Year: 2003
Make: MINI
Model: Coupe
Price: $1200
Mileage: 120000
Color: DS/W
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (Region): West

Hi guys:

I recently made a slight...erm...driving error in one of my favorite canyons and effectively destroyed my lost-title track-only MINI. The accident sheared the whole rear left corner out at the toe/trailing arms and practically inverted the battery box I have no idea if the chassis is bent/twisted, but there are decent parts on the car (I was building it to be competitive at my local track days). Of course, while I was handling the accident report with the park rangers, someone chose to steal the coilover/hub/wheel/brake assembly that was dislodged from my MINI, so I am now effectively stuck with a three-wheeled possibly-bent chassis sitting in my garage.

I'm getting ready to move and I don't think I will be able to rebuild it this time, and I need to do something with my failed project. I don't have the time to swap everything over to another chassis, and I certainly don't have the resources to part it out before moving out. At this point, I am probably going to scrap it. Before I do so, I figured I'd post it here for a week or so and see if someone wants it for a donor/partout car. In the bottom of this post, I list the parts that are still in good condition & estimate the sale price as a used part.

This is not a partout post, I am trying to sell everything at once. Individual part prices are there for a buyer to be able to quickly gauge feasibility. I will consider reasonable offers, I will work with you, I will answer question--but please keep money conversations private. Let's have some proper forum ettiquette, folks.

Here's everything I know about it:

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Vehicle NAM History "Clif Notes" (skip if uninterested in sentimentalities)

Purchased about two years ago from a shady owner in San Bernadino, CA who I later learned went by 'sawdustman' on this forum. I was young, just came into some money, and it was my first car purchase as an adult. I should have run as soon as I saw it in person at 8pm at the Greyhound Station in CA, but I had already ridden a bus for 8 hours, so I went ahead with the sight-unseen purchase price of $3300 (in retrospect, an idiotic move). I immediately got on the road to Phoenix and noticed a screeching noise (later learning this was the gearbox synchros ). I called the owner & he (generously) ended up offering me to replace the water pump in his driveway before heading home. He even made me a sandwich, lent me tools, and I eventually got it done and was on the road to owning my first car as an adult. Good right? Nope. Upon returning to Phoenix, the engine went out, with nasty water-foam mixed with the engine oil. Several head gaskets/cylinder heads/months-dealing-with-sawdustman's-shoddy-work later, I got the car roadworthy. I took a trip to see my mom up north, and even got to drive Pike's Peak while visiting a friend in Colorado. Eventually I had to replace the transmission, and shortly after I was unknowingly hit with the dreaded drainback valve failure (shoutout to Tanner Stinson and OutMotoring for their cost-effective drainback valve replacement buy this gem if your oil pressure light comes on at idle), and starved my crank. I ended up replacing the engine outright with the engine from midwestinsocal's late r53. It took me about a year and a half to get the car to where it was prior to my accident last month. I documented the more difficult parts of my journey with this car over the last two years in 1st Gen Hatch Talk. Feel free to stalk the history of the car if you're interested. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
PARTS WITH MISSING/ZERO OR REDUCED VALUE: (ask in comments for details)

• all body panels (except roof)
• core support
• rear left corner [wheel, brakes, coilover, hub, brakes, lines] missing
• rear center exhaust shield
• ECM

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PARTS & CONDITION, BY VEHICLE SYSTEM:



