So I've decided that I need to document the build on the car that I've always wanted to build. Little things happen and I just forget they weren't there to begin with.

I love this thing and this is the day I bought it. The R56 was probably the least expensive car in this car lot. That G Wagon was being turned in by a Grandfather that bought it for this Grandson who didn't like it It's a G63 AMG worth over $100K and the Grandson was like Some people's kids.

Anyway, pictures:







Got it home safely from Hollywood (if you're from Southern California you know how stressful a drive through LA is in a new-to-you car.) to Long Beach.







It was a one-owner, bone-stock, dealership-serviced, 2011 with 25k on the clock when I bought it in 2016. Navigation, Harman Kardon stereo, self-leveling HIDs with black housings and a manual shifter.

And the mods began immediately.

The MINI's stock shifter is great for OEM but nothing is good enough as we all know. The Craven Speed adjustable shifter, ****, and well cover. 4 hours of cussing, sweating and prying later I couldn't be happier.

Before:



After:



I enjoyed my MINI with just the shifter and an Alta stubby antenna for a little while while trying to figure out what rims to get. I decided to go for it and added a lot to the car all at once.

I went from:



To:



I added NM Eng springs, O.Z. Alleggerita HLT 17x7 et 37 with 5mm spacers in the rear (they rub a tiny bit on big elevation changes but they flush them up better), and smoked side makers with carbon scuttles.

Next up was to continue to clean up the exterior.

Added Craven Speed's rear wiper delete.



And some carbon mirror caps.



Then I needed more sound. I added an NM Eng simple intake for the sweet, sweet choo-choo noises but forgot pictures. And then I had my fabricator do a resonator delete and add these amazing Akrapovic carbon tips.





I love the sound but know I'll eventually need to go with a larger full exhaust for more POWah! I will still keep the tips but for now I love it.

Next was a mod I bought from the good ol' California DMV.



It only took 6 months and filling out the paperwork twice! They're getting better

Next step was to replace the brakes as they had become dangerously marred and I generally hated looking and the mismatched color calipers.

So I went from:






To:






They are from R1 Concepts and are their Premium drilled/slotted rotors with Premium pad combo. Did the brake fluid at the same time and the car stops on a dime now. Love the new look with the painted calipers too

Had a visit to the shop from my younger brother and decided to add a tow hook cuz racecar.




Also decided the Craven **** wasn't for me and added a little shine to the interior. Haven't seen this **** anywhere else.



And finally I added a LED interior kit which included the puddle lights and license plate lights. The license plate lights throw a warning at start up that goes away but they work great and look really nice. (You'd be able to see it too but I forgot to take that photo )






As for engine mods...well I had a NM Eng open-air intake and it sounded awesome but I want more power.

Here's a little teaser of an intake we're engineering here at work.



And my harness is on the way for my piggyback ECM

I will be back to update but that's it for now.

 

Great looking MINI! Nice mods so far. Definitely interested in that new intake. I just put my DOS on, love it, but......

 

So far the intake is great! Low-end torque is way better over my open element filter but I do miss the sound. Thinking about doing a GFB DV+ and swapping to better charge piping for a little more turbo noise.

Also, anyone want to kill me for this:




cuz it happened. lol

 

Looks good!