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If you want oil pressure and oil temp, you’ll have to add senders for them (and I assume gauges?) since the car does not have them from the factory. I’m not particularly familiar with the Ultra Gauge. My OBDII gauge has a couple of extra analog inputs, but I don’t know if the Ultra Gauge does as well.
Brakes are fully bled and so is the clutch slave cylinder. Clutch is much better now.
I've done 4 quick trips around a 3 mile or so loop to get the brakes hot - stopping to let them cool before doing it again. Paint is finally curing - first two loops the paint smelled god-awful. Third loop, smelled, but significantly less. Fourth loop was today and I really didn't smell anything. I'll take it easy for the next hundred miles or so to let the brakes bed in rather gently.
So with that done, I'm only awaiting the Bimmer Works dongle so I can get the tune next week. Plan is still to get the tune sometime next week before the LSD and clutch go in Otto.
But, some other trinkets arrived. Blackjack side scuttles, new rear taillights (the originals were fogged on the inside and though I tried to clean it, I don't think they come apart to clean them well), and a carbon fiber shift ****. First, the brake lights didn't come with nuts and the original nuts were too big. Also I lost both "wing" nuts down the fender, along with all the washers that came with the new scuttles. So off to Home Depot for new nuts and washers. Metric 3 for the scuttles and metric 4 for the taillights.
Getting the scuttle nuts/washers were less than a joy, but I got them everything installed - along with some blue loctite so they don't come loose.
Pics below.
Shifter **** was much easier. I used my own tie wrap though as the ones that came with the shifter **** were pretty cheap.
Finally, I totally cheapened out on the headlights. It's raining outside and I really didn't want to wait until Sunday for the Spraymaxx. I'll use that next time. Came out pretty good. Here's hoping it lasts. The good news is that it really only takes ~15 minutes to do the ceramic kit that I bought - not counting me waiting overnight waiting for them to fully dry. I can always do them again, Spraymaxx may last longer, but I'd need to tape off the whole front of the car just to spray the headlights. For now 15 minutes is a pretty low cost even if it only lasts six months or so.
i just now caught up with the many stages of your projects now completed, which were quite interesting. Congrats! Many of those parallel mods done by the original PO or by myself while taming it from track-prepped to strictly streets and highways usage.
This comment in your post #10 (June 19) caught my eye, since mine too had a few very small dings at time of purchase:
Originally Posted by JH-Evergreen
< snip >
Now the bad news. It turns out there is a very small crease below the Mini logo on the front of the hood. It's not really noticeable but it is definitely there if you look. He did his best to get it straight, but it's not the best. Now I've started looking for a new hood, but pickings are scarce for those in good shape - and I really don't want to respray the car. Also under consideration is a carbon fiber hood. Started researching carbon hood vendors and from what I've gathered, carbon quality varies widely. Seibon will likely be the choice if I go that direction. I still need to make some phone calls to discuss with the vendors, but that decision will be made in July or so.
< snip >
I hired a PDR guy to come to my remote home location to address all those. Likewise, he found a few that I hadn't which his trained eyes and specialized reflective lighting. I wrongly figured one on the lower hood (near RH headlight bucket) would be a easy fix, which was small but had similarly stretch-creased the metal. He worked on that with various tools which improved but didn't completely eliminate the blem. At that point, we discussed whether to continue with risk of cracking the paint and introducing moisture (future rust) or stop at that point. I chose the latter. With that being the only remaining blem on the car and with original pristine paint, I figured; "if can't make it go away - hide it" (now at 9.5k total miles). I used an inexpensive "dome style" gel applique that contoured to the shape of the hood area. I think that made-in-USA eBay seller still lists them but I have a few extras...
Your Mini above looks great! I thought about OZ Ultraleggera style (thin spoke) wheels, but wanted the wheels a bit old school styled, and went with Rota RBs. I originally bought the Rotas for Paul the '13 MC, but they definitely look better on Otto. For Paul, I'm thinking of Enkei RPF1s in 17s and silver so I can use the Continental DWS' the I already bought.