Engine: ~150k miles, previously midwestinsocal's

• Mobil1 full synthetic + OEM filters, every time, much more frequently than recommended
• All oil leaks addressed with OEM seals, except for crank seal behind the flywheel
• Relatively new cooling system (~1 year old, ~10k miles, 20-40 hard drives): includes [$50] water pump, thermostat, [$5] overflow cap, [$40] CSF street radiator, [$40] all hoses/fittings replaced, including all three of those awful plastic heater core tee fittings, Oetiker clamps replaced with regular screw clamps
• Manual radiator fan wiring (ECU has never been able to connect to even OEM scanners, a certain awesome service director at MINI North Scottsdale even generously tried with dealer service equipment)
• [$100] Cravenspeed 15% SC pulley (installed during sawdustman's ownership, probably 80k on supercharger)
  • fresh gear oil // new belt // NGK BKR7EQUP plugs // Ireland Engineering 8mm plug wires
• [$150] SFI FluiDamper [looks exactly the same [url=https://emnotek.com/products/prw-fluidgel-harmonic-vibration-pulley-damper-mini-s-r53?variant=15717082136691&sfdr_ptcid=26626_4_3666 44133&sfdr_hash=17e8ccdd8a486da8c79e1dca411f5602&g clid=Cj0KCQjwu-HoBRD5ARIsAPIPencJscIollPBXdjDUy0-o7B3AuAmVjszKUdT_RPJQpl3MnrKpI_vFRgaAimcEALw_wcB]as this one but not sure if the same manufacturer]

Suspension/Driveline: same mileage as chassis or less, rear left corner missing due to accident

• [$200, front] 3/4 Dampening Adjustable last-gen Megan Coilovers
• [$100, front] 1/2 Powerstop ZX4 rear brake rotors // 2/2 OEM front rotors // 3/4 Hawk HPS brake pads (nearly done) // 3/4 Stoptech Braided Lines
• [$100, front] Powerflex Rear Trailing Arm Bushings // Yellow (Energy Suspensions?) Front Control Arm Bushings // Lemfoerder Ball Joints
• [$120] Hotchkis H-Sport 19mm solid rear sway bar, Energy Suspensions bushings, greased regularly
• [$50*4-80 to rebuild carrier] 2 sets of OEM axles, the spare set has a bad carrier bearing that will need to be replaced
• [$50*3] 3/4 wheel bearings, hubs
• [$20*3] 3/4 working wheel speed sensors

Accessories/Additional

• [$500] Power steering recall performed two years ag at MINI North Scottsdale, new pump, fan, Pentosin CHF-11S fluid
• [$300] Milltek Resonated Catback
• [$100] New (less than 100 race miles) alternator (with transferrable AutoZone warranty!)
• [$100] Scangauge II (can be included for the right price, but will not connect to ECU due to weird wiring gremlins)
• [$50] Black-Eyed Purple Hood Scoop (nearly perfect condition)
• [$100] Madness Motorworks Airbox, K&N Pod Filter, regularly oiled
• [$50] Cravenspeed Slinky Dipstick (good stuff )
• [$100] All motor/transmission mounts refreshed with new Lemfoerder mounts and Powerflex street inserts (done at same time )
• [$300] Working xenon lights, ballasts

Interior

• [$60] DIY black suede headliner replacement (hand-done, a few minor imperfections)
• [$20] Autometer Boost Gauge, no bulb
• [$80] lightly worn shift cables/shifter housing
• [$50] Unpeeled OEM shift ****
• [$80] Steering Column Intermediate Shaft (eliminates steering jiggle!)

I have tons of other parts lying around in my garage as well, including a set of XXR 507's 15x7 wheels wrapped in a torn-up set of Federal RSRR's. I have no intention of parting this car out, so ask at your own discretion. I will not pull any parts until I choose to junk the car, and even then, I am only willing to ship the small stuff. If you want anything heavy that will need to be shipped, send me $1200 and come get the whole car. There is much more value than that sitting on the table if you choose to part the car out. I don't have the time, lift, or space to part it out efficiently--do the math.

If you are interested, but would like some photographs before discussing pricing/condition, please post a comment below. I will be checking & responding to comments as much as I can until next week when I have to junk it. You can also email me anytime at sromanov@asu.edu.

If you are interested and would like to talk about purchasing the remnants of my recently-deceased MINI, please call or text me at 6026168574. I need to get this thing out of here, and I would hate to see it dismantled by a local junkyard--or worse--crushed. Here's to hoping I can find a good owner for my car's internal organs, Happy Motoring~~

 

Bump! Here are some crappy cell phone pics

 

Sold!

Go see First Choice Auto Parts on Broadway if you want some r53 driveline bits!

My loss is your gain! (you don't want to know how much I sold it for)