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Nice shocks -- I should install a set like that. After I'm done with the suspension, a wheel-off cleaning is on the list (along with detailing the interior, exterior, engine bay...). I wouldn't have thought of coating the wheel well liners. Thanks for the idea.
OOH - also ordered a Foxwell NT510. We'll see what codes it's been hiding from me.
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That's the Foxwell model I bought last year. Keeping that in the R53 boot, while ODBLine MX+ dongle remains in ODB port with tablet displaying PIDs real time...
Ugh... may have been exposed at graduation. Graduation is back to mandatory this year for all faculty. Turns out it may not have been a great idea. Anyway, killing some microbes in my system right now...
Ugh... may have been exposed at graduation. Graduation is back to mandatory this year for all faculty. Turns out it may not have been a great idea. Anyway, killing some microbes in my system right now...
I suppose that it is worth a try.
At least that is a “medicine” that goes down well.
I think I have changed my mind on the front brakes. I had planned on restoring the calipers, media blasting, clear coating, and rebuilding. But I may go with a R56 JCW-type setup in the front.
Budweg Brembo replica calipers: part nos. 344902 (left), 344903 (right) $660 (est, including shipping)
Front rotors JCW R56 (316x22mm) part no. 34116855781 $230.00
EBC red pads part no. DP31845C $125
R53-R56 braided front brake lines (WMW) part no. R50sslinesFConv $66
JCW brake stickers $30
This is a bolt on 4-piston big brake set up for a bit over $1,000. Still not sure though. I have no plans on ever putting the car on the track, and not sure I care for the racerboy red calipers. Maybe refinish in silver... dunno.
Continued to be blown away by the pricing on OEM items for gen 1 cars from Mini of Orlando (bmwpartsworldwide.com). Ordered a new OEM fuse box cover last week to replace my rodent chewed one and it came in today. Love checking these minor niggles off the list.
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another note re MINI of Orland Park - as of June 1st they will no longer be an authorized MINI dealer, but will hopefully still be able to order through them thanks to BMW part number crossover.
Eager to see how it pans out, already got screwed over bigtime when my local got closed and still bitter with the corporate ******** who're sailing the ship aground.
That is unfortunate. I won't pretend to understand the finer points of the relationships between dealers and the corporate overlord. It does sometimes seem, however, that corporate loses sight of the ultimate goal of providing a satisfying ownership experience for customers.
I wonder if this dis-affiliation has anything to do with their pricing? I hope not... They have beltline trim for 11 bucks a side... the back is 9 bucks...
Just ordered my last (right side) interior lateral trim panel and all new beltline trims for several hundred dollars less than just the lateral trim panel would have been from anyone else. Sure it will have to come from Germany... my interior restoration should be complete now.
Just ordered my last (right side) interior lateral trim panel and all new beltline trims for several hundred dollars less than just the lateral trim panel would have been from anyone else. Sure it will have to come from Germany... my interior restoration should be complete now.
"Lateral trim panel", i.e., door card? If so, be aware that it'll come w/o replacement speaker grille since must specify the standard or H/K style ordered separately. Original grille is heat-staked on and the new one will have posts which can be installed using round push-on retainer nuts.
"Lateral trim panel", i.e., door card? If so, be aware that it'll come w/o replacement speaker grille since must specify the standard or H/K style ordered separately. Original grille is heat-staked on and the new one will have posts which can be installed using round push-on retainer nuts.
Not that one, the entire side rear plastic panel. This one does come with speaker grilles, the side pocket, and the rear cover. Number 1 in the diagram below.
Combing through ebay UK (now that my order for the right side lateral trim panel has been cancelled because bmwpartsworldwide is nla, *and* because all part numbers for right side rear trim panels are also apparently nla), I found this rear cover below... this is listed as a new oem item... did any R50, R52, or R53 ever come with a green interior? I don't think I have ever seen that as an option - on this side of the pond. A search of realoem for the part number 51437034428 shows a color called emerald green... curious.
