Hi folks! A few weeks ago some of you responded to me asking about potential project cars and I appreciate it! I found one! It's a little rusty and has 180k miles, but it's a good starting point so here she is:





Pictures can be deceiving- looks pretty nice, but has the typical tailight rust, some door rust under the seals, and some rust on the bottom seam of the doors, not to mention underneath. All this will be patched up in time, but for now, I am hoping to refresh some mechanicals, and then drive it til things start breaking! I hope to use this area as a progress thread for what I do to it!

Here's the maintanance status currently...

Good stuff:
-Oil and air filters recently changed (will do again in the next 1k miles anyway)
-Front pads and rotors done less than 10k miles ago/ rear pads rotors and calipers done less than 3k miles ago
-o2 sensors done less than 5k miles ago
-Exhaust replaced within 5k
-Coil pack, plugs, wires replaced within 3k miles
-Strut tower reinforcements added!

Bad stuff:
-Supercharger service unknown (ordered kit with oil/ seals/ orings from WMW)
-Top engine mount cracked but not all the way through
-Brake hardlines rusted through (no noticable fluid loss, but pedal a little soft and can hear vacuum in car- ordered lines already)
-Little bit of throwout bearing knock/ wobble, but not bad
-Had a nail in the tire when I got it- bummer- not repairable
-Lots of suspension rattles- doesnt pass the control arm bushing test too well
-Serp belt in rough shape (ok to do just the belt or better to do tensioners, pulleys all at once?)
-Clutch unknown, but no slipping or symptoms.

Overall, it feels like it has been cared for somewhat, but it has 180k and is a little tired. Not wanting to dump a ton of money into it all at once, where would you guys start to give this thing some life again? I am a teacher, so I am off work and stuck at home for the rest of the Summer, so looking to put in some time on this.

 

Always liked the BRG! Interior looks pretty nice! My driver's seat is all cracked up and splitting at the seams - yours looks pretty good - but those seats look like leather, mine are leatherette. What does it have for mods?

 

I believe the previous owner had at least the driver seat redone with real leather when it ripped. It has a magnaflow exhaust, strut tower protectors, and a lot of union jack stickers Stock other than that- seems to have been well cared for once upon a time. Last guy who had it repeated several times that he was not mechanically inclined and I believe it, I have found a disturbing amount of loose bolts on the car. To his credit, he did have a lot of things taken care of and drove the car just 3000 miles in 3 years of ownership.

Last owner had CVaxles, power steering, plugs and wires, 3 oil changes (in 3k miles), and a few other things that i cant recall right now. Will put up more pictures as I get into things. Collecting parts right now- here's what's coming up:

-Valve cover gaskets and bolts
-serpentine belt
-Supercharger service
-New brake hardlines

 

Lots of stuff happening on the car. I have done the folowing with some critical help from a nice mobile mechanic named Leo. I'm gonna try to list them in the order they were done:

-I tried to remove front suspension to put Bilstein B4s on, but broke the front pinch bolt. I called Leo and he came and helped me put on the front springs and shocks. He took the knuckle to a machine shop and they drilled it out and we replaced.

-While Leo worked I tore down the front end to service the supercharger with new oil, seals, gaskets. Oil in charger looked pretty dark, smelled normal, but was present in both ends. Replaced all coolant with Zerex-blue stuff.

-Replaced serpentine belt, abs sensor (after code reader indicated front right abs sensor as my code trigger).

-Replaced tensioner damper, my old one was completely empty, filled with rust- this has made a huge difference in the way it drives and puts power down

-Replaced crank sensor o-ring leak and cleaned up front of engine.

-Replaced a few aged vacuum hoses, silicone bathed every cooling hose. I find it extends the life of hoses and makes them more easily pliable to position and remove.

-Broke the front red supercharger clip because I didn't understand it. Got one from WMW, thanks guys! I think I may have found a close alternative to that clip that every menards plumbing department will have- 3/8 in? water line fitting (shark bite type pvc fitting). It would need some shaving down, but fits the hole and the tube.

-Replaced passenger cv axle with new, rebooted the driver as it showed no movement and looked recently split. Hoping that the upper mount replacement will suppport and not rip passenger axle boot- I think that caused it on the last one.

-Replaced rear caliper, bleeder was rusted on- apparently previous owner only replaced one caliper.

-Installed new brake hardlines. Not ideal, the cheapo shop I had do the hardlines used a compression fitting. They also did a **** job of bleeding the brakes. We rebled them and they are better, but not awesome.

-Ran over a nail and had to replace one tire- Good year 245/5517ish?

-Changed fuel filter- it was nasty- all sorts of debris in the filter and looked gray/ black. I think this has also made a difference in repsonse and smoothness of the drive.

-Changed oil at mileage 179900 (today) - royal purple 5w30- added moli hydraulic lifter additive also.

