My stomach just turned just looking at those pics. Good thing all the dynomat is in place to protect against rattles! :-)

 

Haemish needs to dynamat his wallet. OMG. I'm just thinking of the hours involved.

 

I must have no HK..

Thats wierd, I have most other options available..(winter, sport, premium packages, but no HK. I even have the CD changer....huh.. I dont have an S, nor do I have the Works kit....

Anyone know what options were available in '03. Which options are linked to which packages?

 

wow Haemish! 4 days/week at 5 hours/day! You better ask MINI financing if you can finance the bill, cuz you may be able to buy another MINI at those kinds of hours and their hourly rate!

I was lookin at your pic of the front end of your MINI with the bumper off, and i know that mine will be lookin like that soon. *sigh

 

I have been thinking about my request playlist for the unveiling party... U2, Pearl Jam, 1812 Overture... Can't decide! Any updates?

 

The HK is a stand-alone thing. I have all the packages available with the exception of JCW; none of them include HK. It was a seperate option that was a decent chunk of $$$.

 

HK used to be $550 stand-alone option; not available on R56 of course, but still for the convertibles (and bundled in premium for them)

 

LOL - I'm sure you'll make some final decisions... take a look at my CD list for more ideas too. I know there's a few I can't WAIT to crank up. No, not yet... haven't been out there since the last update, but I think I may swing out there tonight.

 

*nail biting suspense*

 

Today has been a very good day.

I rolled out to MoS tonight with my friend Alan (Scavenger here on NAM), to take a look at the car. At first glance, it doesn't really look any better than it did last week... but upon closer inspection, we said:

"Hey, is that a new harness in there?"

Yep, the installation of the new harness is well under way now!

We spoke with the tech for a little while, and he said that he had the entire old harness out of the car, laid it out on the ground, and laid the new one on top of it... then he went through every single connector, one at a time, and he could verify that every connector needed was there (along with a few extras!) WOOHOO!

Needless to say, it's obvious that putting the new harness in is going to go a lot faster than taking the old one out. I am super-excited because from here on now, it's just going to look better and better (well, until I see the bill ).

No new pics, since the car really doesn't "look" that much different yet... but I'm sure there will be a bit more to see by this time next week.

I'm starting to get psyched now... it's been a little over 16 weeks since I dropped the car off, and we're definitely over the hump! YAY!

 

That is GREAT news Edge! Its been a long road for you, seems like you can see the destination coming over the horizion finally, and luckily, its not a dead end sign. Best wishes that everything goes smoothly here on out, drop me a PM when you get Mr. OEM back so we can set up a day.

 

Make sure it's all tied down nicely - that DPSM will rattle anything loose

 

why Haemish no reply my PM? :sadbanana:

 

LOL - from what I've seen so far, he's tying it down in the same fashion as the original harness.

OOPS - not intentional, Dan... replied.

 

Just saw the repair bill on a GP that had wiring harness destroyed-by-rodent ... OMG, Edge! You really are crazy!

 

 

UPDATE: I stopped by MoS this evening mostly to drop off some print-outs from RealOEM about some stuff I was curious about... but of course while I was there, I checked in on the car.

The vast majority of the main wiring harness is in, there's just a little bit left at the boot to finish it up. Next up he plans on putting the audio harness in and testing the Boost stereo to ensure it works. He'll probably just borrow a few new Boost speakers from the parts department for that.

He did have some "bad news" for me though... it turns out that the existing side mirrors are not compatible with the PFM-ready door harnesses. The PFM function is not a separate plug, it's all in one plug, which is a different plug than if you don't have PFMs. This means that I have to buy the new PFM mirror assemblies now as part of this build, or go back to the non-PFM door harnesses. A no-brainer really, because I wanted the PFMs anyhow. The other alternative would be to leave the connector off, which would mean no adjustable mirrors (other than using my hands) and no heated mirrors until I eventually replaced the mirror assemblies anyway.

Just another thing to add to the total bill! :impatient

It's exciting stuff though, seeing it start to come together now!

 

you know you spun that! you got your OEM PFM install. w00t!

 

Nice, add the PFM to the package, whats another $xxx at this point, right Edge

 

Well, keep in mind that I had already planned on getting it later, and I deliberately chose the PFM-ready door harnesses when I had to replace the H/K ones...

Also, the PFMs still won't be operational yet. There are two more key components I'd still need to add:

• Control module
• New center console switch (with button)

THEN it should work. Not sure if I'll get those as part of this project or wait until later.

 

It's progress and its good progress.

 

Edge,
Do you have the factory alarm? I've seen Mikey has an option to auto-fold the mirrors whenever you lock the car with the alarm ...

I really hope there's no more uphills on your way down to the finish line!

 

Yes, I have the OEM alarm (as noted in my signature ). At this point I want to focus on getting the entire OEM PFM installed first. If, after that, it does not tie into the alarm automatically (I doubt it does), then I may be curious to ask Mike what additional thing needs to be added for that. I may or may not do that, but I still want to keep things as OEM as possible.

Clearly I have made a exceptions in the past, like I did with your auto-up circuit. This might be another one. Generally speaking, I may go aftermarket for something that is simply not available as OEM.

To be honest though, I don't mind having to push the little button myself when I park the car... so we'll see!

 

Ok... I would just like to point out that this is the most insane thread I have ever read. I have always said that those of us who own classics are a bit on the nuts side because of all we go through to keep our cars on the road but... Edge, (and I mean this in the nicest possible way) you are completely out of your mind.
Fun read though and I do wish you the best of luck.

 

Thanks Tall Mini... I know I'm crazy too (hence the thread title)... but you only live once, ya know?

Many people have asked me: "Why not just trade the MINI in and buy another the way that you want it?"

I'd have agreed with them - if the R53 was still available as a new vehicle, but it isn't. Used won't cut it, because there's no way in heck that I'll find a used R53 that matches all of my other specs (fully loaded) but doesn't have the Harmon/Kardon. Not to mention that even if I could find such a vehicle, I would lose so much on trade-in with my existing MINI, it wouldn't be a simple thing. And the cost of removing/transferring all of the parts?

Nope. It's this one or nothing. Keep in mind I don't plan to ever sell this car. I'll keep it and drive it until it either dies beyond all repair, or it is totalled (God forbid). Even then I'd probably fight the insurance company to repair it instead of writing it off.

I'm determined, by God, to build the "Ultimate OEM R53 MINI"... come hell or high water!

Note: Some of the GP-specific parts are on my short list next.