This will be a build thread for my new car I've just acquired through trade . I now have 2x 04s..
this is an 04 S with an aero package and my only plans are minor engine bolt ons and just making look as nice as possibly.it has a catback exhaust and short throw shifter already. It's a lower mile car but has a decent amount of body damage. It runs and drives great and besides the few spots of panel rust the car is absolutely SOLID and it's very clean underneath too. I traded my modified stage 3x 2007 saab 9-5 aero with 199k for this mini.
I have started on it by FULLY cleaning it in and out , exp inside as I'm weird and can't stand the smell of another person in anyway so I've been going at the interior pretty hard past few days. I've also repainted the rims and painted the calipers also..
I'm going to make a list of what things it needs and starting getting and tracking down the stuff. Like it will need a fender liner , side marker n just other random stuff I will be making junkyard runs for.. here's some pics guys.. I CAAAAAANT wait until it's up and looking crispy once again.

 

Cool to have 2 little bugs in the parking lot. Looks good from first sight, untill you look at it better. Good to know its in the right hands

 

it's five footer as of now , lol buuuut it won't be for long. Trying to work out a deal with my body guy to see what I can get done and what he will want to do it.
I have to try and source 2x rear reflectors for my aero bumper and I'm going to parts yard to grab fender liner and mounts needed for the exhaust, lol I used metal wire in all the oem mount spots to ghetto rig my own mounts AND LOL I got the exhaust mounted tight and perfect BUT I want it don't correct as I know in time the wire will rot off probably since it's Wisconsin and this is my dailydriver .

 

Here's the Saab that I had traded , it was powerful for sure but just not my kinda ride.

 

Wheel arches with stock offset? Yikes.

 

 

I changed oil and sparkplugs last night , how do the old plugs look ? They're in line from cylinders 4-3-2-1 and I think #4 has the blackening from running abit weak of a spark because I found OF COURSE the stock coilpack had corrosion on terminal #4 I had to clean.oil was atleast 2qt down when I got the car and I refilled and didn't use or leak any so like I feared it was confirmed when looking at the oil filter, it looks like it was either standard oil or if it was synthetic it was run well over 6k miles.I also then ordered 10.2mm wires, Alta ic boots for when I order a larger ic and I also ordered a full 3in intake and I will be making a custom filter ramair setup then for it IF I don't trade for one in meantime. I also tracked down and ordered the 2x rear bumper reflectors and housings..I used Rotella full synthetic heavy duty 5w40 and checked gear fluids ect.

 

I think you'll be fine on #4 based on your findings and yeah, that oil is black. I like to run Shell Rotella T-6 for at least one oil change cycle after having oil look like that. It has lots of detergents to help clean things since it was originally designed for diesels. I had a Miata that the hydraulic lifters tapped all the time, but running T6 for two cycles cleared it up completely. Within a few hundred miles it would only tap slightly on a cold start.

I bet the fuel filter in that car is nasty too.

 

ooooooo good one, that's gonna get done soon the firl filter..
I run Rotella in my built mini actually and love it, only oil I've found where it doesn't have some valve tick during startup. Stuff works very well , I run 5w40 but it's a built motor with bvh , cam ectectect .

 

I’m pretty sure those aren’t the OEM rear red reflectors and looks like there’s no housing left. That might be the original cut out for the OEM, but highly doubtful you’d find them. You could probably improvise, but would likely look like crap. You might be able to get away with red reflector tape at the bottom of the clear lense also. But then you got holes to cover.
http://www.motoringfile.com/howto/Rear%20Reflectors.PDF
Maybe more threads like this here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nd-pics-3.html

 

I already found the oem housing with reflectors, 20$ a piece only but just gonna take awhile to get here as they're from Europe . Prior owner must have lost them somehow and just tried putting reflector tape behind it .1X reflector should be here in 2x days other ,who knows.

