Who's up for a little vehicle history investigation!?
 

Hey everyone! Well a long story but I am desperately trying to find out more about my MINI's modification history and I am tapped out on what I can do on my own. I am hoping the knowledge of the community can help put the pieces of the puzzle together with me! Here's the story...

I just bought a new to me 2010 JCW on BringATrailer.com. The seller who listed the auction is a dealer who bought the car at dealer auction. In the listing he notes some modifications on the vehicle. When I asked him if he had a mod list he said he found that info online by searching the prior owner's name, which is on an old title he had. So I tried to do the same thing but I cannot find that list. But here's the timeline I have put together thus far...

2016:
- By Googling the VIN I found an old dealer sale listing for the car when it had 19,000 miles on it. In those photos the engine/engine bay looks stock.
http://veh-markets.com/cars/mini-c/5...cal-miles.html

- On the grill, there is still a badge that says Southern California MINI Maniacs. Found them on Facebook and joined the group. Scoured through old photos to find one single post from the person who bought the car in 2016 at 19,000 miles. From that post I got the dude's name. He mentions in the comments he has plans for a 47mm turbo. I sent him a friend request, which he accepted. Also sent him a FB message but no luck on getting a reply. There are no old photos or posts about the MINI on his FB.

- Came on here and searched for his name and found him. He happened to use his real name as his username. He only has 4 posts, all from November 2016, mostly asking about turbos.

That's all I can find. I am hoping that the community here can help me find this modification list my selling dealer claims he found.

The car no longer has, or never had, an upgraded turbo. In fact it has a stock turbo with damaged impellers. It does have a lot of supporting mods that suggest it did at one time had a big turbo. 3" Alta exhaust, Wagner Intercooler, boosts to 20psi, aftermarket clutch (although I don't know which one, can just tell by the feel/engagement). What I am really hoping to find out is if there was any head/engine work done, what ECU software does it have, what clutch, etc. Since the car has a damaged stock turbo I will have to replace it but I don't want to pull the trigger on another 47mm turbo if I don't know for sure it's built for it.

Thanks in advance! Here's what it looked like before the dealer I got it from changed the graphics...
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...729f1e0cde.jpg

And here's the link to the BaT listing where it was sold to me...
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...ooper-works-2/

Nice car! It sounds like you have done your due diligence. I also recently bought a modded Cooper S, but most of the mods were poorly executed. I have a stack of receipts you would not believe, including an engine rebuild at the dealer 5 years ago. It was overheated and I've just pulled the head to fix it.
I wouldn't count on any internals being beefed up. Most are lucky to get the big turbo by itself. You'll need a tuner to tell what's on the ECU, but if you're going to upgrade it just get what you want. You might like how it runs as is. I wouldn't worry about the clutch if it's working, save that for later.

Thanks! I am loving it! Well except the damaged turbo part, but it still runs great!

I am not worried about the clutch at all, I love the fact that it has been replaced. I listed everything more or less to find out if I have everything else needed to support a 47mm turbo, or if I should go with a smaller one. What I am really hoping for is that we can find this mystery build list. Hoping maybe the guy changed his username or something and posted a lot more info on it. Maybe someone will recognize it.

It sounds like he kept a low profile.
My car was advertised with a 42mm turbo but seems Borg Warner K03 is 44mm.
'Made 287/307 on a Dynojet on 84 degree day with 93 Oct pump gas'
I can't confirm this, but to give you an idea.

I would be totally happy with those numbers! Although we only have 91 octane in Vegas. Thanks!

What supporting mods does one need to confidently run a K03?

In my experience, just the basics...10w30 oil, high flow air filter, and downpipe. An intercooler is a plus. A reputable tune is probably the most important part, but you may already have it!
My GTI is essentially a K03 car, also had one that was K04. No internal engine work, both very fast cars.

It has all of those things! Although I am not sure who did the tune it definitely has one.

Let me make a wild suggestion --- if your car is up to it, make an appointment with Jerry of EurotechsAZ in Tempe, AZ --- it's a few hours drive from LV but would be well worth it. He has lotsa good experience with tuning and might be able to read your ECU to determine what, if any, changes have been made. He can probably suggest an appropriate turbo to match the tune too. I recommend him 'cause he's responsible for my stage 4 tune and lotsa advice / assistance building my 500+WHP '07 MCS. Great guy to work with. Here's a link to his FB group --- https://www.facebook.com/EuroTechs/

Keep us posted on what you find out ---

Great news! The previous owner finally replied to me via Facebook! Although I still don't know what turbo it used to have on it at least I know the tune is from MarioKart! Now that I have an open dialogue with the previous owner hopefully I can find out everything I need to know. Thanks everyone!

I knew you were to close to him for him not to have touched it, probably RPM stage 2.