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One of the two drives I've been on since I've owned it.
"Dream build" may be a little clickbaity; but this is definitely my dream mini. I hadn't intended to do a specific thread, but with all the positive feedback from my last project...why not? Plus, I like having these as a way to help me remember what I did when. I first teased this back in July of last year. TLDR: Was supposed to be finding the wife a minivan but @wmcoons found this at a mini meetup for me instead. I got it in 'driveable' condition as quickly as possible but told my wife I wouldn't drive it until she had her van. The van showed up in November, and I sold my previous Mini earlier this month; providing me with the time, permission, and funds to build this one. Here goes:
Of course before this project even gets off the ground, I've got a dilemma. I finally got time to get under my 300ZX and see what the issue was, and I'm 80% sure I've got a blown turbo. The turbos I'm using are essentially NLA, so it's hope a rebuild works or make the swap to newer technology which will be a budget buster. I'm going to prepare for the worst and do the JCW build in stages.
The #1 priority for the JCW is to keep it 'comfortable'. No super loud exhausts and it must pass emissions. My wife isn't a fan of Mini's but tolerates my obsessions; I don't want her to completely hate the experience. I'd like to get in the low 200's for WHP, but no header might make that tough; I haven't heard of any that make quiet power.
Parts currently being installed or on order:
Koni FSD w/powerflex upper bushings in the rear and Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates up front
IE 22mm hollow rear sway bar
EBC redstuff pads front/rear
17% supercharger pulley
Superpro transmission mount inserts
Powerflex LCA bushings
Stainless braided brake lines
Integrated bluetooth kit (many more details to come)
R84 Xlite wheels
Proposed end-state is E85 on ~550CC injectors with a tune by Adrian, and the 461 profile Catcam. This will require quite a bit more research and I want to see how content I'll be with the power I get with the 17% pulley, lighter wheels, and the factory 210hp kit. If anyone with more high HP mini experience wants to chime in, please do. I've been doing an excessive amount of reading and research to make sure I do this right the first time.
What I'm calling phase 2 is nearly complete; I'm just waiting on Ireland Engineering to ship my parts. It's been 10 days since I placed my order for parts that were 'in-stock'. I'm pretty much to the point where I cannot go any farther. Ugh. Thanks for reading, stay tuned...this should be fun.
Posting primarily to subscribe to future updates. Since mine was seriously performance built for tracking when new, I can only comment on side effects of that. Specifically, the 4:1 header with hi-flow cat, non-res Milltek catback, pulley of unknown reduction and very likely cylinder head mods incl cam, bigger injectors of unknown size and possibly S/C mods. The only known downside of the water-to-air IC being coolant plumbing which complicates mechanical work beneath with R&R. As mentioned in my own topic, those mods (including the complete suspension) significantly increase total NVH. I've done what I can to tame it but would prefer milder state of tune for practical usage on streets and highways. What I suspect is related to hotter cam and bigger injectors results in blubbery cold starting but then runs like a scalded rabbit once up to temps. All I can suggest is, proceed conservatively unless tracking is your plan. I love mine too despite those less than ideal aspects...
For a bit of context and the sake of record keeping, I'll bring everyone up to speed on the state of the car as-purchased, as well as what work I've done thus far.
I bought the car locally in late June 2021. It had new tires, a recently remanufactured supercharger, and had hatch and door sill rust repair performed right at the end of the rust warranty window. It needed brakes desperately and he had been dealing with an intermittent limp mode for a few months. He didn't want to put any money into the car as he a) wasn't driving it much due to work flexibility and b) was waiting on delivery of his brand new JCW. I was basically on standby for purchase until his was delivered.
It's a one owner, unmodified, dealer serviced factory JCW with the anthracite interior (including above beltline), all chrome interior trim, sport leather seats, HK system, winter floor mats (including boot!)...etc. Wonderful. He truly took fantastic care of this car and it is in stellar cosmetic shape.
Unfortunately the dealer didn't take excellent care. There was quite a few 'hokey' things I had to deal with, the most surprising was the use of some goofy self tapping screw to hold the front bumper on and a stripped intercooler boot clamp. Really disappointing how shoddy some of the work was.
