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Worked a couple hours last night and another 4 tonight. Tomorrow night I think it will be in full service mode. MAN SO MANY PLASTIC CLIPS!
I have to see if my brother has his air conditioning reclaimer for the freon and drain the coolant.
Close quarters small garage doesn't help speed up the process either.
Nope. If the price is right, I would sell either or both. The most parts I will have available are interior rear deck and some electronics. I have no way to test it but the DME show no signs of issues.
Some odds and ends available from the front but major items are going on mine. Previous owner definitely showed no love to this car. New brake pads with worn rotors, about 1/16" lip on the outside rim of the front rotors.
Pulled the engine/tranny last PM. Came out easier than I thought, raised it an inch and wheeled it out. Having everything off the front definitely makes it easier than those I have done previously. My previous pulls (on other brand vehicles) were to replace the engine so all that stuff was still there.
I do have a question. I went under to pull the exhaust and it has some aluminum supports I don't recall seeing on my Coupe. Are these a Roadster thing or a JCW thing? (First pic is from the front to rear)
Looks like a great stand to keep your coffee mug handy. And maybe do double-tap duty as Saab/Bofors AT4 launcher. Bore size looks about right, close to 84mm to my eye.
Only things I need to take off for myself are the Aero side rocker panels and rear bumper. After that, start prepping the different pieces for paint. I am painting the parts on the inside then taking to my body guy to spray the exterior. Priority right now is getting it back on the road. I am tired of driving our extra vehicle, 2013 Chevy Avalanche. Great vehicle in its day but it has some issues and corners like a brick.
Next I will start refurnishing the R112 rims. Once that is complete, I will put on the JCW brakes and mount the 112's.
That convertible top looks to be in good shape - that's a valuable commodity for any R59 aficionado. And the engine looks ready to be crated up. It looks like you were able to remove the entire passenger side wheelhouse and engine support as a unit; were you able to keep it intact or did it need to be cut apart at the seams?
The actual top itself looks in great shape. The back window has been goobered up with clear silicone in a **** poor attempt to repair.
Haven't decided if I will sell or rebuild the engine. It is as complete as can be, turbo and all wires that could come out with it. I was surprised how light the tranny was after separating it from the engine. Clutch was about toast but to be expected on a car that was shown little to no love and 122,XXX miles on it. Front and rear sway bar links were stock but brand new so I took them off as mine needs the rear. It has been rattling for about a month prior to the accident.
I didn't cut anything out, technically it is a "rolling" chassis. I tried not to cut any of the wires/harness in case someone wanted some.
I am pulling most of the HK sound system parts for people looking for them. Also the rest of the modules and fuse box.
Pulled the engine/tranny last PM. Came out easier than I thought, raised it an inch and wheeled it out. Having everything off the front definitely makes it easier than those I have done previously. My previous pulls (on other brand vehicles) were to replace the engine so all that stuff was still there.
I do have a question. I went under to pull the exhaust and it has some aluminum supports I don't recall seeing on my Coupe. Are these a Roadster thing or a JCW thing? (First pic is from the front to rear)
This is the additional supports for the rear just like all the other MINI convertibles 2005+. Because you have no solid top its helps with rigidity of the shell. First developed on the R52 and then MINI carried the same design over and over.
Did a FB Marketplace purchase today. Got a good deal on a Snap On mid rise auto lift. Doesn't look pretty but works fine. Only thing I don't like is it only has an all the way up safety lock. I am going to fab a multi-position lock mechanism. Once I have my car on the road, I will make the lift look better.
Going to improve the hydraulics also. I hate the quick disconnect underneath.
Going to improve the hydraulics also. I hate the quick disconnect underneath.
Congratulations on purchasing a lift, you'll find that it'll be transformational on how you go about maintaining your vehicles. Aside from making life much easier, it'll also be a lot safer and save your back.
Regarding the hydraulics, agreed on dealing with the quick disconnect. What I ended up doing was to fabricate a short extension and a 90 degree ell so the hose wouldn't stick out to the side so much, moving the coupler forward and out of the way. Even with that mod I just keep the hose attached and in a coil just in front the lift:
I am moving the quick disconnect to the pump stand (short hose on it, long hose on the lift, it is opposite right now). I am adding a high pressure ball valve on the end of the hose and putting the quick coupler on the end of that. That way if I want to disconnect while up, close the ball valve/release pressure from the pump. When I go to reconnect it will not have the pressure from the weight of the vehicle making it hard or impossible to reconnect.
You should be able to connect/disconnect safely when the lift is in one of its locked positions. I'd look at adding the ball valve as more of an additional safety feature, but I'd hesitate to use the ball valve itself as a substitute for putting the lift in a static position without some kind of backup. A set of four inexpensive jack posts (or even four 4x4 lumber posts) would work. I used jack posts when I needed to have my Ford Flex up on the lift for any extended periods of time; the Flex was getting close to the maximum load rating for the lift so I wanted that extra margin. Also, you'll notice that I have the pump disconnected from the lift - the lift has three positions where it can be locked in position. When locked there's no hydraulic pressure to interfere with the quick connect/disconnect function.
Image date Nov 27 2015. One other significant change I made to this mid-rise scissor lift setup was to replace the ceiling-mounted garage door opener with a Liftmaster 8500 opener that mounts on the wall above the door. That opened up the space above this mid-rise lift to where I could let the scissor lift open to maximum height, raising the vehicle to its highest point without the roof hitting anything above it.
I wasn't looking at using the valve as a static for being under it. I like this thing called life and would like to keep living it. Just handy and a backup.
Do the jacks at the 4 corners of the lift stabilize it well? Didn't know if it would be better to go out farther towards the corners of the car.
We need a new garage door (1950's wood door right now, HEAVY). When we do, that was my plan for the opener as well. My wife's traverse is MUCH taller than my Coupe.
The jacks probably have some stabilizing effect, I think. But what I really wanted them for was to take some weight off the four lift arms when it was supporting the Flex for anything longer than a few hours at a time. I think the lift barely notices the MINI when putting that in the air.
While we're talking about safety recommendations, I do highly, highly recommend putting in a skid plate under the engine. I bought one from ECS (here and here) not long after I got the Coupe, it was one of the first mods I made to the car. As close as the bottom of the oil pan is to the road surface, the potential for punching a hole in something vital down there is relatively high, IMO. Looking at some of the scrapes the skid plate has accumulated since then lends some credence to that assessment:
I am guessing the paving blocks are there just for extra clearance.
I have thought about a skid plate. If I were lowering it, I would in a heart beat. The only scratches I have ender my front is from pulling to far forward to a parking block. DOH! I assume you have to take that off each time when doing an oil change.
I rerouted the hydraulic line and almost completed the safety lock mechanism last night. Need to cut 1" off the length today and it will be on this PM. It gives me 4 different lock heights.
Tonight I start dismantling my Coupe. Unfortunately, I have military duty Sunday through Wednesday so we will see what I get done by Saturday. My body guy is swamped right now, He can't find anyone that wants to work, wish this was the problem in the 80's. Minimum wage was like $1.65 and no jobs to be had. Not sure how long it will take to get it in. Might have to drive it as a tri-tone for a bit (silver top, mostly Lightning blue body with white hood/quarter panel/Aero body kit)
