I was supposed to be swapping the 6-speed into my 2003 R50 but had not slept whatsoever the night before and postponed. The next day a friend that flips cars randomly calls me and asks if I want any parts from an R50 he has, so naturally I ask for more info. Long story short it was a 2002 with 116K miles on it and a bad midlands in it. The guy that was going to be fixing it started removing parts and gave up, so I ended up buying it for $750 instead of just taking the motor and various other parts for $400.
I will try to attach a photo but it is a 2002 Chili Pepper Red R50 with 116k miles. minimal options compared to my 2003 but the body and paint are in much better condition other than a mismatch fender. The driver's side steering was all replaced due to a deer strike I was told. The engine ran super smooth and no oil leaking anywhere which was a surprise.
I got it about 2 weeks ago and have since done the following:
6 Speed swap and associated parts. awaiting clutch slave pipe so i can finish it up and drive
passenger side ball joints and control arm bushing to match the already done driver's side.
24mm front sway bar and nolathane bushings
replaced exhaust manifold, cats and gaskets due to my buddy cutting the cat to scrap it(stupid)
replaced timing chain tensioner, pcv valve, crank position sensor o ring, thermostat and gasket, AC compressor clutch, cabin air filter, engine oil and filter, all bulbs
Tachometer was not working so I sent an independent 12v source to it and it works
repaired a bulb wire on one side marker, as it was completely cut.
Spark plugs and wires replaced

parts yet to change
fuel filter and seals
swap interior from the 2003 as well as brake rotors.
front and rear struts and springs from an r53
rear 17mm sway bar
install trim pieces and clips
paint mismatched fender
new headliner
fix driver door speaker and check behind the door panel for any other issues.
drive and test vehicle thoroughly and repair/replace whatever else is needed.

After that I'll likely take the "bad" midlands from the 2002 and put it in the 2003, as the guy described what was wrong with it, and during my tests I did not find anything wrong, I think it was their mess up when they screwed with the linkage. I may or may not take the aero kit from the 2003 and put it on the 2002 as well. and finally sell the 2003 :(


2002 R50

2003 R50

 

I love my 2003 R50 hatch. I need to do the 6 speed swap. It's not as fun as the R52 but I love it anyway.

 

Got the swap done, had to wait two weeks for the clutch slave line because I’m an idiot and thought I had it already.
put everything back together and no start. Pretty sure starter is bad! Gonna take it off tonight to test.

Anyway, while I waited for the clutch slave line I changed the chain tensioner, motor mounts, ac clutch, cps oring, passenger steering to match driver side, control arm bushings, removed broken subframe bolt and replaced, larger sway bars and bushings, fixed tachometer, replaced all the interior, re-welded exhaust and made a resonator delete pipe for now. Replaced fender flare clips. Fuel filter done.

planning to take my drilled and slotted rotors from black car to this one and replace suspension all around. I also need to make a hatch release for when battery is dead, as the factory one is completely missing

on the topic of the 6 speed swap, my air box fit right in place despite all the information that it wouldn’t.

id suggest everyone bench test their starter before the swap to save the headache I have right now….

 

My air box fitted as well. Did you use the 6 speed starter not the one off the midlands?

Did you manage to bleed your slave cylinder as there a pain in the rear end to do!

 

Yes luckily I had the starter which came with the six speed, only problem is I’m pretty sure the solenoid is bad… I’m gonna be removing and testing it in a couple hours.
the slave cylinder I bled using a block of wood and some bolts to hold the piston in, then a motorcycle clutch bleeder to apply vacuum…. Won’t know how well it worked until I can get the car running, but pedal feels ok.

 

I apologize for not updating but man a ton has been done. The red mini has now been driven for a while. The six speed is amazing and definitely what I was missing this entire time!

other things I’ve done:
moved most of the aero kit to the red car
new rear struts
larger front and rear anti roll bars.
16” wheels for daily driving and 17s for autox
all the front steering has been completely renewed. I wish I did the poly control arm bushing at that time but I didn’t want to wait…. Stupid.
I welded the exhaust back together, as the previous owner decided to hack it up
i had it dynoed and put down a whopping 87whp though I had a large exhaust leak, an r53 throttle body and no tune

BEST UPDATE:
Adrian tuned the car and added launch control
he had me upgrade the injectors and then worked his magic!!! Amazing man he is. Car overall drives so much better, I don’t care how much power it may or may not put on the dyno, as the improvements he made are worth it.

I have been trying to track my mpg but haven’t had the right scenarios. Prior to the tune I was getting somewhere between 28-31mpg, depending on driving style and distances.

I made a horrible attempt at vinyl wrapping my spoiler and mirror caps but they didn’t come out well, so I ordered more material and will try again.

 

I forgot to mention, I also made my own button for the onboard computer and activated it in ncsexpert. So now I have the on board computer display on my tach! Awesome