Actually I grabbed plastic trim parts from my dealer and found my left rear piece was actually for the front right, and had to exchange it. Chatting with my body guy, he says that happens all the time. Hey the parts are cheap so I guess it's OK.

I'd love to take pictures of the car now that it's done, as well as a nice Christmas pic, but it's dark too early and the car is already dirty, and more rain is on the way.

Just broke 8000 mi yesterday. Another 3000 to my first oil change.

 

Ollie's home. Picked him up after sunset, so I'll check color matching in the morning. Otherwise he looks good as new.

In honor of his return, Ollie's being treated to an HK Comp Rear Sway Bar (thanks to 10851cs... Earl!). And possibly a set of H&R springs... I'll know for sure in the morning, after a test drive.

 

How's everyone doing?!?!?!

Dobby is doing just fine, except he HATES this awful weather. It breaks my heart to have him hit a pothole (almost big enough to swallow poor Dobby) and get pelted by salt rocks. He has suffered two really bad chips. One on the roof, right in the center, and the other on one of the stripes. Breaks my heart. I HATE OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Quit hating Ohio

I'm in the same weather situation you are. Although I think I spend less time on the highways in rush hour. The potholes are still a nightmare, I feel better since I'm running steelies right now. I'm fortunate to get to go to work through Cleveland's park system. Not heavily travelled and nice and twisty. Put on a set of snow shoes and Yomiko is a happy girl. I still want to meet Dobby...I unofficially met him but not his happy mother, when is the next get together.

It was so warm yesterday, I wanted to put on my summer tires so bad, but alas I had to be practical.

Take care.

 

I've been meaning to try and revive this thread. Thanks for doing that.

Pig has been hiding from the snow a lot lately. He has performance runflats, and the snow traction sucks (and I haven't got him a set of winter tires, so far, since we have two other big vehicles that are better in most winter conditions).

But, Pig did get a very nasty scrape a while ago. We had chains on (in a blizzard that pretty much shut down a major interstate), and ended up breaking one of them, leaving a whole panel of scrapes and scratches. I want to to take him in to get it repainted, but I'm waiting for better driving conditions (so he won't get more scratches on his way to the body shop).

Anyway, we're out of town right now, but I'll try to post some of the latest Pig pics when I get back.

Hope everyone is motoring happily.

 

No big updates for me. My HK amp gets a little cranky in cold weather and outputs static to the rears. Its the only real problem I've had. First oil change in about 2500 miles so I'll wait till then and if I can save up enough the 05 JCW upgrade as well. The weather doesn't stop here too..I haven't washed the car or taken pics in several months. Well I did get a chance on sunday, took it to a coinop wash, but by the time I was home all the water was frozen on.

 

Hi everyone, nice to see the thread up for everyone to check in. I have just over 6000 miles, my they add up quickly. Weather here is not bad even when it is bad so no real problems except the sand they put down on the hills when it is icey. I got a chip in my windsheild, very minor. also a chip in the paint on the roof, just above the drivers side , once again, not too bad.


Take care all and enjoy your winter motoring.

 

10000+ miles for me, and a new set of shifter cables that don't freeze up when its below 32! Also got a ski rack and some nifty snow rims/tires :smile:

The rims are 16x7" Borbet Type CA with Wintersport M3 run-flats. Yes, run-flat snows. I like em

 

Hola Maydayers!

Glad to see everybody is doing reasonably well. Tom, sorry about the scrape on Pig, but I'm sure he'll be back in good shape in the spring like Ollie and Jwardell's MINI. :smile:

We are pushing 11k on Padre. Driving trips to Portland and SoCal have added miles of fun. The only bad parts of the drive back to NoCal were the freezing rain on the Grapevine and the huge (approx. 60 miles) of dust storm that we had to drive through. There was no place to take shelter out in the valley. The dust was very thick like fog and we even almost got rear-ended when a semi had to drive into the center divide to avoid hitting the light pickup that was right behind us. We did survive though and thankfully Padre's paint wasn't damaged because there was almost no sand blowing, only dust from the farmland in the valley. We also had a cool rally in the wine country over to the coast a while ago. WineChic, JCampos and we were there, among others. That's 3 Maydayers in one place. Has anyone beaten our record? It was fun to do some driving together after spending so much time together on the internet.