Otto still has more than a few small dings! Thank you Colorado hail storms. :(
The roof probably has 15-20 and they're all small. The body has its share of parking lot dings too. With me buying the Expert PDR kit (it may be an expert, but I haven't dipped that toe yet), I'll try it after our Germany trip. There are a few that should be pretty easy. I'll try my hand at those first, then pay through the nose to get all of them fixed (over time). It is important to get them all fixed eventually and in all likelihood, I'll end up replacing the hood at some point too. Whether that be steel or carbon fiber, I don't know. Right now I'm leaning towards CF, but that may change.
So what is this "inexpensive dome style" gel appliqué that you write about? A link would be appreciated or at least a photo of the appliqué would help. BTW, I just noticed that my rear Mini logo had become somewhat detached. I re-glued it with some trim glue, but it's in sort of sad shape, so I may look to replace that one too.
Anyway, back to the build log.
Today I received the new transmission bearings from WMW. All parts are in the car (LSD, clutch and bearings) for the Friday drop-off. I'm truly looking forward to the test drive afterwards.
New brakes have ~100 miles on them now and are bedding nicely. Braking power is definitely enhanced - probably not fully bedded, so I'll continue to take it easy for another 100-200 miles or so. That should be optimal, so we'll see.
The fantastic news is that tomorrow morning at 8a is the tune with @adriancl . (And of course, now comes the bad news) - On Sunday I had a P0300 code - misfire in cylinder #1. Parked in the garage Sunday evening and overnight the code went away. On Monday, the code was gone and I drove the car ~20 miles running around town - lots of starts and stops and a few let the car sit a bit. Still hasn't come back, but since the plugs, wires and ignition module are all new and the plugs looked good, I'm thinking it might be a finicky injector - so I bought 4 more. Swapping it out is fairly easy and even if I swap between cylinders, that'd help me troubleshoot it - but that's really my best guess as to the error. Of course it could be the 380cc injectors without a tune too. Here's to getting the tune and sorting it out.
Again, no word on the GP wing from USPS. I've sort of lost hope in getting this one. Now comes the decision to either pick another one from the seller while in Germany and hand carry it back, or Itry USPS again (unlikely).
Hoping your session with Adrian goes smoothly. When I installed my set of new OEM 380cc Siemens-Deka injectors, my engine ran very cobby for a few mins before clearing out and threw two codes as outlined herein my long (sig) topic. Used my OBDLink BT scanner to identify and clear, with those not subsequently returning. At that point, my own remote tuning session with Adrian was scheduled and completed a few days later.
This was the absolute best hour and a half investment that I have ever made. @adriancl was a total pro. He navigated my laptop and Otto like a consummate professional. WhatsApp messages were constantly flowing. Although he wasn't smiling so much when he told me to not touch anything and I sent him a 🤗 emoji. We both laughed afterwards.
On to the tune, rev limiter increased (unsure what the max is though - and I'll try not to hit it. He also added his tuned file for my mods, along with a high rev limiter, low start temp for engine cooling fan, more responsive gas pedal, delete fault code with a sport cat (which I may do).
I've only done one quick trip around a ~3 mile loop. Otto is definitely a hand full now. More power everywhere. Smooth idle. Nice exhaust burbles but not too many or too loud (more burbles than I had before though). I noticed during the tune that my cylinder #1 injector wasn't running like all the others, so I'll swap it this weekend. Might be nothing, but that may have been the cause of my P0300 code on Sunday.
I continually watched the gauges on my laptop during the testing and everything else during the process looked good (as far as I could tell). I'll get a chance to drive it more later today and I have a long(er) drive to do tomorrow up in the mountains. Should be a fun day.
I'll also be able to get some MPG data too. Before I averaged 28.3 with my sort of heavy foot, we'll see what I get after the tune.
