First post here. I have a hobby of picking up wrecked cars and rebuilding them for fun, not profit. I'd lose big time if I did this for a job. I just bought a 2004 Chili Red Cooper S with 37,000 miles on it yesterday. I will pick it up next Friday. All I know of the car is what you see in the pictures.





















The interior looks gorgeous from what I can tell.

Immediate plans include:
Obvious sheet metal and paint
Full fluid service (motor, trans, brake, super charger oil)
15% reduction pulley, belt and colder plugs
Refinish the wheels (another hobby of mine)
Debadge some stuff

At some point:
Lower the car
Custom Dyno tuning
Mild exhaust as this will be my daily driver

As always, I am open to suggestions, critiques and advice as I go through this. It will be heavily loaded with pictures (the site is giving me grief right now when trying to add pics) and hopefully some DIY tips.

 

Wow, an 04 with only 37k miles? Even if it is wrecked, that's definitely worth something just for the engine/supercharger!

If you're going for speed after body reconstructed, I'd say go with a 17% pulley, cold air intake, full catback exhaust, headers & cam, 380cc JCW injectors, coilovers, and either a big brake conversion or slotted/drilled rotors with some pretty decent pads. Oh, and then the dyno tune
You'll pull decent numbers.

Have fun!

Oh, and before I forget! Check out the classifieds here on the forums. Sometimes you can pick up the parts you need PRETTY cheap.

 

Wow low miles, Looks pretty stock, Chili Red Cooper S with black bonnet stripes. Xenon headlights, black roof. S Lite wheels .


Good luck on the fixes, looks like you have some work to do.

 

I don't need this car to be a powerhouse. I want this car to be fun and reliable and only slightly modded. I will daily this car and my wife will autocross and track this car. I'd love a 17% but I'm afraid of too much heat at the track. I have my own play toy that might have a modification or two.

I've already been looking through the classifieds and will be picking up a few things from there.

My previous build









It's not the greatest handling car on the track but it is a drivers car. She's a mean mistress. The moment you put her some place she doesn't want to be, she'll bite. Hit the apex right, she loves you long time cowboy.

 

That's pretty awesome that you give the cars a second chance... or better described as a second lifeline. Please keep this thread up to date with each repair you do. It definitely makes for a great story. If you need any help with your repairs/fixes, please do be sure to check out our tech articles here for any assistance you may need. Your wife will enjoy this car on the track. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

Looks easily repairable. Nice score? What did you pay for it? Did you get it at auction? I want to do one of these. Awesome Shoe by the way. I want one of those too.

 

Looking forward to the build progress. You cleaned up that BMW!!

 

"It's not the greatest handling car on the track but it is a drivers car. She's a mean mistress. The moment you put her some place she doesn't want to be, she'll bite. Hit the apex right, she loves you long time cowboy."

this made me laugh out loud at work....well done sir well done

 

Update: I haven't even seen the car and I have an update. Yesterday I scored a Chili Red hood with black bonnet stripes, scoop, xenon lights and grill for $400 total. Not sure how that happened. I was budgeting about a grand for all that stuff before paint. Hopefully it will be in good condition. My buddy will pick it up on Monday (he's on his way to Lexington KY to pick up his 85,000 mile Chili Red 2004 Cooper S that was damaged in the rear) so by the time I get back from vacation on Thursday, the hood and parts will be there waiting for me.

Pelican, no worries on keeping the thread going throughout the build. I like to document what I do so if I ever have to sell, a potential buyer can look through and see how everything was (over) done so they can feel comfortable buying a salvage vehicle. I'm sure there will be parts bought from you and other site sponsors. The M Coupe already has two sets of calipers that were rebuilt from your parts.

gpwat- My purchase and repair budget for this car is $5000 with another $1000 in upgraded goodies and preventative maintenance. I do all my own work with help from certain knowledgeable friends that help me out when I break something (which is getting less often than it used to!).

808keith- There's more than a few hours into that car. About 4 years of constant tweaking and "upgrading". My wife is afraid that the wheel studs are going to wear out because it's always on the lift with the tires off, on,off,on... The car was perfectly fine after 8 months of work but then there was the 6 speed swap, diff rebuild, dual ear subframe reinforcement, VANOS rebuild, oil cooler..........

Chappy- She really is a mistress. My wife calls her "the other woman." I am always taking her on dates, washing her undercarriage, spending time and money on her etc. My wife has always wanted a Cooper so this build is as much for her as it is for me.

 

Ya, that is a good point. I've been close to buying salvage title cars, but it always just concerns me a bit. Have a thread with the documented revival really would be a good selling point to someone with such concern. Looking forward to watching the transformation.

 

Wertles, I recognize you from the bf.c E36/7/8 forums. I sold my '99 S52 M Coupe last week and bought an '04 R53 just yesterday to partly offset the pain. I look forward to following this thread and seeing how to do it right.

