I purchased an ipod connector from alistaircookie here on the classifieds and though it took some deep dives on realoem and a lot of back and forth from bluntech (a vendor I use from the E30 world) I was able to get the correct pins needed and once again use this awesome crimping tool I have. Quite proud of this so I took a pic.

Not the best picture, but look at those crimps! hah



but the real purpose of this post was to b!tch about these annoying blue clips. Im sure you are all aware of them. Well, 2 are broken and make removing a few items quite a headache. I havent been able to find a part number on realoem, but did find them on outmotoring for $7 a pop.... anyone know a place where they are a bit more reasonable?



https://www.outmotoring.com/Genuine-MINI-Cooper-07131472727-interior-clip-blue-plastic-snap.html

 

ECS Tuning is a little under $5, but free shipping doesn’t start until $49.

Any info or links to the crimping tool?

 

+1 Yep, i cracked those on my R52 doing the down tube and stereo upgrade. Get some more clips you need or hardware to $49 and get free shipping.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/07131472727/

 

http://www.vintageconnections.com/Products/Detail/94

Thanks for the link. Ill definitely be buying some spares as I can only imagine how many more will break as I keep making the updates that I want. I need a few more things so Im sure it will get into free shipping territory.

 

Welcome, looking for anything else, let me know. Former E30 vert owner also that went to 2 MINIs.

 

Can you do anything about my order? Im stuck at $47.77 haha

 

Call into to Michael Panning on sales team(ask for him) and let him know you are at 47.77 and they can see what they can do.

 

Every so often I go and see what hardware is on clearance and clean them out. LOL Might have some odds and ends to bring it up a smidge.

 

rear sway bar is one of the best mods ever hands down , haven’t regretted installing it since

 

I hope to get mine installed in the near future, I had perfectly arranged it to be delivered to my friend in San Jose who was supposed to drive down but then COVID happened and its still sitting in his garage...

In other news, while I wait for an order from ECS Tuning to arrive I have my motor mounts and my 3M Window Weld so during the week I filled those suckers in. Today I installed the lower mount, and hope to have the upper mount installed next week...

Trying to get this from getting messy...


A little messy, but solid


Comparison of the old mount and the new mount, the bushing overall on the old one wasnt bad, I will probably fill it too and then add the Powerflex on the other end and either keep it as a spare or sell it off...


I have one more item Im exited to install, but a little more skittish to do it as I cant have the car out of commission overnight, mostly because I take my wifes garage spot when Im working on the Mini

Still in the original packaging, never installed

 

Window-Weld is a... fun... time to pack bushings with. I did the same thing on my DD's front control arm bushings.

The shift lever is inversely easy to install as your exhaust system is rusty. So to say, no rust = no problems. Lots of rust = well, start with the PB / Kroil now.

 

Can you lmk your opinion after the short throw shifter.
I have one too that came with my car but have been hesitant to install. I got so used to where and how it shifted and I actually really like its throw so I been scared installing the shirt throw will mess that up.. I did one in a 3000gt I had and I absolutely hated the short throw as compared to the stock.
I guess what I'm asking is , how much does it eliminate on the throw ?
btw, I love the build thread . Its interesting to follow .

 

Did you notice any more NVH with the “solid rubber” CABs?

The shift lever analogy is hilarious, stay tuned for that...

definitely will have updates when the B&M goes in. Glad you’re enjoying the thread, I’m enjoying the car.

Was practicing some social distancing with my buddy and we had some fun taking the Minis into the mountains. This was Little Tujunga Road in LA.The car is a blast, definitely lacking in power but no surprise there.









Was laying around bored all day, and finally thought I’d get off my butt and get to work. Only took about an hour, but I got upper mount job all done. 3M filled upper mount, TSW upper mount and a Powerflex insert for the bracket.



The test drive after was nice and I noticed a bit more NVH in the cabin but overall I’m satisfied with my parts. Next up is the B&M short shifter unless my ECS order arrives first. Got some minor interior stuff to wrap up there and an oil change also.

