I've got the OEM portable nav mounting bracket (the one that positions the nuvi to the left of the steering wheel) for the R50 on its way to me, and I've got a .pdf of the installation instructions. I plan on installing it this weekend. Piece of cake, right? Not quite ...

I've found a thread that describes the installation on an R56, but not on a 1st-gen MINI. It's obvious that the connection points and installation procedure are different, especially regarding where the electriucal connection is made.

If anyone's installed one of these themselves, I'd greatly appreciate some insight. My primary concerns are twofold:

1). I have to remove pin 7 and pin 12 on the connection plug in the steering column, and I'm not sure what locations pin 7 and pin 12 are on the connector. However, on the 18-pin connector on the R56, pins 1-9 are sequential from left to right on the top row of the connector, and pins 10-18 are sequential on the bottom row. Would the connector on the R50 conceivably be any different? Does anyone have any insight on this?

2). Are there any special tricks to removing the steering column housing and the lower driver's dash cowl (the big part below the steering wheel)? Is it just a few torx screws and a little strategic tugging?

Thanks in advance!