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Nearly done with the rebuild on #807. We fired the car up for the first time at about midnight on Saturday. We had to take a break from our 24 Hours of Le Mans marathon to get the car prepped for the British Car Field Days Sunday at 10am. With a new battery the car started up without a hitch (aside from a pretty nasty oil cooler leak). The car was a pretty big hit at the show, but as soon as we brought it home it went straight back onto the lift to work on wheel prep and get ready for oil cooler O-ring replacement.
Probably the biggest undertaking with this car is the wheel refinishing. I've never done anything like this before but they definitely needed it. Luckily they are two piece wheels and the center section is in great shape, so all that needs to be done is the barrels, and the only 'detail' work is on the lips. We stripped the urethane clear coat, wire wheeled the lip and barrel surfaces and wiped the wheels with a solvent (over the course of a few weeks, that urethane clear coat is stubborn!). Last night we finally finished the stripping process and got the primer applied. We had been searching for a local spray paint option equivalent to Chili Red. We read that Krylon "Banner Red" was close....but its really not. It's far too orange. I'll be placing an order for an actual can of '851 Chili Red' today so we can color match. Even with the not perfect colors, these wheels POP! Check out the photos below. I don't think I've seen an MC40 with these wheels and a red lip. I definitely think it will be unique. I have a set of BBS RGII's with a red lip on my 300zx and they get a lot of positive attention (below). I figured red would work here too.
Mmmmmm
Engine bay right as everything was beginning to get buttoned up.
Engine bay following steam clean, VRP application, and vacuum.
Wheels as purchased with the car...I love the B90 but the lips have seen better days.
Wheels with first coat of paint. Attempted to use Krylon banner red. Not close enough, will need to spend $30+ on actual paint code 851.
I'm planning to change my JCW exhaust to Milltek catback non-resonated exhaust hoping for a better / louder sound since the supercharger whining noise pretty much covers the JCW exhaust sound. Does anyone have their MC40 modded with Milltek exhausts? If so, what's your opinion about them? I tried combing through Youtube for a sample and also searched the forum. People say it's loud enough to hear the exhaust sound in the cabin. I just want you guys direct opinion :D BTW, I'll be also selling the JCW exhaust once I do the swap. Let me know if anyone's interested. I'll post it separately in the sale anyways.
I'm planning to change my JCW exhaust to Milltek catback non-resonated exhaust hoping for a better / louder sound since the supercharger whining noise pretty much covers the JCW exhaust sound. Does anyone have their MC40 modded with Milltek exhausts? If so, what's your opinion about them? I tried combing through Youtube for a sample and also searched the forum. People say it's loud enough to hear the exhaust sound in the cabin. I just want you guys direct opinion :D BTW, I'll be also selling the JCW exhaust once I do the swap. Let me know if anyone's interested. I'll post it separately in the sale anyways.
I don't have the Milltek but I have really only heard good things besides the pricepoint.
Wheeler Dealers on the Velocity channel refurbished a MC40. They went through the 100k service needs and got new decals for it. Seeing that episode is why I bought my 06 JCW. It is re-running 6/27/18.
#225 is alive and kicking. Just finishing up a water pump and other services as needed since I'm in there (service mode). Great to see so many MC40's are getting the love and attention they need. I'm now close to 175,000 miles and plan to keep my MC40 for a long time to come. Cheers MC 40 owners!
Found this Dinan throttle body in there when I went to clean it out.
What a mess, all good now.
Yes, a carbon fiber hood scoop.
RIP Glen. Glen was the tech that installed all the options on my car upon deliver at Baron Mini in 2004
Haven't dyno'ed my ride yet, but seat of the pants fells like 210 hp.
New water pump, thermostat, o ring position sensor, green gasket and more done at 175,000.
Last edited by Bernard Barbour; 06-26-2018 at 05:03 AM.
Thanks for pointing me to the thread. I'm in Northern California. I can also deliver. PM if interested.
Aiyiyi! I'm way over in Ohio better start driving Hope someone closer can get good use out of it, I'll just have to keep my eyes open for another one a little closer to home. Keep us posted on what you get and as always pics!
Took #22 from Ohio to Iowa, unfortunately without getting an alignment after my most recent suspension changes. so there was a lot of vibration especially at highway speeds. Went for work so didn't get too many stops but still got out to take a few.
Next thing will be to replace the headliner. Can't decide if I want black or grey suede. If anyone has any sources for the foam backed suede fabric get at me. Maybe an American Flag would be a good headliner
I'm planning to change my JCW exhaust to Milltek catback non-resonated exhaust hoping for a better / louder sound since the supercharger whining noise pretty much covers the JCW exhaust sound. Does anyone have their MC40 modded with Milltek exhausts? If so, what's your opinion about them? I tried combing through Youtube for a sample and also searched the forum. People say it's loud enough to hear the exhaust sound in the cabin. I just want you guys direct opinion :D BTW, I'll be also selling the JCW exhaust once I do the swap. Let me know if anyone's interested. I'll post it separately in the sale anyways.
I like the Milltek/Stratmosphere exhausts because the mufflers are hidden behind the bumper unlike the JCW. For the sound, you could remove the resonater on the JCW. It would probably cost about $50-100 dollars at a local muffler shop.
