung 18650 batteries so I can run my new headlamp, a ThruNite TH30 in Neutral White. Should be pretty good for the GoPro. Got some more batteries for the GoPro as well, just need to snag a different lense for my DSLR.
It is gonna be hard to get the lighting correct. I basically only have time to work on this car after my regular job, besides on weekends, so it is dark by the time I can work on the car. I am sure I will get some flack for that, especially since I work on the car outside since I have no garage. We will see!
@qolor Nice, I appreciate anyone who emulates MODMini for sure. I’ve told myself I’d do that too if I ever get a GoPro.
Your setup sounds very familiar . I’m also garageless haha, and I feel your challenges of building multiple MINIs on jack stands in the driveway.. Especially at night. To cut down on noise I try to never use my impacts after dark and I’ve busted a few knuckles with breaker bars because of it. My next door neighbor is building a Type R in his, so at least I know I’m not bothering him. Hope you have some understanding folks around too.
Looking forward to the knock off dip stick comparison. One of my R53s has some shot dip stick o-rings and the replacements would be about the same price as the whole eBay piece.
@qolor Nice, I appreciate anyone who emulates MODMini for sure. I’ve told myself I’d do that too if I ever get a GoPro.
Your setup sounds very familiar . I’m also garageless haha, and I feel your challenges of building multiple MINIs on jack stands in the driveway.. Especially at night. To cut down on noise I try to never use my impacts after dark and I’ve busted a few knuckles with breaker bars because of it. My next door neighbor is building a Type R in his, so at least I know I’m not bothering him. Hope you have some understanding folks around too.
Looking forward to the knock off dip stick comparison. One of my R53s has some shot dip stick o-rings and the replacements would be about the same price as the whole eBay piece.
The neighbor next door teaches the drums
All day, all night, until 8:30PM.
My other neighbor is too far away to care, for the most part. I use impacts until about 8PM and then stop.
I can appreciate the struggle of the drive way hustle. Gotta do what you gotta do!
The dipstick looks VERY similar. It is slightly longer, looks like the R56 length, but is is stiffer than my OG R53 Cravenspeed and so far, reads the same.
Headliner is installed in GFs JCW. Time to clean up, gather tools and start on this car.
Lights came in as well, with my extra batteries. Should be good!!
It has a blown headgasket. I put my supercharger on it today, replaced thermostat and hoses, it doesnt over heat but it pressurizes the coolant system BAD.
I might not fix it. I don't like doing headgaskets. We will see!
It has a blown headgasket. I put my supercharger on it today, replaced thermostat and hoses, it doesnt over heat but it pressurizes the coolant system BAD.
I might not fix it. I don't like doing headgaskets. We will see!
they are very easy on a r53, the one time use bolts add to the cost I swap to ARP studs in case I ever have to do it again
they are very easy on a r53, the one time use bolts add to the cost I swap to ARP studs in case I ever have to do it again
I'm just lazy. I know it's not hard to do. I don't want to take it apart and find out that the head is cracked or warped or something - don't feel like spending the money as I had a pretty strict budget for this.
cracks at the plugs are common, but warping is rare. water or vac test the valves while the head is off, it's not uncommon for exhaust to start to leak and that leads to a burnt valve
Ordered head gasket (Felpro) and new head bolts (Felpro).
Here's hoping nothing is cracked / warped!
I also discovered that the HVAC does not turn on at all, and then instrument cluster lights do not work. I suspect something to do with that #15 connector down in the drivers footwell, so I will investigate at a later date, since the car was a flood car.
. I’m also garageless haha, and I feel your challenges of building multiple MINIs on jack stands in the driveway.. Especially at night. To cut down on noise I try to never use my impacts after dark and I’ve busted a few knuckles with breaker bars because of it. My next door neighbor is building a Type R in his, so at least I know I’m not bothering him. Hope you have some understanding folks around too. 