For a rust-prone car with 140k miles that has lived in Wisconsin it's entire life, it's shocking how clean the underside is:
The car itself needed some cleaning, and quite a bit of basic maintenance addressed which I'll cover in my next post. Following the initial drive home and inspection, things looked pretty good. It was raining on that initial drive, and the oil was very low so I didn't bother stretching its legs but the rain showed off the hydrophobic properties of what must have been a recent and quality wax job. The engine bay wasn't as clean but it wasn't anything some soap could address.
I was a field service guy based in Madison and had west to Richland Center and North to the Dells with my 94 VW Jetta. I modded it (head, cam, shocks springs, seats and harness) because I drove on great country roads about 200 miles everyday. I washed my car 2x a week in the winter and after 9 years and 265k miles had no rust. If you take care of your vehicle it's possible...even in Wisconsin.👍
I was a field service guy based in Madison and had west to Richland Center and North to the Dells with my 94 VW Jetta. I modded it (head, cam, shocks springs, seats and harness) because I drove on great country roads about 200 miles everyday. I washed my car 2x a week in the winter and after 9 years and 265k miles had no rust. If you take care of your vehicle it's possible...even in Wisconsin.👍
As someone who had a 97 Golf that rusted out in just a few years...I don't totally agree with you :-) But I don't plan on driving the JCW when there is salt/snow on the road. Maybe its me though. My current Jetta is rusting to pieces (although I'm not actively trying to prevent that) and the 2004 Mini I just parted with wasn't doing so hot either. Wisconsin sucks for automotive upkeep.
Continuing the 'quick' recap of last year to now with the JCW:
Cosmetically the car was in great shape, but it needed quite a bit of mechanical TLC. The JCW intake wiring was broken, idlers were squealing, oil was low, coolant was coating the front of the block, the reservoir looked like it was 100 years old, oil was down the timing chain cover, by the oil cooler, the passenger side engine mount was leaking, the tensioner was wobbly....and a few other things.
I immediately took care of all the mission critical 'standard' items. Motor mounts, oil cooler o-rings, oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, and on and on. I didn't touch the big ticket items (brakes, shocks, suspension bits) because the plan was to upgrade all of those as soon as the budget allowed. I got the car cleaned up just in time for the local annual British Car Field Day and had a great time; and haven't driven it since.
That pretty much brings us back to current day. I've got the rear brakes rebuilt and painted, the front suspension broken down, the rear suspension assembled. I'm to the point where I can't do anything until my Ireland Engineering order of front camber plates, rear sway bar, and brake lines arrives....which should happen today! From now on its crunch time and I shouldn't need to wait on parts.
Rear shocks have been assembled for weeks waiting for rear sway bar to show up :( Rear calipers before shotblast Rear calipers after shotblast and ready for paint VHT real red applied and baked in my grill. Front calipers tidied up and assembled. Superpro transmission mount inserts. Bluetooth/SD card/Aux module installed!
My Ireland engineering order finally showed up today, nearly 3 weeks after I placed the order.....and they forgot to include my rear brake lines. Wonderful.
I had @wmcoons and another friend over for a Friday night of beers and wrenches yesterday and we knocked it out of the park. Front shocks assembled and installed, front brake lines and calipers installed, rear sway bar, end links, and calipers installed. Should be able to put the front end together today and....wait for the snow to stop falling. Ugh
Buttoning up the front end went quickly and without surprise. Sunday morning I got the car off the lift and did an alignment. There's been some talk about DIY alignments in other threads so I figured I would detail my method here for those that are interested. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish, and some of that was spent looking for tools and making mental errors because it was 5AM and I didn't think to make coffee. But in the end the car is laser straight and dialed in within 1/32" of neutral toe. This procedure is for establishing TOE only; if you have adjustable camber plates, be sure to set camber before adjusting toe. I am not a professional and am providing these instructions for informational purposes only, use at your own risk.
