Cool pics Ryan. Never knew about the dunes and lighthouses in the midwest.

Only places I have been in Michigan is Dearborn and Detroit for Cadillac's 100th anniversary. Plenty of boats though!

Regards,
Red

 

ughk, I feel I have to apologize for not updating The April Club webpage in a while. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do with it! Should I start over, toss all the configuration pages, and try a more "Motoring based" page, with lots of pictures of everyones MINI's in action. That would be cool. Perhaps revamp the members location thingie.
It also doesn't help that I've had very little extra time for ANYTHING. I have zero open days until mid July!

Mr. Motor is a bit ahead of target with his mileage, turning over 4500 yesterday. He hasn't dropped any oil, and hasn't burnt any either! Seems that all the drama took care of itself in the first 1000 miles, before the switch to Amsoil. I used my headlight washers for the first time the other day, they work, yaay!

---> Rachel and Red: There are many dunes in Michigan and TONS of lighthouses lining the Great Lakes. I have only seen a fraction of them all, but so far the lighthouse at Silver Lake is a favorite for its' simple elegance and classic styling.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

uh oh, page 2 is no good!

Q: has anyone gotten any of the MINI accessories? like T-shirts, hats, or whatever? I'm DYING to get my feet into the new Puma driving shoes!

Goodnight,
Ryan

 

Ryan - I'll probably have a track/driving video of my track event at the end of the month. Not sure how much server space you're allowed.. I'll most likely be able to host it if required. Mine's the only MINI in the bunch and I know that there're a LOT of instructors wanting to 'help' me learn to drive it :smile:

http://www.weaselworks.net:81/~noah/WDS/

there're three different sizes; it's about 18 minutes long. Quicktime needed!

 

Depends where you drive with that helmet on. Doubt if you would get a look on Coney Island. Last time I was there there was a charming couple dressed as extraterrestrials.

Hey! We were on the third page.

Regards,
Red

 

Rachel, I'd think "testing" with your helmet on is just fine....but only if you have a cool helmet! So you gotta spill the beans; what helmet do you have?

I haven't checked out your video yet, but I'm sure it kicks! I'm doing laundry right now, so I have fresh-n-clean when I'm out in Denver. I leave on Saturday, and I'll be coming back Wednesday, the 11th. Have no fear, I'll be taking over my mom's computer when I'm there :smile:
I'll be going with mferguson and RandyBMC to their SCCA event in Colorado Springs on June 8th. They'll be racing their MINI's and I'm their offical journalist and Crew Chief! I'll snap some pics, so watch for them next week!

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Boy, are we slowing down!!!

Here's Jack, just after his first bath back in late April. I'm hoping for clear weather tomorrow so that scrub-a-dub time is made possible.



Jack's now got over 1,100 miles on him and contrary to other postings he doesn't suffer from that stutter or clunk sound (so far so good).

Faults - both inside door reflectors have fallen off when the door(s) have been shut. Have "pushed" them back into place and so far no repeats. Rear end of Jack gets extremely dirty during/after medium + rain. Speaking of rain, don't open your windows until (a) the sun has evaporated the water on your roof or (b), you have driven far enough so that the water has disappeared. Brake dust - I guess the way to treat this is to wipe down the wheels every 2-3 days. It takes about 2-3 minutes.

On a more positive note - Fun, looks, different, enjoyable. The 17" wheels are great, the R90's are great and the comfort level is way beyond cars in the $80+ price range. It's a great experience.

_________________
<IMG SRC="https://www.northamericanmotoring.co....jpg"> 2003 MCS CR/Union Jack. Sports + Aero Package, R90 Performace, HK.

 

Jack looks great. 1,100 miles! Wait til you get to cut loose after break-in. You're gonna love jack even more.

I found something else I don't like about my MINI. Went to Home Depot last night to get some plumbing parts. Parking lot was almost full. Took forever to find Pyro. I have to start paying closer attention to where I park.

I almost got busted last night on the way home. A new Starbucks just opened up next to onw of my favorite corners. I was set up to downshift, enter the corner hard, accelerate through and just hammer it when a Highway Patrol guy comes out of Starbucks. If he was a second later, I would have had me for lunch. Starbucks has ruined a fun corner.

I guess I'll just have to find another one.

Happy Motoring!