-Changed trans oil also- Motul 75w80 and moly additive. I made the mistake of putting the Moly in last and a lot of it leaked back out since it's only a few ounces. Whoops. Trans only took about 1.5-1.6L and then the Moly. I am assuming there must have been some in the trans? Noticed no difference in shifting yet. Hope I'm not low on gear oil. Car wasn't 100% level the whole time I changed it. Front was on ramps, put the rear another 4inches up and level. One wheel was 4in lower than other 3- not sure if it matters. Filled it til it poured out.

-Took doors apart, started cutting out rust in driver's door outer. Added kilmat sound deadener and vibromat foam in a few areas: both doors, around battery and rear over exhaust. Foam tape killed all glovebox rattles, but i have a door screw that is driving me mad.

-Made the fog lights yellow, touched up the worst rock chips and scratches

-Started sanding down the S lites and filing down all the curb rash- will repair with JB weld and repaint.

-ordered a set of white R81 wheels off ebay for a little over $200- I'm gonna repair them also and repaint, probably a gun metal color. Need ideas for tires for the R81! Would like a set of tires I can run year round of the R81 and just get rid of the s lites and tires.

-Added TRD toyota shift ball on a metal/ weighted shift adapter, because I already had it for my truck.

-Stripped back weatherstripping on bottom of both doors, sills, taillights, and started to treat for rust with naval jelly. It's pretty bad- let the cutting begin.

-Cut out parts of tailight to determine extent of rust- ordered a welder and got metal-gonna try to fix it.

-Added powerflex upper engine mount, trans mount, supercharger tensioner bushings. Still have the LCA powerflex and sway bar bushings to do.

-Clutch slips if I try 3rd from a dead stop. I cant get the clutch to slip other than when I am dead stopped, but it slips and rolls out of it, it doesnt stall. Worn clutch? History of clutch replacement is unknown. Not sure if I have a double mass or single mass- if I thought I didnt need to do the flywheel, I would pick up a Valeo clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing. Dont want to spend the money for a full kit.

-Bought new crank damper pulley- mine has some visible cracking, but I am unable to tell if it's impacting performance in any way. I gave it the silicone treatment as well. Silicone on all the motor mounts. They eat it up.

-Through all this work I have been using naval jelly on anything rusted, then wiping it down, then using rust oleum enamel semi gloss black to kill the rust and coat the bottom. I used a needle gun to clean away anything that had flaky rust. Almost done rustproofing- in the fall (after I repair the doors and tailights- by which I mean, remove al rust and paint/ weld in new bits) I will apply fluid film and woolwax, like I do on my truck.


I'm sure there is more Im forgetting. I will add some pictures next time! I'm terrible about taking pictures while I do things, but I can certainly take a few of my progress/ destruction.

Here's one of the wheels til later...

 

Needs:

-An alignment- not too far off but pulling to the left and a little more noticable torque steer.

-140psi compression across all cylinders- she has lost a few ponies after 180k miles, but seems all around healthy. Previous owner had records for oil changes every 3k, althought he drove it 10k in 3 years...

-Valve cover seals are leaking- have them along with new hardware. Just need to do it.

-Oil cooler to block gasket leaking

-Will change crank damper and seal together- have that along with new crank pulley bolt.

Also doing a remodel of two bathrooms at my house, so things are crazy!

 

Interior with new shift adapter and my TRD shifter! Love it- feels so right.

Both doors have rust creeping under the factory weather sealing- gonna require some ripping apart. I do not care about the factory appearance- just want to stop the rust!

Added killmat and vibro foam vibration dampner- noticeable. I also did this to the doors and back seat pan. I have an aftermarket exhaust (still not sure which kind?) and it is a little louder than I prefer, but sounds good. This helped me, but Im not sure it will change my neighbors opinions.

Looking a little rougher than when I started, but in reality is so much better!

Chop chop. Still gotta sand it to metal, bend my sheet metal and weld her up. I am thinking of making a bigger patch, cutting away a little more, and then just clearcoating the raw steel patch. Not really worried about factory appearance and want to embrace the frankenmini look. Tail lights would get the treatment when I cut and patch them.

This is the worst wheel- filed away all the high spots, will fill with JB weld and probably paint this wheel and just touch up the others.

New tire I mentioned before.

Engine mounts

Didn't use the washer that came with upper engine mount. Anyone else doing this? Did supercharger damper and bushings too.

Got some menards AC gap insulation and it fit perfect- both sides of radiator were missing.

Yellow fogs- I like them on pretty much all cars- have them on my truck too.

Bumper coated the lip, and did a little Frankenstein reinforment of bumper as mine had gaps both sides.

Thinking of painting these myself- anybody have gunmetal or grey r81 wheels on your ride? Suggestions for tire size? I will probably go with the biggest I can fit. 215/?/ 15? Ideas?