 

I just seen on tv too what you did with your bushings and the window sealant stuff..I'm going to do that when the weather is abit warmer too...cheap mods are my favorite mods

 

Its not only a cheap mod, but I love it because it seems the other option is a solid Poly mount and this is more of a solid rubber mount so not quite as aggressive which is perfect for a DD. Im going to look into the control arm bushings next as I still have half a tube of the stuff! I want to use it all before it dries out

 

but after doing it you could feel more rigidity??? This might be my next mod after operation "rice" is finished
keep the post posted on the control arm mod with it, I wanna siffen up all I can with it and then do the front and rear braces . That cheap Ebay coilover kit has been tempting too to start saving for but I want a coilover kit that allows for stock ride height not a minimum of a 1.5in drop . I think a 1.5in drop would be too much with my tires and rim combo I run

 

The best way to describe it was after I did the lower mount, as that was just the 3M window weld on a stock mount. The car felt less "rubbery" in that it could rock back and forth as I accelerated. The upper mount increased this feeling but because of the TSW solid mount https://www.waymotorworks.com/early-...4-r50-r53.html it felt a little more solid which I cant attribute to the 3M added OEM Mounts.

My old lower mount is still in good condition so I think I will fill it with the 3M window weld and sell it, but Id suggest getting the powerflex smaller bushing replacement as well to go with it. Should be a nice cheap upgrade for someone

 

I was perusing YouTube videos about R50s a little while ago and came across one of those "10 things I hate about my Mini" videos and amongst the complaining the guy mentioned theres an IKEA shoe tray thats like $5 that nearly fits perfect in the trunk. My friend has the OEM one and those are a little pricey and at the hefty price of $9 shipped I received it today. Fits perfect because I have a little bag that I keep in the trunk.




I also wanted to comment on the blue things I bought from ECS Tuning. A bit disappointed to be honest, them being NON-OEM parts I didnt quite like the fitment, however they did their job. Cant complain too much about them and I still have one spare from the order.... I also discovered that I ordered the wrong Oil filter socket... 32mm wasnt the right one . facepalm. fail. etc... I still havent bought the right one yet, but not sure I want to wait so long and since I will have to pay for shipping I will probably just buy it from Pelican since its a short drive away. I also replaced the cabin filter and the old one was..... MISSING... hope this isnt indicative of the DAPO things I will keep running into.

 

Ok, so I bitched about ECS Tuning in the last post about the quality of their replacement parts... In this post I will applaud them on their customer service. After buying the wrong socket, I reached out to them about exchanging it and they said, "dont worry, we'll send you the right one" Sent me one free of charge and let me keep the 32mm one. That put a smile on my face. Thanks @ECS Tuning

I finally changed my oil today at ~134k and hopefully this is the last of the DAPO things I have to deal with. What are you supposed to torque the oil filter socket to? 80ft/lbs?... clearly they couldnt read because it mustve been AT LEAST that much to get it off... a little bit of a pain getting the new filter on since it was my first time, but eventually got the threads to line up and slide right in. I also installed my ECS Tuning magnetic drain plug, so we'll see what that looks like on the other end of the summer season...

 

Well, looks like the DAPO headaches continue... I saw a small oil leak under the car and pinpointed the drain plug. Jacked the car up and the bolt didn’t feel tight and it looks like they must’ve cranked it down to some absurd amount previously because it seems only tighten to a certain amount then break kinda loose... IE stripped thread. Great.

My driver side window regulator also died so I tried to get it out today, but since it died when the window was down I was able to get everything off except the clogged wheel holding the window down. Any tips on how to deal with the cogged wheels while the window is down?

Eager to get a win, I saw the faded trim and decided I could clean them up. Pics speak for themselves, and the SEM trim paint is excellent...





All done

 

Well, it took about 6 weeks to arrive, but my new hatch trim arrived last night. Mine had bubbling chrome which I thought could just remove and paint the bare plastic, but that wasnt to be as it was all cracked underneath. I didnt want another chrome one and the primer one didnt seem too appealing and a search on realoem gave me the part number for something we didnt get here in the US, a black trim piece. Found it on ebay shipping out of Latvia and since my buddy wanted one also, we got the two shipped for about the price of one chrome one. Install was easy other than the connector which required taking the inner hatch trim off, also easy but "a lot" of work just to connect the wires.

Before (literally falling apart)


After

 

Came out great. Glad we carry that stuff.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-sem-part.../sem39143~sem/

 

I didnt realize that you guys did, probably couldve had it last month! haha

Any tips on getting to those cogged wheels holding the window? Its the only thing left before everything can come out. Its stuck at the bottom so theres not much room to move it... and then I need to finally order the window regulator and probably a motor too

 

Added the part above.

Open the door and take the panel off , then you can reach in their, are they stuck?

Window Gear/ Wrench DIY

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...regulator.html

 

Door panel is already off and nearly the whole setup is ready to come out but because the window regulator broke/ froze with the window down I couldnt move it up. So Im trying to loosen the cogged wheels with limited space.