 

Went to junkyard today and got an exhaust hangers I needed for the car and the fender liner. It's very low on pads and my LUCK the cooper I needed a caliper off of for my other mini had almost new brake pads on it so I robbed those off of the car also..I still need that middle under plate n bushing for the center of the exhaust and a passenger side front fender marker but ille track them down soon here .
I also got my reflectors for the bumper AND THEY WOULDNT FIT . I had to go and cut and grind a chunk out of the crash bar so they would clearance buuuuuuut I got them in..
Pads and fender liner go on tomorrow. i also have enroute an aftermarket intake, intake filter housing, larger intercooler and I WILL be ordering a kavs 20% pulley soon.

 

Got the brakepads in and lol SCOOOOORE ! they work like pads should and no squeaks or anything . I also put in the 3in intake and crappy filter . I will switch the intake filter setup from my other mini onto this one and other car is getting a velocity stack filter setup.
I also got and installinstalled the catless headers BY MY SELF and I don't suggest ever doing so as it made the job take 3x as long.. it was very hard prying out the old header , getting it back in ( had to massage passengers corner rail to clear) . I also soaked everything the prior night and let the car run only 2min just enough to warm up the bolts alittle and thankfully they all came out no fuss.i had to then bust off the old 02 as it wouldn't come out as I tried everythingto the point I was shearing off material off the sensor so I grabbed Ole trusty impact and blasted it off easily thankfully I had a spare, I also installed an 02 defoulerAND NO CEL LIGHT is on AWESOME !!!!!. You will also need to cut the wire harness rubber protector so you can pull out and extend the 02 wire harness abit, I also had to zip tie up the back of the header so I could line up the flange and gasket UUUUGGGGHHHHHH bUT 6 hours later I GOT IT. No leaks nooooooothing and omg it sounds absolutely AMAZING why can't my other mini sound like this , it's not obnoxious or drone or aaaaaaaanything and pops like crazy. I will upload sound clip tomorrow but wow ,just wow. The intake and larger intercooler really opened up the SC sound and the full exhaust now sounds proper mini !
20% pulley kit will be getting ordered soon and my larger plug wires should be here soon too and once I get the 40k output coilpack I can then increase the gapping in the plugs and run a more efficient spark then for that extra amount of air she shall be ingesting . Ille then toss in the 440cc injectors at the same time as the pulley and have it tuned too then...hehe then what ? Idk but I'm not going for big power like my other one I'm just going for a Nasty 0-60 with this one so I'm probably leaving the head , cam and intake manifold stock. I'm curious to how this car will perform vs my built one with its stock stuff pushed to their limits vs my other cars all aftermarket stuff running safely and somewhat conservatively

 

Today I installed a cheapo boost gauge and made a mount for it... I also removed the 2x aluminum stock intercooler supports as they're now useless with my larger intercooler. I ordered oem grill jcw badge and jcw trunk badge , I will soon be ordering jcw centercaps then also. I plan on a jcw clone but it will have better mods than any stock jcw. I will be sending it to my buddy soon to start fixing up the dents and rust and cracked plastics.. so I'm going to wait another month then befor I order the 20% pulley upgrade kit and injectors and have adriancl then tune it for me... eventually I will port the head but that's not for sometime yet...

 

I swapped my ramair into onto BRG from my other mini because I put a larger one on other car . I can't hear the SC like I used to with the open filter but it sure is more efficient than that rusty crusty old hot air filter it had befor..

 

Thanks for posting, like that you are brining it back.

 

Been awhile since I updated on the car.. I've been collecting parts and I've now acquired everything I need to take the car to the next level.. as it sits it has catless headers, pacesetter exhaust, msd coil and wires , larger intercooler, 3in intake and a short shifter.AS IT SITS IT MAKES 11PSI MAX..
I NOW have a 20% sc pulley and belt , 380cc jcw injectors and ngk range colder plugs and of course it's going to be tuned by the mini master himself adriancl . I also will be filling the remaining stock Trans and eng bushing with window weld to stiffen it up abit. I got a new lower Trans mount and filled it and took pics to show you what I used and how it's used.
I switched the exhausts too from one car to another so this cars no longer has the awesome nVidia but o well atleast it doesn't rattle so it was a great tradeoff on both cars,cars, both benefited. I had to make custom mounts for the exhaust ,lol check them out!!!!! I also got the tips decently even too and they don't move one bit either.
I was going to install the convertible support bars too but I ended up bartering them and obtained a leap diffuser for the other car.
I also installed a boost gauge BUT I already took it out abd threw it away cuz it rattled. So I put a good one in the my other cooper and took thar one out and swapped it into this car.
I also went through the interior and fixed and rattles by putting in new clips and stuff...
Well anyway guys. Happy holidays. Stay safe N motor on !!!!!!