Tools needed:
1 jackstand and a laser line (or 2 jackstands and a string)
Tape measure
13mm box wrench (for adjusting toe)
2 adjustable wrenches (for locking in adjustments)
General MSPAINT setup. FRONT at the top.
I didn't plan on doing a write-up while I was doing this so you'll have to settle for MSPAINT. I'll take pics the next time I go through this process (hopefully not for a while).
Step 1: Car Setup.
Park the car on a stack of one or two 2x10" pieces of lumber under the front wheels. Or more depending on how much room you need. This will allow the weight of the car to be on the suspension while still giving you room to make adjustments. Engage the steering lock with the steering wheel at 0* (as if you were driving perfectly straight). Protip: Place one or two plastic shopping bags between the lumber and the tires to prevent the tires from binding on the lumber and making adjustments and confirming measurements easier.
Step 2: Reference line.
Pick a side of the car. Place a laser line at the rear of the car pointing forward (the further behind you can get the car the better, this will make dialing in the laser line easier). The laser should be the same distance from the face of front wheel as the rear wheel, this will make getting started easier. The laser should be between approximately 6" and 12" from the face of the wheel.
Using your tape measure, measure distance from the center cap of your rear wheel to the laser. Repeat for the front wheel. Identified by #1 on the image above. Be careful to ensure you are always holding the tape measure perpendicular to the face of the wheel, at the same relative point of each center cap. Get the measurement as close to 'perfectly identical' as you can. Within 1/32".
Step 3: Straightening front wheel.
Now that you have a line that is 'straight' relative to one side of the car; use the outer tie rod to adjust toe until the readings at #2 (wheel face to laser line) above are 'identical'. These measurements should be taken at the outer lip at the front and back of the wheel; at equal heights (I use the center cap, and eyeball it for reference). When finished, do not 'lock' in your adjustments with the lock nut. More adjustments will be needed.
Step 4: Repeat for the other side of the car.
Now you should have both front wheels 'straight' relative to their side of the car. The problem is that most cars don't have identical front and rear track widths, so the two lines you've created are not parallel. My diagram is backwards as the R53 actually has a slightly wider rear track width, so you'll be left with a little bit of toe in. At this point we no longer need the laser lines. All adjustments and measurements will be relative to the front tires.
Step 5: Make initial toe measurements.
Lie down parallel to the car, and reach under the car with your tape measure. Start at the back side of the front tires. Hook the tape measure up to a 'straight' section of tread on the opposite side of the car. (#3 above) Make sure you can positively identify which groove you are hooked on to, as you'll need to measure the exact same position on the opposite side of the tire. Measure as high up on the tire as you can without interference from the underside of the car.
Hook your tape measure here
Take your measurement on the same part of tread on your side of the car. Remove the tape measure and check again. If this is your very first time, it may take a few tries to develop a consistent technique to hooking the tread and applying constant tension to the tape measure. Too much or too little will affect your measurements plus or minus 1/16". If your measurements are the same commit this number to memory, move to the front side of the front tires and perform the same measurement in the same relative position.
Step 5: Math
Subtract your first number (rear width) from your second number (front width). Lets say we measured 56-1/2" at the rear and 56-3/4" at the front. That would give you 1/4" toe out. My preferred setting is between 0 and 1/32" toe in. The tricky part now is to make sure whatever adjustment you make, you split equally between both sides. If you need eliminate 1/4" toe out, do 1/8" at the passenger side and 1/8" at the drivers side, to ensure both tires maintain equal position relative to the steering wheel. This takes a little bit of finesse, but will result in a perfectly straight alignment. I generally try to make 75% of the adjustment needed, and then measure, to make sure I'm creeping up on the desired adjustment, and not overshooting in both directions until i figure it out. I'll try to remember to measure toe adjustment per outer tie rod rotation next time I do this. A cheat sheet would be great to have.
Step 6: Check your work
Once you have dialed in your desired toe setting, gently tighten the lock nuts into place. Pull your car out of the garage (or pull it forward 10 feet or so) and then back into position. The grocery bags should help prevent any suspension binding but it's always important to double check your work. Using the grocery bag trick I rarely need to make secondary adjustments. If any are needed, again be sure to split them between both sides.