What wonderful options MINI offered the buyers back then...
I would like to say I remember things like that being available when we were optioning out our R50, but sadly my brain is now almost 20 years older and that much more addled ...
I like options, but what body color would go well with emerald green and black? BRG? PW? I betcha it's an uber-rare color combo!
Took care of a coupe of things today. I search ebay pretty much once a week for right rear lateral trim panels in very good condition, and following both of my striek outs with sourcing a new panel and now being told that the right lateral trim panel in all iterations in panther black is NLA, I was not holding out very high hopes. However, to my surprise, I found this one (below) and in the US. Price was not bad either.
There are a couple of very minor scrapes on it, and the speaker grille is the HK version, but my grill is in good shape and they are pretty easy to swap over. I emailed the seller and told him how important it was that it arrive in the shape that it is shown in because I am doing a restoration, and he said no problem that it would be packed carefully and well padded. So, hopefully, interior restoration done. Hopefully.
I also took my right strut tower plate off, and cleaned that area up so i could touch up the paint. I was pretty sad when I used some mild orange oil based degreaser under the hood a couple years back, and it took the paint off in a matter of seconds. So, today, I mixed up some very mild detergent (a bit of dawn in some water - barely enough to turn it pale blue), got out a tooth brush, and started cleaning the surface prior to masking up and spraying the one side in some good quality color matched Indi blue paint that I have. Started scrubbing with a soft bristle toothbrush, and almost immediately, I noticed that the bristles were turning blue! What the hell? Did MINI use a water-based basecoat on these cars? If the base is water, does that mean that the clearcoat has to be non-solvent based as well? And if that is the case, could that be why I have so many small clearcoat failures on my paint? I was really surprised to see this - but the paint scrubbed off with a soft bristle toothbrush and a diluted solution of dawn, and not just a little bit, either. My shop towel was nearly covered with blue paint by the time I was done!
Anyhow, the primer coat does not appear to be affected by dawn, so that is good. I masked up, removed all of the body caps, taped up everything the best I could, and gave it a couple of coats of fresh Indi. It came out great. I did not take a picture of the before, but I have a photo of the opposite side as a comparison.
BEFORE.
SPRAYED.
BACK TOGETHER.
All tolled - probably an hour of work for this side. I think the other side might take a bit longer because there is more going on over there. Project for another day. It came out very nicely. It's not perfect - if you look down into the crevices, you can see the old grungy paint, but it's good enough to make me happy because I don't see bare primer everytime I am under there. Eventually, when I have to take the trans/engine out for a clutch - I will probably do a ring job at the same time, so when the engine is out, I will probably have the entire engine compartment sanded and resprayed (and clearcoated). But, for now, it looks great!
Huh... the things you learn sometimes going down rabbit holes.
Yep thats the rare emerald green, they had tarten red and some others back in the day, I had seen some of these back in 2004 at my dealer. Most were ordered with the Silk Green outside color.
CLEANED UP. Look at all of that primer. Can see some of the blue paint that had come off with a gentle scrub with a soft toothbrush and very dilute dawn on the paper towels toward the bottom.
MASKED. Masking job might look haphazard, but it's actually pretty damn thorough with multiple layers. No overspray was on anything following unmasking.
SPRAYED. Prior to putting body caps back on.
NICE AND CLEAN! I am super happy with the way it came out. This 1K paint is easily more robust than the factory uncoated basecoat that scrubs off super easily. Cannot believe how weak the factory basecoat is under the hood. Which is really a bit weird, because I have scrubbed the un-cleared paint under the rear hatch and in the body creases on the sides of the hatch area - that does not come right off like the strut tower areas. Strange.
Anyhow, this makes me happy until such time as the engine is out and a complete engine bay restoration can be done. Yes, I sis put the right side strut tower plate back on!
After I'm done with the suspension, a wheel-off cleaning is on the list (along with detailing the interior, exterior, engine bay...). I wouldn't have thought of coating the wheel well liners. Thanks for the idea.
