Sorry to hear that you've joined the club -not one that people want to join. Don't even bother trying to extract that one - it's threaded for a significant length and it could be seized up for all of that thread. Just drill that sucker out and get a good hardened bolt that is unthreaded for all but the last inch or so. Hope it goes smoothly. Use some oil every so often when drilling - really helps.

 

^^^ +1

I think I got my R56 pinch bolts and nuts from ECS.

 

@ChiefM Nice. If you keep the Escalade out of the stable, you'll have space for more Minis.

@MCS4FUN Your car is so clean I wonder if you need to worry about new bolts. Especially if you've already had them out.

@Eddie07S You're right, the hole is all the way through. The left hand bits came with the extractors and will be useful to have.

@jcolletteiii I ordered a couple of 12mm M42 cobalt bits. You've been prescient so far so I expect I'll end up drilling this bolt out. I realized last night that my cordless drill has a 3/8" chuck -- not large enough for the 12mm bits. This is an excuse to get a drill with a 1/2" chuck. I've had the current Makita for about 20 years so I don't feel too bad about getting a new one. I can give the old one to one of my kids when they need it.

Thanks guys. Working on old-ish cars is a process not an event. This is just a minor hurdle.

 

I looked at this earlier this morning. The R53 bolts are 60 mm long, R56 are 75mm and R60 are 80mm. I need to measure the steering knuckle to see if 75 or 80 are long enough. I already have the new R53 bolts -- purchased before I knew that breaking bolts was likely.

Edit: The knuckle measures 63mm with the bolt still in so I think the 80mm bolt is the way to go.

 

True in concept BUT I am an automobile hoarder, my wife is just as bad as I am. I was looking at used Escalades and checking the market values when I ran across a 2007 Escalade CEO Executive Limo for sale. Same size as a regular ESV but the tires and rims are a little different for the weight difference. It has 47 thousand miles and is super cool on the inside. My wife asked me about that dang Limo for 2 days and I ended up buying it for road trips. It will be delivered on Thursday.

 

A question for those of you who have drilled out one of the pinch bolts: what type of drill bit did you use? Was it made with pixie dust and unicorn horns? Did you have to recite an incantation and spin around three times before using it? I'm using an M42 (8% cobalt) bit and the going is SLOW. I estimate that the car will be an antique before I get through all 57mm of the bolt. Seriously, it's taken quite a while to drill 4 or 5 mm. I'm using oil, relatively low speed and a good bit of pressure. Any tips or specific bit recommendations are appreciated. As are offers to come on over and do some drilling.

On a positive note, during a drilling break, I had another go at the passenger side bolt. And then a miracle occurred -- it came out. All of it. In one piece. Without drama. During another drilling break, I disassembled that strut. So the only thing standing between me and real progress on the Koni install is the aforementioned broken bolt that is all but impervious to drilling.

 

I would have suggested a cobalt drill...

I have not drilled one of these out. I have drilled out other broken bolts. Never easy. Patients is key. But it sounds like you have the right things going. My only other suggestions would be to get some true cutting oil. This might be called thread cutting oil. Should be available at a good hardware store. And try a smaller dia bit; 1/8 inch maybe. Then step up from there.

Glad to hear the other one came out ok...

Oh - and try a periodic beer break (or other beverage of choice). Better that then breaking a bit off in the hole.

 

I would come help drill some but the commute is a killer.

 

Periodic beer break is definitely key. I second Eddie's recommendation of trying a smaller diameter guide hole to help possibly speed things up.

That's awesome news that you were able to get the other side to come right out. That is the same thing that happened to me. The passenger side snapped, but the driver's side came out fairly drama free.

 

Saturday nights we make pizza so I followed the advice provided here and had a beer and pizza break last night. Nothing like pizza and beer to improve one's attitude.