Step 7: Have a beer
Nice work! You just saved yourself $100 and an afternoon of trying to schedule an appointment, dropping your car off, killing time, etc. More specifically...Go for a drive, then have the beer. Order of operations is important here.
Following the Sunday AM alignment I opened the garage door and was greeted with sun, instead of the snow that was predicted. Hoses aren't hooked up yet so I did a quick and dirty car wash to remove the 6 months of dust and grime that it had accumulated in the garage over the fall/winter.
Not bad for a 1 bucket wash
Initial test drive was mostly awesome, once an air bubble I missed worked its way through the cooling system and nearly gave me a heart attack with a pegged temp gage.
I went with the FSD because I was looking for something a little bit more comfortable for my wife (who only rides occasionally) and because the reviews regarding ride quality were stellar. They definitely don't disappoint. Compared to the B4's I had on my silver mini, these absorb much of the abrupt transitions that our sub-par roads generate. They still offer a very sporty feel, but without the constant stiffness of the B4. If it was me, I wouldn't mind sticking with the B4; they are a spectacular budget option in my opinion; however the FSD are definitely worth the $300 price premium. I'm looking forward to continuing to evaluate them on other road conditions.
Unfortunately when I parked the car there was a sizeable wet spot under the center front of the engine. After some time with a pen light and an inspection mirror I was able to identify a drip of clear oil hanging from the supercharger intake horn. Crap. Last night I managed to remove the supercharger in about 45 minutes. I removed the water pump flange (for the 2nd time now) and applied some anaerobic sealant. I've never needed this on any of the superchargers I've maintained before; and it looks like my problem might have been the faintest lip of dirt around one of the threaded holes the flange mounts to. Pardon the poor condition of the exterior of the supercharger. I guess I only cleaned the outlet horn...this will be remedied tonight.
Leak path identified by yellow arrow Anaerobic sealant applied around entire mating face.
I'm waiting 24 hours for the sealant to cure, and then I'll put everything back together and drive the snot out of it. The bluetooth box I bought works fantastically. It sounds great and accepts commands from the steering wheel buttons for volume and next/previous track. It's an awesome deal @ $75 for those who want to maintain their factory headunit. If you don't have the HK system I'd recommend putting that $75 towards a new aftermarket headunit with built in bluetooth audit.
No more leaks. The anaerobic sealant has eliminated all supercharger oil escapes. Unfortunately I've got a creak/rattle/clunk from the rear that I'm having a hell of a time diagnosing.
I took the mini out to Madison this weekend and it drove great, rode super comfortable on the highway, and made plenty of fun power. But every time I got in/out of the car, or hit a road condition that moved the rear suspension, a single loud but 'soft' clunk was generated. Soft meaning it doesn't sound like metal on metal. I was pretty convinced it was the sway bar rotating inside the hard bushings.
I removed the bushings last night and very liberally applied silicone lube to the inside and outside of the bushing and it seems like I've made the problem worse. Now its definitely taken on a more rattle-like characteristic; but the sound is exactly the same. Instead of getting one instance of the noise, it's nearly continuous. I initially thought it was my adjustable end-links so I reinstalled my OEM end links, and the sound persisted. I'm 90% sure it's coming from the sway bar; when I got the wheels off yesterday I managed to load the suspension with the car on the lift and my hand on the bushing carrier, and I was pretty confident this was the origination point.
I took the video below on a relatively smooth stretch of road this morning. Thanks to the magic of cell phone video the sound has lost a lot of its 'body' and it sounds much more metallic and tinnier than it does in person.
Otherwise I'm in love with the car. I've addressed what few nagging issues I missed last year: new hood and hatch struts, replaced a sized parking brake cable, and adjusted the headlights. Smooth power delivery, fantastic ride thanks to the FSD's, and a great sounding stereo.