 

Let us know what you need in used parts to save on your budget I have a warehouse with 10 R53s dismantled. We also have all the performance parts you need.

BTW Love the M Coupe I've wanted one for years but don't have the money or the space and I'd want an S54 one.

 

Ugh. Got home Wednesday at 10:30 pm from a 1200 mile trip, got to bed at 12:30, got up at 4:30 am and left at 5 to go get the car. After picking up the car, dropping off some parts to a friend and driving home, I covered another 900 miles and got home at 2 am this morning. A quick nap and 7 am I was finally ready to play.

After popping the hood and putting a battery charger on last night.




My son thinks he has claimed the car.




Let's start pulling things apart.







No surprises. I need a new radiator, AC condenser, plastic pieces etc... But what is this???




And this...




And this...




So I will need a new motor mount, drivers side axle (the transmission is OK thank goodness) and the upper front horn will need to be addressed but the good news is that the interior is a 9.8/10. No issues with leather, even the drivers side bolster is pristine, the carpet is perfect, it doesn't smell at all, it has OEM all weather floor mats, the rear deck is there and I even have all owners manuals and tool kits. Big bonuses for salvage cars. I have a straight hood, new light and washer and found a few parts in the trunk of the car including the fender liners and some body moulding so a few things I thought I was going to have to buy, I have.

I am getting a punch list of things together, labeling everything as it comes off the car now (thank goodness for baggies and markers). Tomorrow is figuring out the front axle situation and finishing disassembling the front bumper nuts, bolts and lights.

 

Given that the trans mount is cracked and the CV joint has separated I’d suggest getting this car on a frame machine before going any further.

Should you decide to part it out I call dibs on that driver’s seat assuming it’s leather and heated.

 

If you have all the rollers and needles you should be able regrease and reboot the axle the OEM ones are pretty good. Aftermarkets just fail.

Then a Trans mount and put it on the frame rack. Should be able to pull it back in spec as it doesn't look too bad.

 

We did lots of looking and measuring today. A few things need pulled, but all in all, its straight. The force came from the top, like some lifted Ford pickup backed into it. The bumper is actually straight. I still need a bumper cover though.

Don't worry, no way possible I'm parting this car out. That's boring.

 

I thinks it's all intact and I hope all I need is a reboot. If not, I will source an OEM. Once I get a final "final" list, I will be sending you a PM to see what you have used.

 

Awesome statement.

 

As a die hard R53 owner this will be inspiring.
My God, that's a nice M!
Where did you source the front bumper cover, Lip and rear diffuser?
My wife has a BMW Z3 that she just won't let go.
I'd like to tinker with it, I do most of the maintenance anyway.

 

I remember the old MINI adverting and in the front end collision the engine was made to detach.

" The engine and gearbox are designed to absorb the impact and break away from their mounts "

Don't know if that the location, but makes sense.








If you need parts and have any questions I am here to help.

Or

www.ecstuning.com

 

Honestly there hasn't been much more to tear down. I got the hood off and stripped down then started on my parts list. I called all over looking for used parts but have come up with mostly nothing as the totaled Mini's are hit just like mine. I have started pricing out the parts new and it's not as bad as I imagined. I still have a few more calls to make and another day or two of running through Realoem.com to make sure I have the majority of parts.




A bunch of stuff to remove to get the broken mount out but at least it's out. Yes, the engine is supported on that side. I didn't hang it from the passenger motor mount.




So this is toast. Good news though, I found an OEM remanufactured one for a whole lot less than what I was expecting.





I'm not sure I will have any good pictures until new parts start arriving. I will probably start on some maintenance items while waiting for shipping such as flushing the brake fluid and changing the supercharger fluid. While the supercharger is off, does anyone know if you can use a regular gear puller to get the pulley off or do you still need a specialized tool?

 

I removed the front support. Fortunately, everything was nice and straight.




And please everyone, brake fluid is NOT lifetime. I'm pretty sure this stuff would boil a little over room temperature. All new DOT 4 for brakes and clutch slave.




Now, to go spend a bit of money because I need parts! Tomorrow a new OEM axle should be here by noon.

 

My God, that fluid is almost as black as my heart!
That reminds me.. I should probably flush my brake fluid this weekend...

Looks pretty solid, much nicer than what the original pictures made it out to be!

 

I am glad you are changing the fluid and bringing back to life. Great job.

 

I just finished ordering off fuel filter, power steering fluid, Redline transmission fluid, cabin filter, oil filter socket, radiator, water coolant, AC condenser, transmission mount and various other bits and pieces this morning. Hopefully they will be here next week.

I also ordered off a 15% pulley, shorter belt and colder plugs. I do have to have some fun with this car.

I am also bidding on a high mileage, unwrecked car tomorrow. Hopefully this pans out. It's only 5 hours away and has enough parts to finish out both Coopers that are sitting in my shop right now. The parts I ordered today I would not have taken out of that car and put in this car anyway.