Today, I got back at it. It seemed like I was making some progress by cycling through a series of progressively larger bits but I realized that the largest bit had wandered so that it was drilling the steering knuckle on one side. I took this as a sign from the MINI gods that I was meant to replace the left steering knuckle. So that's what I'm doing. I don't want to install a 20 year-old wheel hub with 104K miles onto a new knuckle so I'm replacing that too. And I really should replace the hub on the other side at the same time so... Despite the parts cost, I'm really happy to be done with the drilling. The important lesson I learned is to listen to @jcolletteiii when he tells me to give the penetrating oil a week to work it's magic. On the left side (broken bolt), I only waited 4 days. On the right side (no drama), I waited a week.

 

The Pizza looks Great!

 

Friday afternoon we returned from our son's graduation in Washington. We had to drive because we were hauling a bunch of his stuff back to Wisconsin with us -- he's staying out west to work for a while. My wife's Outback was crammed to the rafters all the way to the front seats. Photo is at a rest stop somewhere en route.



It's a beautiful drive (at least parts of it are) but long. About 25 hours each way. Excuse the cell phone photo through the window of a moving car.



The last couple of days I've made some progress on the Mini. I got the new rear sway bar (H-Sport 19mm) and shocks installed.




I also installed the new left steering knuckle and new front wheel hubs on both sides. I drilled out the threads on the steering knuckle so that I can use a longer pinch bolt with a nut. I drilled out the right side when I removed the original pinch bolt a couple of weeks ago. I am stalled on assembling the front shocks. I thought I had the correct 22mm socket for the top nut but I don't. Ordered it yesterday - should arrive Friday or Saturday. Managed to remove both front speed sensors without breaking them. I'm not replacing them but wanted to clean them up. The right side was very gunky. As this photo shows, I still have some cleaning to do before completing the installation.


While we were away, I had a significant birthday (divisible by 10) and Friday was my official retirement date. My wife gave me a set of BBS RG-R wheels and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. Or rather, she gave me a card that said I should order them. The wheels should really complete the look of the car and I have similar tires on my Countryman and have been very impressed with them. I'm anxious to get this setup installed and will be for a while since the estimated arrival is mid-August. The wheels are the holdup. Patience is a virtue. Whoever originated that phrase wasn't waiting for a set of BBSs.

 

I've done the drive from ND to Seattle - absolutely gorgeous. Long, but beautiful. Congrats x4 - congrats on the graduation of the son, congrats on the birthday, congrats on the official retirement, and congrats on the new wheel and tires!

Your progress is looking great! Love how the calipers look in blue!

Are the RG-R's lighter than the r112's? or are you going bigger than 17's?

EDIT: yep, looks like the 17x7's are 4.1lbs lighter than an R112 MINI wheel.

 

Yes - Congrats on all of that...

Wonderful retirement present! They will look great on the car.

As for the top nut on the front shocks use an old school 13/16” spark plug socket. An 8mm Allen wrench will fit down the socket drive hole and you can put a box wrench on the socket:


Old school 13/16 spark plug socket
I just tighten it the best I could. It is hard to torque against the Allen wrench.

 

Thanks guys.

@jcolletteiii I am staying with 17x7. Lighter is good but to be honest, weight is secondary to the look.

@Eddie07S Spark plug sockets are a good idea but the Konis come with a 22mm nut rather than the stock 21mm so 13/16 is too small. I thought I might be able to use a 22mm oxygen sensor socket but it was too chunky to fit in the opening in the strut mount. Local options are limited so since I had to order something, I went with the socket designed for the job. I already have the 17mm version and it works great for the rear shocks.

I installed all of the chrome trim rings except for the speedo -- have to figure out how to remove the current one first. I hate messing with interior trim. Too many clips and bits to break or lose.

 

Ugh - It has been a long time since I changed shocks on any of these cars and forgot some of these guys switch things up. Well, it was worth mentioning for the stock shocks...

 

@Eddie07S What fun would this stuff be if it was easy?

Finished up the chrome trim ring install today with a video link assist by @jcolletteiii . I'm really happy with the look. So much so that I ordered the chrome e-brake handle.



Just in front of and to the left of the passenger seat, you can see a sample of the Coco Mats I'm going to get. Blue with white dots to match the color scheme of the car. The rubber mats that were in the car when I bought it have seen better days.

The picture also shows how beat up the center ring in the steering wheel is. Don't yet have a plan for that.