I've been driving the mini a ton...which is great....but I cannot for the life of me find the source of this rattle in the rear. I replaced an end link that was suspect and it made no improvement. Ugh.
On top of that the drivers front speaker has blown. And I hit a racoon in the middle of the day yesterday which tore off the front lip. I managed to get it reinstalled but not without some scars. Thankfully all the damage is on the trim and not the bumper itself. Anyone have a spare?
Lip folded under Reinstalled, but not without battle scars
No more leaks. The anaerobic sealant has eliminated all supercharger oil escapes. Unfortunately I've got a creak/rattle/clunk from the rear that I'm having a hell of a time diagnosing.
I took the mini out to Madison this weekend and it drove great, rode super comfortable on the highway, and made plenty of fun power. But every time I got in/out of the car, or hit a road condition that moved the rear suspension, a single loud but 'soft' clunk was generated. Soft meaning it doesn't sound like metal on metal. I was pretty convinced it was the sway bar rotating inside the hard bushings.
I removed the bushings last night and very liberally applied silicone lube to the inside and outside of the bushing and it seems like I've made the problem worse. Now its definitely taken on a more rattle-like characteristic; but the sound is exactly the same. Instead of getting one instance of the noise, it's nearly continuous. I initially thought it was my adjustable end-links so I reinstalled my OEM end links, and the sound persisted. I'm 90% sure it's coming from the sway bar; when I got the wheels off yesterday I managed to load the suspension with the car on the lift and my hand on the bushing carrier, and I was pretty confident this was the origination point.
I took the video below on a relatively smooth stretch of road this morning. Thanks to the magic of cell phone video the sound has lost a lot of its 'body' and it sounds much more metallic and tinnier than it does in person.
Otherwise I'm in love with the car. I've addressed what few nagging issues I missed last year: new hood and hatch struts, replaced a sized parking brake cable, and adjusted the headlights. Smooth power delivery, fantastic ride thanks to the FSD's, and a great sounding stereo.
just throwing it out there but my mini had the same kinda sound when i bought it and NEVER could figure it out. Finally I changed my rear control arms and found a rock wedged up against one of them and the center section it connected to. Might be worth checking that area out...
just throwing it out there but my mini had the same kinda sound when i bought it and NEVER could figure it out. Finally I changed my rear control arms and found a rock wedged up against one of them and the center section it connected to. Might be worth checking that area out...
Thanks for the heads up, but I don't think that's the case. I still haven't isolated the issue, but between driving the mini almost every day and using the radio I don't really hear it any more. It's there...I've just grown numb to it. I'll find time to diagnose at some point, but I'm enjoying not having any projects or plans at the moment.
Just got back from World Masters Ultimate Club Championships in Ireland where we took 8th(!!!). I'm looking forward to finally being able to find and attend some C&C events...and just have some free time. An update on where the mini and the rest of the garage stand right now:
I had to scale back the build just a little. I was looking into cams, tires for my X-lite wheels, and E85 fixins to finish my 'dream build' when I discovered I had blown a turbo (or 2) on my 300ZX. I parked it in the fall knowing I had an issue, but I didn't find time or motivation to look into it until February. I finally got the engine out in May and confirmed my suspicions. I figured it would be a year or two before I got the funds to do a turbo swap, but found a super reasonably priced GT25R kit and somehow got the wife on board with the purchase (despite the fact that we were leaving for a 10 day Ireland trip in less than 2 months). I placed the order on 4/22, and had the car buttoned up and on the road by my birthday on 5/22; while balancing 2 a day workouts, a kid, a full time job, and weekend practices. Not bad!
New turbos installed
Waiting to go back in
Unfortunately what has been an E85 haven is starting to turn around. Kwik Trip has generally been a reliable source for E85 at nearly every station in the area, but they've pulled quite a few of the pumps out this year. Bad news for the Z, good news for the Mini. I won't waste money going the E85 route, and when funds become available I think my next upgrade will be methanol injection. I think its the best sub $1000 bang for the buck upgrade there is. Maybe next year. Until then I'm driving the JCW a ton, getting great gas mileage, and having a blast. Roughly 3k miles so far on commuter duty and no issues to speak of (minus some rattles).