 

like those rims.

for tire size, try some searching here, also I saw a page called fitment industries some time back with an image library...

 

Just wanted to add to this thread for anyone shopping tires and wheels. I had found posts of people with the r56 saying this size cleared, but nothing definitive for the r53.

I had s lites with 205/45/ 17 on and switched to the r81 Imola wheels With 195/65/15 and they clear with some room to spare. Haven’t hit any hard bumps to see if they clear fender liners on suspension compression, but I can slide my hand behind every part of the tire lock to lock, so I suspect I am ok. Can already feel the difference in weight of the wheels and power steering- I think I’m gonna love it. Don’t care too much about the taller sidewall compromising cornering. Will update with a picture shortly- car getting aligned now.

one note- I am on almost brand new stockish suspension (bilstein b4 with stock springs) so once things settle fully, might be a little closer!

 

New tires are Michelin cross climate in 195/65r15.

80$ each corner from discount tire. Should save about 20lbs per corner vs the s lite setup:

s lites were about 26lbs, r81 about 13
good year summer tires in 17in were about 25lbs each, new Michelin’s are about 18lbs each.

on 17s- 51lbs per corner
on 15s- 31lbs per corner

 

Wheels look black right now- hoping they will wear a little. Color is oiled bronze rust oleum paint and primer spray with a matte clear coat. You can see the bronze in the sunlight.

Lots of sidewall! Definitely a cushier ride than the 17s.


So little brake clearance! With the wheel weights there are just a few mm of clearance from the caliper!

 

Your MINI is a twin to my 2003 S (What it looked like when new). Very unusual to have leather seats and sunroof delete. Good Luck on restoration!

 

In most cars I don’t care much about color, but the brg was at the top of my list for this one! I actually do have the sunroof, but it’s hard to tell because of the black roof!

Drove the car a bit with the new wheels, despite being taller than the old wheel/ tire combo the acceleration is slightly improved, handles a little crisper from lock to lock with just a touch more squishy/ roll in hard turning. The huge and noticeable difference is the quietness over bumps and cracks in the road- huge improvement.

 

That oiled bronze paint is definitely working. Understated aggressive but not over the top. Great project.

 

Hey, thanks! I wet sanded them once and that helped knock down some hazing from the matte clear. Might still go over them with gunmetal from that same line of rust oleum paints, but the oiled bronze is growing on me!


found an $8 aux cable and $10 Bluetooth transmitter on Amazon, so I have music! Seem to be leaking or burning a little oil, which is strange because I had very little noticeable leakage/ burning before changing oil and many seals (crank sensor, valve cover). I didn’t have a oil filter housing seal when I changed my oil so I’m gonna check that first.

 

Painted calipers and blacked out the hubs. Planning to repaint the wheels in a gunmetal color- these are just a little dark form my liking.



Finished patching the door- welding didn’t go to well. I had a flux core welder and it is not ideal for this. Lots of burn through and grinding.

I used some clear epoxy to fill a couple holes, then epoxy coated the raw steel. Inside of the door got epoxy and por 15. Will probably do the same treatment to the rear taillights. Eventually I may get a replacement door- there are several on car-part.com for around $100. Tails are a little more complicated so I hope I can weld them well enough to make them look a little nicer than my work on the door.

Like I said before, I’m not picky about the factory appearance, but I hate rust. Will probably just leave this as is unless I get bothered and get a new door. Need to do: -oil filter housing seal to block - change out my crank damper

Preparing the taillight. Gonna start chopping soon. Getting windows tinted tomorrow- not sure if I’m going 35% or 20% all around. Also ordered some lamin x film in red and orange. Red will get used over the taillights. Orange will go for signals in the bumper as well as the markers in the side cowl. Haven’t decided yet if I want the reverse light to be red or orange. I love lamin x- stuff is so durable that several times I have peeled off one car and transferred to another

 

Also, don’t want to speak too soon on the tires but have gotten no rubbing on fender flares. Not a lot of room for snow under there, but it looks like 195- 65-15 is a fit (albeit a tight one) on the Stock suspension r53. Hope that helps somebody.

 

Looks a lot better with tint! Went 20% all around and am pleased with how dark that is. Not enough to ruin nighttime visibility, but dark enough to noticeably reduce heat and give some privacy.

I’m a big fan of all orange over turn signals. Not sure if it’s legal, but I don’t think it’ll attract too much attention.

Side markers are passable, but not great. Few wrinkles because of the shape of the bulb cover. I broke one off and had to super glue it back on.



Went orange for the reverse light. Again, is it legal? Not sure, but it works for me. Red tint should be here soon- not a huge fan of these taillights, hopefully the red will clean it up!

 

Painted the wheels with rust oleum dark metal primer and paint spray. Then high gloss clear.