Recently got Padre back from service. They replaced the universal joint in the steering column and the click is gone. Will be taking Padre to a Car Control Clinic at Candlestick Park (they can sell the name all they want, it's still Candlestick) this weekend. We will do a slalom, a braking/accident avoidance maneuver and a skid/spin recovery exercise on a skid pad. A few weeks later I'll be doing a track driving school at Laguna Seca in Monterey. Wahoooo!!!!!!!

I'll post some pics of our adventures when I get a chance.

Cheers,

 

I finally hit 10,000 mi on Sunday! On my drive home from NH through the blizzard. This morning was the first time I've seen pavement. The DCS is paying for itself over and over with all the snow here.

Here's some shots I took sunday night:


pefloresjr, what click did you have? I have a little click that I can feel in e steering wheel when turning just off-center. But my alignment is still off and I want to see if it goes away when I get it done...but I wonder if it is a similar issue to what you had.

 

Wow that's alot of snow!! Cool pictures.

 

I had a clicking/clunking sound/feel on sharp slow speed turns. It didn't happen just off center like yours but after I had turned the wheel about a quarer turn. It started with only right turns but eventually happened when turning both directions. Replacing the universal joint in the steering column fixed it although they first tried to tighten everything down before eventually replacing the joint. I was ok with that approach since a simpler fix is always better than a big fix in my book. There are other threads about it on this site I think. There was also a thread about it on Gabe's Motoring File a while back called The Dreaded Steering Wheel Click.

WOW, that's a lot of snow! Your MINI is working hard in tough conditions. It makes me feel a little silly worrying about Padre being out in occasional rain here in Kaleefohnya. Is that some sort of fencing or snow containment on both sides of your driveway or is it just an exposed retaining wall underneath the mountain of snow? Are you worried about an avalanche onto your MINI?! Good luck through the rest of the winter. I guess it will make your springtime runs through the twisties that much more fun.

Cheers,

 

AHHHHHH!!!! HAIL!!!! Lots of hail, big chunks (big for here anyway) poor Scoop, out in this nasty weather!

 

Hail?! Yikes. I'll leave Padre in the parking garage at lunch time. It is sunny in Sacramento right now but I guess I know what is on its way. There are lots of dark clouds looming to the West. Scoop is a good name for your MINI.

I've got to go check doppler radar now.

Cheers,

 

I always wondered what I would do if we got hit with hail. I think I would sacrifice bodily injury and run out with a tarp to fling over for some protection.

Can you spot the MINI in this picture?

 

just checkin' in.

Anyone going to AMVIV next week?

 

Yep. Cheri, Pig and I will be at AMVIV.

I've got a bunch of Pig's photos that I need to put on-line. Just being lazy, I guess.

 

What's AMVIV?
Any of you easterners going to MOT? I'll be there. Public registration opens next week...

 

Hi everyone! Ollie Jr. is now past 11K, and will hit 12K this weekend.

And probably 13K the following weekend.

I'm getting a wild hair, and will probably get up at the crack of dawn so I can show up in Vegas for the Sat/Sun stuff. (AMVIV is "A Mini Vacation in Vegas") www.amviv.com

Was going to go earlier, but need the vacation day for April

I'm going to Ireland for this:

http://www.irishminis.ie/mtm.htm

 

We're a no go for March. Work and fun are now taking me to NYC, Dallas, Phoenix and Orange County in March.

I have a bunch of pics of Padre to post also but I have to resize them and put them in the gallery. Laziness prevails in winter.

Have fun in Vegas.

Winechic, can you put 10 bucks down on the Giants to win the series this year for me? I'll pay you back and get the chit for it when we get together again. Also, the BIG MINI Track Day at Thunderhill is coming up as well as the BMWCCA track day at Infineon. I don't know if I'll be able to make either but I thought you might be interested.

Cheers Maydayers,

 

Will you be checking or carrying on Ollie Jr.?! He shouldn't need a passport or visa since he was born in the EU.

Cheers,

 

Nah, Ollie's a little upset with me, I'm leaving him behind.

'S why we're going to Vegas.

 

How could you do such a thing to him? He's got every right to be upset.

 

Well, it was either him or me.

 

We're motoring to AMVIV tomorrow...wheee!

Any MayDayers want to meet up in Vegas? WineChic, I sent you a PM.