We had some big storms yesterday (even a few mini-tornados). When I came out to my car the windshield was very moist on the inside. The carpet in the footwells was dry, but reaching up under the dash I could feel dampness on most of the junk up under the dash towards the outside of the car. Wiring harnesses, etc. It doesn't seem to be a lot of water, but any water is reason for concern. And now that I think of it I've had some mild fog on the inside of the windows occasionally since I've been parking it outside. It didn't occur to me that this could be indicative of an actual problem.
I dropped the headliner last night and found both drain tubes to be intact. Crap! I threw some zip ties on for good measure to make sure they never leak.
I have not yet checked to see if they are clogged; but it didn't seem like the headliner had seen water in that area. I tried some forum searching last night but pretty much every "water under dash" search results in sunroof drain tubes results. Anyone else have any ideas where to look? The door seals were dry when I removed them.
Glad to hear that the tornados didn't have a bigger impact on your location.
Did you check the grommet around the ABS wire loom? Easiest access is under the hood.
I'm not totally sure I found the specific grommet you suggested; but because of your suggestion I spent some time in the engine bay and the footwells with a flashlight looking for damaged or missing grommets and didn't see anything. The only other idea I have is to pull off the external A-pillar trim based on some old forum posts. I'm out of leads at this point. The good news is its definitely not the sunroof. Headliner is dry.
MiniManAdam was looking for a set of winter wheels for his ride, so I sold him the S-Lites I had on the JCW and used that as an excuse to finally put some rubber on the X-Lites I picked up this spring. I love the way the wheels look, but I love the fact that they only weigh 17lbs even more. Long term plan is to source some BRG MINI center caps and run them without lug covers.
Beautiful fall morning
Finally got the brakes some breathing room
T-Minus 20 days until NC roadtrip this Thanksgiving. I just got an oil change done, but noticed a bit of blue residue on the bottom of the oilpan in the same location I saw it when I began the build. I'm also not sure the reason as it got a new water pump and related gaskets when I was in there. Pretty sure its coolant as I'm running the OEM stuff; but I'm not sure I'll have the chance to get it into service mode before we leave (did I mention I have another JCW in its parking spot at the moment?). Live life on the edge!
Stepsiblings!
A fellow member and I rescued this 03 JCW from a local owner who was over his head. The car is in great shape cosmetically (following a good vacuum), but needed some serious TLC. It's currently on the lift as we replace and rebuild nearly everything.
My rear clunk ended up being a loose nut on the top of my rear strut assembly.
Very much appreciate the input. It's possible I didn't accurately describe the noise. It's more of a groan, or possibly a rattle. It really sounds like the sway bar binding in the bushings, but applying very liberal amounts of grease did not help. I believe at one point it was groaning just when sitting in the car, but I believe that went away with lube. I can't recall now. I should check my strut tops but highly doubt that is the answer.
Having spent plenty of time watching automotive content on Youtube, the algorithm must have translated my viewings of Doug D. to another channel that does more 'regular' car reviews. I'm generally not a huge fan of this type of content, but I am always interested in learning about the lesser known models/engines/configurations. One channel resonated with me (Shooting Cars) and I found myself consuming quite a bit of his content after the almighty youtube first popped it up onto my feed. While watching a few reviews on a Saturday afternoon I picked up on the context clues and found out he was based in Chicago. On an impulse I reached out and offered up my JCW. A few weeks went by with no response and I kinda forgot about it. Long story short.....we figured things out in early October and he released the video today. For being my daily 6 months out of the year, I think it presented well!
North Carolina trip was excellent! Almost exactly 2000 miles, 24.5 average mpg. Packed the car the night before, filled to the gills with luggage, dog supplies, emergency tools, and snacks. Oh yeah, and 110lbs of dogs in the back seat. Through some dumb luck, I found buyers for two non-shippable items (roof rack, steering wheel w/airbag) within 60 minutes of my final destination. Neither of them were from NAM sadly.
