Thats cool!!

My local Mini club Mini5280 may just be lined up my street to welcome Julius home. We've got an awesome club here in the Rockies and truly look forward to taking this "support" page onto hands on fellowship here.

Will post pics of the final bit home. Promise!!

Damn, so close yet so far away!!

 

If its any consolation my MA did not contact me until it was at the dealership.... and yes the final 8 hours I watched my ship like a dog watching its big old soup bone. No one was gonna take it away from me.

On another not I am having the clear bra put and did end up going with extended maintenance for peace of mind as I am keeping this vehicle for a long time. I will add the extended warranty before I hit 10k.

Only thing missing at the moment is my vanity plate from the DMV. At the moment is the key term. Next may be the stubby antenna

So far the 4 hours in the car over the weekend I have 3.5 hours with top down

 

Go go Openometet!!!

 

Nah I don't. Scooter came to a little over 31k with what I added. I did get him the way I wanted but one main issue was I really wanted black wheels. For some reason that's beyond me you're not allowed option in the black Challenge Cross Spoke wheels with the JCW areo kit on a Cooper S. So I was stuck with the silver ones, of course I will be powder coating these black soon enough though.

 

Thanks.. Yea, same here I wanted black rims. I will most likely just get a front lip and maybe go with a 17x8 setup.
Great looking ride btw.. can't wait to get mine!

 

If you don't mind my asking, what is your MINI dealership asking for extended maintenance and the clear bra (full bonnet)? PM me if you prefer. I fully understand why you selected the extended maintenance program, but I'm curious why you chose the clear bra. I've heard various pros and cons surrounding clear bra installation.

 

Anyone with their '14 in hand:

Does yours have the new LED DRL's? I have a set being delivered tomorrow from the UK since they aren't available here yet.

Please, if you have the factory front fogs, do you have these new LED combo driving/fog lights?

The following pic from another thread about these lights.

 

OMG!! No position update in 14 hrs for the Michigan Highway!!

I did find a couple other sites. Marinetraffic.com keeps freezing up on me so went looking for others. Vesselfinder.com is interesting but also does the random freeze. Shipfinder.co looks great but wouldn't produce last know position, Ugh.
Fleetmon.com is actually really nice. Says the Michigan Highway's last know position and estimated 6 hrs till arrival even without a recent update. That would be 3 a.m. which is about what I guessed (4 a.m.) We'll see who's right.

Looks like the AIS coverage just isn't so good along the southern Eastern Seaboard.

 

Nope, the jcw exterior package I ordered included halogens and regular fog lights. I don't think the LEDs are available in the US; see other threads for more info.

 

Good! Well, sort of Lights in my hands tomorrow, Mini within a few weeks. It will be fun tearing into a brand new car for such an awesome accessory. Nothing but rave reviews on these babies (except the cost).

Thanks!!

 

Tampadave:

Just as an FYI, I had the3M clear bra installed on my previously new Cabrio S; cost (partial hood, front bumper, area below intercooler) for $500 (in 2010). We lived near a gravel road, had a gravel drive, and several of my other vehicles had a lot of chips on the front of the hood (aka bonnet) and bumper.

It was worth the $, and in 4 years of ownership, I didn't have a single paint chip on any area that was covered. I had a ding from a rock that hit my windshield chrome trim above the bonnet, and one small tear in the clear bra from a large rock, but it didn't ding or dent the paint. I didn't get any increased trade because of the bra, but I might have if I sold to a private party. But the paint was like the day it was delivered.

If your other cars have stone chips, you may want to get it...if they don't you probably don't need it.

 

I know...it's driving me nuts! I just keep looking at the "ETA: 2013-10-02 09:00" under marinetraffic.com's vessel details. I'm going to bed soon, so I'm crossing my fingers your prediction of 4 am is dead on. I hope I awake to a nice satellite picture of a docked Michigan Highway
Cheers

 

don juan just went under the verrazano brdg.
it should have docked at 0500.

 

don juan is at the dock

 

Get 'em off and on those trucks!

 

Given news of the Government shutdown, I researched the issue of whether the U.S. Customs Office would maintain operations during the fiscal crisis. Here is what I found from the U.S. Customs website:

Port Security Operations

(10/01/2013)CBP Port of Entry Operations, including CBP Cargo Security and Revenue Collections, as well as Border Security programs, including Border Patrol and CBP Air and Marine Operations, will remain operational under a government shutdown because they have been deemed law enforcement necessary or necessary for the safety of life and protection of property

I imagined fleets of MINI's stranded at American ports of entry for months. Fortunately, it looks like we're okay. As for me, I provide legal services to the federal courts in Washington, DC. Like the U.S. Attorney's Office, my services are deemed 'essential'. Thank God for sound financial planning or I might suffer the fate of thousands of federal employees and contractors who will be hard-pressed over the coming days, weeks, or even months. I've gone through this before, thanks to our erstwhile politicians in Congress. Hopefully, a solution will develop soon.

 

The Michigan Highway's latest ETA is approx. 2 p.m. EDT today. It's running about 10 hrs late, only traveling at 16 knots. Might be a planned delay? It can't be blamed on the weather as I see nothing untoward off the Eastern seaboard. Could be they're backed up with unloading other ships and told this one to slow down..idk.

 

The Torino supposedly docked at the Port of Baltimore at 4:00 AM this morning, per the scheduled ETA. It no longer shows up on MarineTraffic.com. Any way to figure out if it's actually in port?

 

Hi MINIDraftFarm, I also live on a gravel road, and highly recommend the clear bras... In fact, I got the chip guards on Mocha and they have saved her. I also have the mudflaps, and they helped a lot... One thing to realize is that the back window will get filthy, as will the rear of the car. I can't remember what you're getting, but the barn doors on my clubbie are always nasty. Our road is chip and tar, the chips being limestone...

Good luck!

 

Good morning! You guys are all up early! Think you hit it on the head, swjtx. Originally, the Mich HW was due on the 3rd. So guess that it is getting in a day early actually. Sure would have been nice if the clubman's were in port and disembarking now. Well, I am still excited and not disappointed. Thanks again for the updates. Will be watching closely today & am going to contact my MA

 

Last position I can find is well out in the Atlantic as of 4 p.m. EDT yesterday. When Tracking the Michigan Highway, it also went out of range in the same spot and didn't come back on line until it was pretty close to the Chesapeake Harbor entrance. My guess is it hasn't made it to port yet but should come in to view soon.

Edit: at last position, it was only doing 11.4 knots...... That would result in a significant delay to port. Using the waypoints from last know position, looks like ETA is 11:30 p.m. if it continues at the same speed.

 

Up Early? who can sleep at a time like this??

Should have bought one off the lot. I, I.....just ca...ca..can't stand it anymore!

he he he

 

Bahahahaha. We can all definitely sympathize. So exciting to hear about the three ships docking today - many of you will be motoring sooner than later.

In between constant refreshes of the WW track and trace (to see if she's been assigned a vessel yet), I've been exploring the world of possible mods. Oh boy - I guess my purchase isn't the only near-term expense I'm gonna have. First stop: tinted windows.

 

My first stop too. I've had 7.5 weeks to research tint lol. I know more about window film that anyone should. Still, there is no "independent" testing and mostly what you find is on forums from ppl saying they got "this or that" and it is great. I'm leaning towards Huper Optic ceramic at 30% but still not sure. Some aspiring scientist or engineer could make a fortune testing window film just for the ad dollars they'd get from traffic on their website. Include car waxes and coatings as that is another subject that is as clear as mud.

 

Don't you just hate it when they run out of gas only a few miles from the finish line???

:-)