Not exactly.
It was more like now that you got the car you want I want us to go look at this car. She has been saying for a while she hated her Escalade and missed her first Maseriti.

 

The next couple of weekends won't be possible for me - But, Yeah - I will definitely give you a heads-up!

 

No rush!!
For the new to me Cabrio I ordered a new taillight for the passenger side since the clear cover disappered on the drive home. I also ordered a new passenger side electric lock assembly. I want to troubleshoot the open hood or rear hatch light but too dang cold to mess with it today. I hate winter!!

 

Winter = Ugh! You and me both.
I had no idea GA got this cold.
I'm not sure what the problem might be with your hood latch light. You probably already new this before me - I found my latch switch dangling after my SC pulley install. At first, like in this post , I didn't know what it was but quickly figured it out. The plastic clip broke and the switch fell off. Used my favorite high strength adhesive (E6000) and secured it back into place (for now). It has worked since then. I still have yet to consult the Bentley to find out where the boot switch is.....even though it hasn't failed as of yet.

 

I bought my first Mini in April 2018. The only time I've taken it to a shop (other than for an alignment) was when it needed a coolant hose in January 2019. Highs were in the low teens -- too cold to work on a car. Later that month, the polar vortex took us down to -38. I'm beginning to think of a place with milder winters in retirement.

Is the top on the cabrio manual or electric?

 

I grew up in central Florida so anything below 65 is winter to me. I love it where we live now because we have a changing of the seasons BUT I do miss the mild central Florida winters. I would move back in a second but the mom in-law lives here and our daughter does too so there is no way I could convince the wife to move. Yesterday the high was 37. Chance of snow again on Friday morning.

The top is electric, you push the button once and it folds back to a sun roof, hit the button again and it folds all the way down. It's going to be awesome when the weather is better.

I have not given up on the R50, I think the next thing is new struts and strut mounts along with new tires.
I found a set of Bilstein B4 for $265 on Amazon: I still want to change it to a 6 speed gearbox this summer.

 

And I thought I was swimming in car projects. I think you've got me beat.

I find the cold isn't too bad as long as it isn't windy, but getting the motivation to start working is tough. It's uncomfortable until I move around enough to warm up. I've also probably gotten a little tired of the cold after years of training and racing in it.

 

The Cabrio has a rattle from the radio down tubes, I think the foam pieces at the base are not there, needs further investigation. Dropped the top yesterday on the way home and it was super fun!

I have been getting water in the trunk of the R50 since I installed the new tail lights, stupid me didn't realize there are seals that go on the outside of the lens's too. I have 2 on order and then I can fix it right. The rubber mounts on the bottom of the outside rear view mirrors are looking pretty rough on both cars. I need to order and replace those too.

I found the rear axle I need for my Escalade, I will order it tonight and hopefully there will be at least one half decently warm day to get installed once it arrives. Next month I can drop it off at the body shop and get the accident damage repaired that my mother in law did. It will be nice to have that looking good again.

 

I found the reason the Cabrio is eating the drive belt, the rubber is coming out of the dampner. If you look at the bottom right of the picture you can se it starting to come out. I have a new dampner, front main seal and idler pulley coming.



There is a small oil leak coming from under the car and it looks like an oil pan gasket. At least it's not pouring oil like the R50 was.
Driving the R50 tomorrow, having Mini withdraws.

 

I installed new hatch struts on the R50 today. Last week the hatch tried to knock me out when it came slamming down on my head. The cold weather had made them almost useless.
Still in a holding pattern on parts for the 52. I sure hope getting the dampener off doesn't go as bad as the R50 did.
I did get the passenger lock assembly installed in the Cabrio yesterday, keyless entry works and now all the locks work!!

 

It couldn't go any worse than the R50. Are you going with ATI on the R52?

 

I went with a stock dampener for now. I didn't even think about getting an ATI at the time.

 

I was cruising into work this morning and the car just died. No spit no sputter it's just like you turned the ignition off. Fuel gauge shows 1/4 of a tank. Well, the fuel gauge was totally wrong. My working partner brought me some gas and I was back up and running again. Looks like a new fuel pump is in my future.

 

Did you run out of gas?
I am certainly no expert, but isn't the "float" and sending switch located on the fuel filter side?
I don't mean to sound pretentious...Was just thinking the fuel pump may not be your issue. Again; you have much more experience than me. Just a thought.

 

We put 2 gallons of fuel in the tank and she fired right back up. The fuel level sending unit is part of the fuel pump assembly.

 

Ah! - Yes. I think see now.
As I now understand it; there are 2) floats (?).
I only replaced my fuel filter and noticed what I assumed to be the rod & float. I never attempted the fuel pump.

 

Running out of gas isn't nearly as bad as some of the alternatives.

 

True. But I have never been late for work as long as I can remember, even in the Army I was always early. It ended up being only 15 minutes by the time I got to work and clocked in.
I ordered a new rear differential for my Cadilac Escalade so I hope to get that replaced soon. I've been putting it off for way too long.

 

I found it funny that you wrote "...even in the Army I was always early." I was never in the military but I would have thought it was "...especially in the Army..."

 

I was never late when I was in the Army, you never wanted to be "that guy"
Still waiting on parts for the Cabrio. The supercharger service kit should arrive today. The new dampener and front main seal in a day or two.
Ordered a new oil pan gasket and water pump. Figured I'd install a new water pump since I'll have the supercharger out for a service. Looks like I am heading down the same path as the R50, only this one is not as bad.

 

The new dampener was delivered yesterday for the R52, Pelican parts still has not shipped the front seal so I am waiting on that. I need to go to Fastenal after work and get some new bolts for the pulley remover tool. One broke while trying to remove the dampener on the R50. I hope this one comes off easy and not give me the same issues as the R50 did. I also got in a little bling for the rims yesterday. Only one rim had a good center cap so now they will all look good.

 

Nice webspokes, i really liked those wheels on my old R56, but they were a little heavy.

 

I wanted a rag top but because it is an S model, the blue color and the rims are what sold me on the car. Everything else can be fixed or replaced.
I think those rims would look outstanding on my black R50.

 

I put the removal tool on the R52 dampener and it is coming right off!!! I was doing the happy dance around the car.

 

I did not realize the front seal is separate and not part of the damper assembly so I put that bad boy back together. New belt, new idler and new dampener. I ran it and everything looks great so I put the tire and wheel liner back on and going to take it for a drive in a little bit. Hell Yes!!