Dogs in a hammock
Best way to transport a roof rack
This trip almost was over before it started. I have Hankook Ventus V12s installed....and we dealt with whiteout conditions at times less than 24 hours before I was set to depart. Thankfully the weather cleared...as did the roads and the forecast, so I felt comfortable beginning my journey. Left before 5am on Sunday (11/20). Made excellent time through what has the potential to be the most congested part of the drive: Chicago. Putting as much distance between home and me before most people roll out of bed is my motivation for getting up super early. And it's so peaceful cruising with the dogs listening to a good book or podcast before the sun comes up.
The trip down was uneventful and I managed to cover 780 miles in about 11 hours. The roof rack and 80mph cruise was terrible and netted me just over 21mpg over two tanks. Ouch!
Within 20 minutes of arrival, I met up with the new owner of the roof rack for a super smooth transaction. Huge fan of the Yakima 1A raingutter towers. Easy to install, don’t require specific hardware, lock in firmly, and don’t leave any marks on the body.
First thing the next morning I met ‘steering wheel guy’ at a coffee shop in Little Switzerland. I’ve been keeping in touch with this guy since February when I began parting out a Silver 2006, and through a few canceled NC trips he remained patient. We chatted for a while, and took a drive down the mountain as he had never been to that part of NC before. We intended to do the loop, but there must have been some drama as the way back up was backed up for miles, so we parted ways and I retraced our trip back up.
New mini friend
Favorite route
I’ve mentioned this in previous threads, but our location in NC is a Mini owners dream. 7 minutes to the Blue Ridge parkway, 7 minute to the Diamondback loop posted above. Even weekend drives to Asheville or Old Fort or any of the other towns are enjoyable. It makes all the hassle of packing the dogs and luggage into the mini and brute forcing an 800 mile drive each way more than worth it. If you’re ever looking for a fun roadtrip destination, you can’t do wrong with eastern TN or western NC in a mini.
On these trips I generally have to get up early or get lucky with downtime to get out on a drive, but our lovely child was being not so lovely at naptime. Solution? Stick her in the carseat! I got 90 minutes of time to myself on fantastic roads while she napped in back. She LOVES ‘daddys car’ so overtired crabbiness was easily overcome with “want to go for a ride?”. Within 10 minutes she’s out cold.
Can't nap without toys
On the TN/NC border
Beautiful naptime scenery
Long way to Asheville
Naptime mountain climb
The week offered quite a few memorable drives, probably none more so than driving home from Boone at 9pm on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs parallel to the freeway (sort of) so its not the most efficient way to travel....which means it was deserted. The late hour meant there were no stellar views, but it was such a cool experience to climb up and down the ridge, in the dark, with no traffic whatsoever.
The week went by without drama, aside from the fact that I confirmed my earlier vague suspicion that my clutch was on its way out. On the way down, once or twice I thought I felt some slippage when stomping on it in 6th...but I was quick off the throttle and didn't give the opportunity to slip more (not wanting to potentially do damage before the trip really started). Thankfully it would only slip under boost in 6th, or when fully loaded going uphill in 4th under WOT. These two conditions were easily avoided so I was still able to have fun without worry. Unfortunately this means I'll need to do some pretty intrusive spring maintenance in 2023. I'll likely be going with a lightweight aluminum AASCO flywheel and LUK clutch. We'll see what the spring brings. Until then the mini will still see very minor usage until the snow flies, as boost with 30F ambient temps is so addicting.
In other news, the 2003 JCW is running and absolutely gorgeous. Work isn't complete, but were in the final stretch: Headlights before wash
December wash!
Oh yeah, and I brought home a super clean Black on Black V70 T5 that's making some interesting engine noises (hiding in the background in the image above). If everything checks out, I've got a new winter DD! I won't be able to dig into this until the JCW is done.
Great post, Dan. It's particularly interesting to me as my wife and I are planning to move to somewhere in greater Asheville in about 18 months. Have been looking at communities in about a 45 minute radius. We're really looking forward to the scenery, the mountain roads, and leaving Wisconsin winters behind.