I know that these cars are aging and a tune may not be on everyone's radar, but truly if you have a R53, wow - what a difference a tune makes with all of my already done mods. Otto already drives like a new old car with all I've done. Again, here are the highlights - all new front/rear bushings, Koni Yellow shocks, sport lowering springs, WMW front shock tower brace, M7 rear brace and 19mm RSB on the middle position has the suspension like new. The 15mm pulley, DDM intake, colder plugs, new ignition module and plug wires did it for the engine. Maintenance was to replace all the old hoses (coolant and power steering), along with a few brittle vacuum hoses did it for the engine - well that and service for everything in and on Otto. I've invested over $12k into Otto and for 82k miles, it drives like a better than new R53. I LOVE old cars and Otto is here to stay!
Thanks a million @adriancl - you did great. Well worth your low fee to tune my car.
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 5, 2025 at 11:53 AM.
@MCS4FUN , I found the gel decals/stickers on eBay. Thank you!
I'm really not a decal sort of guy preferring the understated to the overt, but I thought that I'd honor the UK where Mini's originate, Germany where Otto was built and the USA where Otto resides with a decal set of my own. I bought their small versions - which are 1 cm by 6 cm - and I'll stack them showing Otto's lineage - and I have a story (in my head) about the why of the stickers. So I bought them - one set for Otto and the other for my helmet (when I buy one).
And I did a bit of research on the SCCA class that I'll run in - which should be SMF for street modified front wheel drive class. If I'm wrong, I will have magnetic signs that I will happily hang in my garage and if I'm right, they'll be on Otto with the magnetic number signs I had made up. (And) While looking at the Rocky Mountain SCCA number car list, My number is good to go, just need to join SCCA (on a temporary membership at the moment) and register the number to Otto. Also, I need to figure out the SCCA Tech Inspection too. I'll make some calls over the coming days.
Just before I bought the car (back in January of 2025), I bought a reproduction of the window sticker online. Of course when I went to look at it, there's nada about Country of Origin.
But I knew that I had seen it from before I bought it, so tried the VIN decoder again. Yep, that's where it was.
Per the VIN decoder (at least), Country of Origin is Germany. (And) if it matters more, the first three letters of my VIN are WMW - which when decoded means World Manufacturer and the third character means the country - W is Germany. Germany has a couple of other codes - one of which is ST, but I don't remember the other one.
Either way with a BMW owner, Minis still have a UK/Germany/USA connection...
Besides, it's the story I've made up in my own head, so I'm going with it - and it makes a pretty good looking set of rear decals on the boot.
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 5, 2025 at 04:37 PM.
I applied for and received my SCCA license waiver today, good for the rest of 2025 (like there are a bunch of events left!) but it will get me into track days at High Plains Raceway (HPR).
My carbon fiber and leather steering wheel showed up and I got it installed today. It's comfy, looks great and has a red stripe (which adds HP, right?).
Now the bad news. I think (perhaps) that @adriancl may have been a bit too aggressive on the throttle position sensor for the go pedal (making the throttle more sensitive - sort of like the Sprint Booster that is installed on Paul my '13 MC). When driving it today I got a P1689 code - which was a new one for me in the Mini world and I had to look it up. It pretty much only happens when it is at WOT or on the edge of WOT, so I think it's definitely a tune issue.
Since I'm traveling tomorrow, I'm hoping to get the tune adjusted sometime before I take the car to Euro Works for the clutch/LSD install. If not, my weekend is fairly open and I can drop the car off on Monday if needed. Oh and I've already sent a message to Adrian, so we'll see what his response is when he wakes up (it's ~2a in his timezone). Still, the Mini is truly a hoot to drive now.
Tomorrow, Paul gets the driving duties, so no data on MPG either.
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 5, 2025 at 05:03 PM.
Yeah. I seem to remember there’s some weirdness with the VIN and listed country of origin. They say Germany even though they were (apparently from what I can tell after a little searching) all built in the UK. Mine is a WMW VIN as well, but it was for sure assembled in the UK (special order - there was a tracker and everything back in the day).