Andy

 

Well, I am now coming to you from a remote terminal in Denver, CO. I'm excited to check out the MINI-meet scheduled tonight and the race tomorrow. I've got my camera, so I'll snap a few so you guys can "MINI-meet" vicariously through yours truly :smile:

--> Jack looks awesome gr8brit! :smile: Only 1100 miles though

Cheers,
outta-town-Ryan

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lbum04/dxz.jpg

Driving the MINI home, I stopped by Pioneertown in California to visit a friend. The town was built in th early 1910s as giant Western set for silent movies by Tom Mix. But instead of just fronts, they actually built buildings and used them to store props and to serve as studios and housing for the crews. Tom Mix even has a house here built from an old train car. Over the years, Pioneertown turned from a reel town into an real town! It even has an old bowling alley that was inaugerated by Roy Rogers. Ehaw!

 

 

WOW!

 

MiniMarc, the MINI looks great in Pioneertown.

And it belongs there. The original 1959 pioneered tranverse engine/front wheel drive, etc.!

Regards,
Red :smile:

 

Was the stage coach considered to be front wheel drive? It was 2 hp anyway.

 

>>Rachel, I'd think "testing" with your helmet on is just fine....but only if you have a cool helmet! So you gotta spill the beans; what helmet do you have?
>>

Ryan - it's a G-Force ProForce One. Not a bad helmet for the money and it fit best of all the helmets I tried on. Not what I'd call sexy though, since I went with a full face on it. Of course the motorcycle helmets look WAY cooler, but they're not the right spec for the club that I'm tracking with.

Maybe I'll add stripes to it...

I'm so in love with the local MINI dealership, though.. I went in there with the mission to find a badge to trace around to finish the stripes on my car. Once I explained what I was after, they ran out back and came back with a new unattached badge and told me to keep it as long as I needed it. Wow! Nice guys there.

Can't wait for your pics!

 

>>Was the stage coach considered to be front wheel drive? It was 2 hp anyway.

Definitely front drive, but the "engines" were not mounted transversely!

Regards,
Red
:smile:

 

>>>>Was the stage coach considered to be front wheel drive? It was 2 hp anyway.
>>
>>Definitely front drive, but the "engines" were not mounted transversely!
>>
>>Regards,
>>Red
>> :smile:


I dunno.. I think you're underestimating the power of those ponies to get into ALL sorts of positions

~Rachel, breaking her horse to harness now...

 

OK y'all,

At long last the prodigal chef has returned, having survived the last two weeks of school madness, the MINI weekend o' events, the son's 8th birthday and the first week of summer (whew)!

First things first....

I promised photos from the Austin MINI weekend (Friday IJ premiere, Saturday car show, Sunday MINI rally)

Enjoy

On Mt. Bonnell (Friday)


At Mansfield dam (Sunday)


Cool Yellow w/ stripes


Check out these toys (they matched their "holder&quot


Let's Motor!


More soon!

chef

_________________
03 MCS-CR/B>>>>Now motoring through a twistie near you<<<<<< CWFAC 03 Rocks!

 

Now then...second things second...

_________________
03 MCS-CR/B>>>>Now motoring through a twistie near you<<<<<< CWFAC 03 Rocks!

 

And for the finale...third things third!

Burnie got his stripes on!!
Thanks to Matt at Cooper Flags for a great product and plenty of advice!

Check 'em out...

 

Cool Ryan! I am going to Lake Superior in July... I hope to see soem lighthouses too.
Nebraska has sand dunes too.. I'll have to take some shots.
In Michigan, GM used to roll cars down the dunes to test for durability in the 1950's!!

 

Chef, great pics, and nice job on the stripes. They look fantastic.

Get out there and try out your cruise control. The only problem several of us have noticed is when you try to accelerate using the cruise control buttons, the radio gets louder

Andy

_________________


It's time to motor. MC CR/B

 

I will definitely make sure that I have a good CD in when I try the cruise control...reminds me of my first drive, I figured out volume up before I figured out volume down or off...we eventually had to pull over to turn it down...

The hoop is set for my 8 year old (the answer I'm supposed to give) and for when I'm freestylin' (very little vertical leap, haha)...

 

Chef, that stripe gives your car a very cool and unique look!

Regards,
Red :smile:

 

>>I will definitely make sure that I have a good CD in when I try the cruise control...reminds me of my first drive, I figured out volume up before I figured out volume down or off...we eventually had to pull over to turn it down...
>>
>>The hoop is set for my 8 year old (the answer I'm supposed to give) and for when I'm freestylin' (very little vertical leap, haha)...
>>
>>

Chef, Let's see some pics of you "freestylin".

Wohoo, I just made 4th gear while whining about stupid California laws in another thread.