Tint just dry enough to roll windows down. Few bubbles on driver side and not perfect around the dot matrix, but it was cheap!


Put about 2 lbs more air in tires all around. Fronts now about 34Psi rears 36. Feels less squishy- hopefully not overinflated. I tried to get an alignment but my tie rods were rusted on and they wanted $700 to change them. I said no thank you. My right front is a little out of alignment, but it’s not very noticable. I will Post the picture of the alignment sheet. Curious if you guys think it would wear tires significantly.

 

Depends, but overall that is to be expected yes. Also a bad alignment (front) can amplify torque steer behaviour. It's always best to get it aligned properly off course.

 

This is a great looking build! I have been trying to decide if I want to stay with stay with 17" wheels or downsize for the exact same reasons, there is so much weight to save from the OEM wheel/tire combo. I have considered going with 15" or 16", so it is interesting to read your report, and I may follow the same path. My R53 had the same kind of rust damage and was all taken care of at a body shop by the previous owner, you almost can't see where the repairs were done. It kills me on the wheels because if I would have done my trade a little differently I would have the ideal wheels already for my Mini. I traded my Miata for my Mini, and I had just put brand new 15" Sparco FF-1 wheels on it that only weigh 11 pounds! oh well, it was part of what made my trade work...
I got really lucky with mine having an LSD, I have mods and lots of power, but zero torque steer, very nice

 

Maybe I missed this, but why did you decide to go with 195/65 R15 instead of 195/60 R15?
Thanks!

 

still forgot to post the alignment numbers. I don’t think from the way it is handling that it will probably have a great impact on tire wear! Will post when I remember.


the LSD would be cool! I looked at an 06 from a member on here that had it. For me, probably not necessary.

these wheels are so much lighter when you take them off the car! I am really surprised you can’t tell more in acceleration. In the long term it will probably help mpg but not too noticable in power or acceleration exactly, more noticable in low speed turning- lightens up the steering wheel a lot.

i will get all the rust. I may have mentioned this, but as i have been repainting/ needle gunning, naval jellying everything I touch and see with rust, so the condition of things is improving, but I suspect I’m not improving the resale value of the car with my home brew welded door panels and tail lights

i am debating between doing a refresh on the 17in Summer wheels with the same paints (mix of oiled bronze and dark steel with some high gloss clear. After I redo them, I will probably just sell them. You think someone would buy them for $400? The tires are about 85% and they have certificates of replacement from discount tire to go with.

I was considering the 195/60 size but ultimately, this tire fit the bill (or claims to) for exactly what I wanted:

-a year round, snow capable performance touring type tire.

nothing in 195/60 seemed to do that at exactly this price point. I looked at the Cooper cs5 ultra touring in 195/60. I think it would have been $75 more, but they didn’t claim to be as good in the snow, although probably a stiffer sidewall than these. These have a 50k tread warranty, I think the coopers were like 70k? Those would have been my next choice.

overall, the snow/ year round performance marketing and the additional height (.5 in or so taller?) size of the Michelin make for a little more squish/ suspension. I live near some railroad tracks and drive over them multiple times a day, so every bit helps. That, in combination with the price and local availability sold me. Mount and balanced I think it was $403?

 

Cant recall if I posted this, but covered these in lamin x. I could’ve done better, still some very visible bubbles of air. Was also starting to rain, so may look worse than it is in reality.

You can see my naval jelly rustproof we turning the rust in the taillight seam white. It does this and sort of turns the rust to a powdery white dust. Makes it easier to Prep for paint. I this case probably not necessary, but I am in the habit of just hitting anything I see with rust until it’s gone.

Not a big fan of these taillights. The red looks a lot better, but harder to install without bubbles on the larger lens than say a turn signal or fog light.

Took a brake from being a mini mechanic today and started tiling the upstairs bathroom. Gonna put in two rows of mosaic and add some brushed nickel fixtures! If you ever do this, two tips: -Buy the shower niches, don’t build your own. - Install your drain to the bottom of your tub, then install tub. We had a plumber helping and his measurements were a couple inches shy and I cut a hole in the ceiling to line up the drain/ recut the pipe. Good times!

 

Put in this hurst shift ****- mounts really cleanly and comes with all sorts of adapters, so I could use it in my Tacoma if that seems preferible

Good weight and ergonomic shape

Has a 2 adapter set- one thread into the shifter, the other is the highest black nut on my other adapter! That thing is great too- just $10 for the Allen head adapter

 

Ordered front motor mount (the one with the string and hydraulic fluid). My car has the pre facelift style. Hoping it will cure some bucking under deceleration in 2nd or 3rd gesr around 4K rpm. If I support the engine, is there good clearance to slide the bolt in? From looking at it it looks like engine would have to come up 4-5 inches to get that bolt under the mount fixture. Any advice appreciated.