 

What in the plumber's crack is that?

 

lol, which part ?

 

The pipe straps...

 

haha yaaaaa. Conveniently that's all I had was that copper wrap stuff. Which worked perfectly because where the stock bushings would have mounted the little bit of bolts that were left after the prior owner snapped them all off were luckily enough to feed bolts onto to hold the copper strap which hold the exhaust. Good thing too that the pacesetter exhaust is probably half the weight of the nVidia I exchanged it for. The copper straps unfortunately will have to be a permanent solution though as there no way I'm going to attempt to drill out , tap and feed new holes and bolts up there..
I will post a Pic of the new boost gauge and how the car now sounds soon.. once I get back home I'm finishing my Grey car then will begin on "notorious brg "...I'm hoping for 18-19psi with it...hehe if it's not enough then I will throw on a 2% crank...haha so itle have a 20% sc pulley and 2% crank. Idk ANY other members running this combo.
I've done lots of research regarding the alternator and waterpump spinning so fast.. I actually will install a clear tube inline with my coolant and put a camera unde hood and do wot pull and see if the coolant gets bubbles from the impeller spinning too fast. The alternator is fine , that's why it has a voltage regulator ect buuuuut there is a 5% overdrive for the alternator just encase of over charging issues THOUGH from all I've read that shooooooouldnt be an issue. Lol only time will tell..
I'm also eyeballing an 05 automatic S that needs abit of work but could be a great quick flip or parts strip..

 

Here's quick video

 

How HOW IS IT POSSIBLE. just installing the 20% pulley and step colder sparkplugs OMFG !!!!! What a huge HUGE difference the upgrades made.. I cannot BELIEVE how much power the car now makes.. I just can't believe how much power it's making already and it's only peaking at 15lb-16lb of boost but it does hit peak boost very soon thnx to the pulley..lol befor it peaked at 11lb on cold days..
I will given adriancl a call and have him do my tune for it fir when the 380cc injectors get here..
I did some good hard pulls and drove abit and my ic wasn't hot one bit.. granted it 38'F outside but even the hotside intercooler horn wasn't hot..
What a great great upgrade.. now, I just can't see aaaaaaaaaany use for a 15% pulley.. I guess if you want just a little little extra but if your doing it, why not do it all the way? A 17% pulley was nice when I ran one but imo still wasn't enough.. had I known about and where to purchase a 20% pulley. I GUARANTEE you I would not have gone with my sprintex sc on my other car..I feel like this 20% is giving the car what it needs and iiiiiiiiif I wanted abit more I could always do a 1-3% crank pulley and do an electric water pump to free up abit more and help it spin up easier.. ( yes I found 3% cranks now too ).
I also sucked out what old fluid out of the supercharger I could and replaced with new oil. Always a nice piece of mind.
I also replaced the lower engine mount with a new one I polly filled and that alone stopped the clunking between shifts EVEN THOUGH the upper mount is bone dry and shot and needing replacement ( I got new one on the way )..

 

After replacing the 2x engine mounts , getting ANOTHER set of new style 380cc injectors and ran those as the jcw versions had flow issues. So then I had the main man adriancl tune it for me and I installed a catch can and an upgraded flexi dipstick...car was running GREAT with exception of minor oil leak from crank seal.
but anyways..I tested the waters with it as I kinda could use the $$$ and space more than the car rite now. Plus it's a sellers market so I kinda had to..lol pretty much all going to pay off wife's bills she's acquired but ille be getting "project rice" back soon and WAIT until you see that car when done..hehe..anyways
I got A BUNCH of interest in the car so I ended up letting it go to who I felt it woulda been best off with..dude named Adam too of course and wife purchased it from me so I hope they enjoy it as much as I was and hope it lives a good long life..
here's the last few pics and bye-bye video.