There’s definitely a connection though, I agree . All those BMW part numbers. Plus for your third flag, the engine is an American-derived design.
Today's the day - Otto was dropped off at Euro Werkz for the Giken clutch and Giken LSD. As of now it is a Wednesday afternoon pickup.
Regarding the P1689 code, I reset the throttle adaptations and that seemed to get rid of the code. I drove 40 ish miles today with a few full throttle runs and nothing came up. Based on the data from my code reader, I may still have a marginal injector. So I ordered two sets of 380cc injectors. Of course, one set should be here today {well after I left to drop off Otto) and the other arrives ~September 3rd - right after we return from Germany. The plan is to leave it alone until we return they try the second set (better quality) then the first set.
Interestingly enough, I called my local Mini dealer. First they wanted an actual JCW VIN - which mine is not. Then they tried to look up a part number. After getting their "Manager" involved, they came back with a price. $550 for one injector. $2200 for the set. I said I'd think about it. (Not!)
I don't know the benefits of 550cc (or anything larger than the 380cc) without a cam, head work and more, but it does seem the 550's are more readily available than the 380's. If anyone knows where to buy the actual Bosch 380cc or if someone has an actual Bosch part number, I'd bet money that they can be had for significantly less. I did find an online vendor with "OEM" 380's for $275 ish each so that's an option too.
@adriancl has used his tune on a number of Mini's so mine shouldn't be that much different. Figuring out the P1689 code sort of has me stumped. Further, the code only comes up on my UltraGage only - not on my ODBC II reader (Foxwell), so is it really a code coming up?
I do plan on checking both fuel pressure and compression when I get back from Germany and changing the injectors, so maybe shotgunning part swaps may be the ticket, but I'd rather find the actual culprit for the long haul. FWIW, spark plugs all look the same and there is spark at each plug - which is why I'm still at the injector possibility. Of course it could be a marginal fuel pump, but everything ran fine before the tune - but both tune and UltraGage were installed nearly at the same time.
Anyway, slow progress, but I'm getting there.
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 8, 2025 at 02:42 PM.
Just before I bought the car (back in January of 2025), I bought a reproduction of the window sticker online. Of course when I went to look at it, there's nada about Country of Origin.
But I knew that I had seen it from before I bought it, so tried the VIN decoder again. Yep, that's where it was.
Per the VIN decoder (at least), Country of Origin is Germany. (And) if it matters more, the first three letters of my VIN are WMW - which when decoded means World Manufacturer and the third character means the country - W is Germany. Germany has a couple of other codes - one of which is ST, but I don't remember the other one.
Either way with a BMW owner, Minis still have a UK/Germany/USA connection...
Besides, it's the story I've made up in my own head, so I'm going with it - and it makes a pretty good looking set of rear decals on the boot.
John
I'm not so sure about this "Country of Origin" info.
My 2011 R55 S has a VIN that reads WMWZG3C56BTY#####. But 99% sure it was assembled in England.
^^^ I ordered my set in April 2022 in response to an online deal posted here by forum member @Oldboy Speedwell, which several of us subsequently purchased. That OEM BMW parts dealer (along with many others in North America) was later forced to discontinue selling OEM MINI parts by BMW/MINI due to some licensing issues, with that outcome being illogical to me. Regardless, fewer online OEM parts sources exist now and it seems fewer deals too.
Regarding the injectors - so far I've purchased 2 sets from Amazon and the OE set from ECS (from Bavarian Autosport in Germany). One set of 380cc injectors (from Amazon) were installed. After the install and tune, the car threw a P1689 code on my UltraGauge - but not on my Foxwell ODB II tool. I then ordered a second set from Amazon that didn't arrive (lost), so I bought another set that arrived on Friday after I had already took Otto to the mechanic. After looking at the package, they are the exact same as I received before, so on an off chance I continued googling around for an OEM set. ECS has a OE set that comes from Germany for a reasonable price, so I ordered them too.