 

Looks AWESOME! I, too, am a huge fan of the chrome trim rings in the interior. It just looks 'right'. I tried the chrome rings on the hazard light flasher and the dimmer, but liked the stock black ones in that spot. Where did you find the ebrake chrome trim from? I never found a good price on that in the US and had to order mine from the guy over in Europe that has OEM stuff.

The airbag cover is a problem for me too. That vinyl is so soft, that my fingernails leave a permanent dent when I accidentally bang on it every so often. The chrome wings on mine are also flaked. I have never found a solution for this other than to buy a whole new airbag, and they are pricey. Let me know if you find a solution to that one!

I've been thinking about carpet mats lately too. It's impossible to keep the rubber ones clean. I clean them and then the first time I step on them, there are dirt facsimiles of the soles of my shoes/sandals all over them. Who are you going with?

 

I looked at a few online sources for the e-brake handle. About $42 shipped from an online vendor. Probably could have done better. I got the chrome trim rings used for a good price for all 8 pieces so I don't feel bad about the cost of the e-brake.

I'm going with Coco Mats -- big in the classic car community. They are made in the USA and are very high quality (with a price to match). Likely the only set of mats I'll ever buy for the car. They're available at a handful of places (WMW, for example) but be careful as a lot of places sell poorer quality substitutes. Also available directly from the manufacturer. https://www.cocomats.com/coco/

 

Back in the 70's, I used coco mats in my '70 MGB GT, '70 Datsun 240z, '72 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe' and '74 Alfa GTV (all cars bought new). I don't recall those mats being backed with 1/8" nibbed rubber as in your above link, which the old ones tended to distort over time from heel pressure (especially driver's side mat). The linked ones really do look like good quality and seem worth the price for a front set of 2 mats. I currently have MINI-S rubber mats which are in good condition but I like the black/grey coco combo for my interior color scheme.

 

That's a list of really fun cars. I want a late 60s or early 70s Alfa GTV 2000 (a 1750 would do as well). Prices have been a little crazy lately. I hope it will come back to sanity before I'm ready to think about it seriously.

 

^^^ My fascination with the Alfa GTV stemmed from the glory years of 1967-1973 during my years as a course marshal at Riverside International Raceway during wherein I worked nearly all regional and national SCCA sportscar races plus TransAm, Can-Am, Motor Trend 500 (NASCAR) and more. Watching Alfa GTA ("A" denoting alleggerita or "lightened") cars round Turn 6 with their unique sliding block rear differential resulting in lofted inside front tires was very special. When Alfa announced the end of production of the Giugiaro-designed GT series (replaced by the Alfetta), I knew I had to buy one before too late. Owned that 25 yrs with great memories. I actually prefer styling of the earlier stepnose as well as the 1750 vs 2000 engine, however they were all special then and appreciated even more now.

 

HOLY SCHMOLEY - you marshalled at RS? You know that track is a shopping mall/Lowes/Jamba Juice now? I lived in Moreno Valley while working on my PhD at UC Riverside and looked into lots of the local history of the area. Some very odd stuff in that neck of the woods.

BTW, boi racers still use the roar around the MoVal Mall as a track. Racing might still be 'in the air' just right there. I hear James Dean raced at RS several times. Neat stuff!

 

^^^ Yes and yes, aware of subsequent development of RIR track properties during the ensuing years. Lots of race programs, participant dash plaques etc retained from that era, however as an old guy now knowing that stuff might well end up in the local landfill when my time is done, I've listed all of that on eBay. Most of the "good stuff" has been sold but more still available. I won't link it here but anyone interested can PM me for that. I'll just add that as a course worker in "dusty whites", I was able to score invitation passes to end-of-series Can-Am/Trans-Am awards ceremonies a few years (held at historic Mission Inn), wherein I rubbed shoulders over cocktails with the most famous racing drivers of that era. Quite the heady experience for a then young man.

 

As grad students, we used to drink beers at the Mission Bar, take turns sitting in Taft's chair, and then roam the passageways of the Mission Inn. The giant round stairway, the rooftop rose gardens... I miss SoCal fiercely.