Where are you going to get the Chili Red paint from? Everything I find online is only the 1oz brush on.
I got 11oz aerosol from two online vendors. I ordered initially from paintscratch.com but it took them over a week to even ship the paint. I got impatient and ordered from another vendor (repaintsupply.com) who said they would ship same day (at a cheaper price) so I gave them a try.
The paint is supposed to arrive tonight, I'll post results as soon as I have them. Fingers crossed for a good match. Can't wait to get these wheels done.
Here are some large pictures of my 263 located at California.
Thanks for great ideas of what exhaust to go with. I ended up getting a custom exhaust from a local muffler shop.
It sounds LOUD compared to the JCW, but it's totally worth it.
Thinking of doing a chrome delete. Has anyone done it on their MC40?
Nearly done with the rebuild on #807. We fired the car up for the first time at about midnight on Saturday. We had to take a break from our 24 Hours of Le Mans marathon to get the car prepped for the British Car Field Days Sunday at 10am. With a new battery the car started up without a hitch (aside from a pretty nasty oil cooler leak). The car was a pretty big hit at the show, but as soon as we brought it home it went straight back onto the lift to work on wheel prep and get ready for oil cooler O-ring replacement.
Probably the biggest undertaking with this car is the wheel refinishing. I've never done anything like this before but they definitely needed it. Luckily they are two piece wheels and the center section is in great shape, so all that needs to be done is the barrels, and the only 'detail' work is on the lips. We stripped the urethane clear coat, wire wheeled the lip and barrel surfaces and wiped the wheels with a solvent (over the course of a few weeks, that urethane clear coat is stubborn!). Last night we finally finished the stripping process and got the primer applied. We had been searching for a local spray paint option equivalent to Chili Red. We read that Krylon "Banner Red" was close....but its really not. It's far too orange. I'll be placing an order for an actual can of '851 Chili Red' today so we can color match. Even with the not perfect colors, these wheels POP! Check out the photos below. I don't think I've seen an MC40 with these wheels and a red lip. I definitely think it will be unique. I have a set of BBS RGII's with a red lip on my 300zx and they get a lot of positive attention (below). I figured red would work here too.
Mmmmmm
Engine bay right as everything was beginning to get buttoned up.
Engine bay following steam clean, VRP application, and vacuum.
Wheels as purchased with the car...I love the B90 but the lips have seen better days.
Wheels with first coat of paint. Attempted to use Krylon banner red. Not close enough, will need to spend $30+ on actual paint code 851.
Hello. i recently purchased a Mini and to my surprise it is car # 222. it currently has 229130 miles and going. I was not looking for a MC40 nor was i even aware of such Limited numbers. Very happy owner. Now it has been undergoing some much needed services and detailing.
New to Mini's but have always had my eye out for them. Just picked up a 2004 S with the MC40 package. Car has a 'Works' sticker on the dash but I don't see any other indications under the hood. 100,700 miles on the car but it is supposed to have a bad fuel pump so I have one on the way. Got it from the second owners who have owned it since 2006. Elderly couple who's eye sight required them to sell. Real nice shape inside and out with the only issue (other than not running ) is a little of the clearcoat around the rear hatch is flacking. Has the window sticker and owners manuals in the glove box as well as a Bentley Manual with a new oil filter, about 10 pan drain plugs and a 36mm socket for the oil filter. Wish I could tell how to ID the 'Works" package without the under hood markings. How can that be accomplished and how do you determine the 'number' of the build. I used the decode link and found the build date was 5-24-04 but nothing much else.
Thanks, Hal
The MC40 all had the JCW logo on the dash. If you have a JCW dealer kit installed it will have the valve cover marked with JCW Tuning kit #xxxxx and should also have the intercooler diverter showing the JCW logo.
The MC40 was not a factory installed JCW kit but added at the dealer. They were the early 200HP tune. Came with the JCW head, exhaust, JCW supercharger (11% pulley reduction) and an ECU tune. It didn't come with the JCW airbox or upgraded injectors in the early JCW kit.
You should be able to tell easy by looking under the hood and at the exhaust tips.
I put a charge on the battery, pulled the cover over the fuel pump so I could 'feel' if the pump was running and hit the key. PRESTO, it fired right up and sounds great. No codes so I guess the bad fuel pump was probably a good diagnosis by the shop. New pump on the way as well as a filter to eliminate that issue, I hope.. Looking forward to driving this thing....
Hal
I put a charge on the battery, pulled the cover over the fuel pump so I could 'feel' if the pump was running and hit the key. PRESTO, it fired right up and sounds great. No codes so I guess the bad fuel pump was probably a good diagnosis by the shop. New pump on the way as well as a filter to eliminate that issue, I hope.. Looking forward to driving this thing....
Hal
Awesome! Watch out for the low battery. These Gen1 MINI's do crazy things when the battery starts to go out. Sometimes you can't even tell the battery is shot until it's too late. And forget about 'kickstarting' it. In my 10 years owning 2 R53's I have replaced the battery 4 times (2 in each) and I could never kick start due to all the electronic needs.
06-21-2018, 05:51 AM
Hope someone closer can get good use out of it, I'll just have to keep my eyes open for another one a little closer to home. Keep us posted on what you get and as always pics!