Funny, I'll actually be in Germany on Saturday so I could actually pick them up next week. Well, probably not, but they will be here somewhere around September 3rd - so just after we return from Germany. Between all three sets, I expect to have at least one good set and spares or maybe even a complete spare set.
On another topic, while cleaning up the garage, I ran across this part laying on the bench. I'm pretty sure it came off of my R53, but for the life of me, I cannot fathom where it goes. Googling has it come up as a boot cylinder (gas shock) and the other numbers refer to the plastic it is made from. The edges are clean and it doesn't look like it is broken or part of something else - just one bolt hole. So far I've worked underneath the car for most recently the exhaust - so I'm assuming it's undercarriage related.
Any ideas?
Assuming this is the bottom side towards the ground.
Assuming this is the top side that covers something on the car.
Now back to the GP1 Wing. Still no delivery. USPS has no update either. So, I'll reach out to the German Seller and attempt to pick up the wing in Germany - and likely pay for it again, but maybe not. We'll see.
For now, I'm sitting on my hands waiting for Otto to be completed. Frankly, it is a bit tough. Looking forward to picking it up Wednesday. For the time being, I figure sitting on my hands keeps me gnawing on my fingernails. Here's hoping that plan continues to work.
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 12, 2025 at 11:10 AM.
So the Mini won't be completed before the Germany trip. Pick up will be after we return on September 1st.
Contacted the German seller and we are connecting while we're there. Looks like I'll be carrying the GP1 wing back on the airplane.
No one has come back with what the above photo is from or where it goes, so I'll hold on to the part for now. Maybe I'll figure it out when I'm taking the Mini apart again.
Sort of wishing that I had went with 550cc injectors as I'll end up doing a cam and the Milltek header/cat combo this Fall. Appears that I'll call @adriancl again for an updated tune after that work is done. Yes, I'll be doing it myself. I do want to order it soon though so I can install at my leisure when I have time.
Now I just need to pick the cam. Of the choices, it appears most popular are the Cat Cams out of Germany. Neuman, Schrick and GTT do have those that speak well of their respective camshafts, but so far, I haven't heard (read) anything bad about the Cat cams. As I dig deeper, I'll pick one that suites me best.
Since this will be both a street and race car, I want to keep the low end torque/mid range power, but not at the sacrifice of much top end. But red-line performance isn't the most important to me - grunt to get moving and mid range definitely is VERY important. Maybe there's a compromise, my continuing research will point me right. So far, most (at least that I have read about - for 550cc injectors, header, free flow sports cat & CAI - have recommended the Cat Cams 1302469 cam.
At least I know what I'll be reading about during my off time in Germany!
John
Last edited by JH-Evergreen; Aug 21, 2025 at 02:59 PM.
Drove up to Halver in northern Bavaria to meet with Ben. He pulled an all nighter in his day job, so we met up around 2p.
His shop was FULL of R50’s, R52’s and R53’s. I caught up with him (and the other guys) working on a Mercedes.
Alex (Alexandra and my other half) acted as translator with Ben’s guys until he showed up. BTW, Ben’s English is far better than my German!
Anyway, some horse trading later, we walked out with the Carbon wing, side panels and the hardware kit.
I’ve already ordered the rivnut tool from Amazon and it’s sitting at the house (delivered).
Adam from Euro Werkz called (gotta love modern cellular technology and international phone plans) and the Mini is done. They also found that I must have buggered up the the clutch slave cylinder gasket as they noted it was dripping a bit - so I’m having them R&R and bleed the system again.
Appears I’ll have Otto back in hand on Tuesday.
Below is the proof that the wing is actually real. Carbon looks fantastic. Now to get it home on Monday. Wing should be on the car by the weekend.
Oh and I ordered the Cat Cams 469 cam and 550cc injectors from ECS, well those along with the Milltek header. Parts arrive EOM September.
