Well I bought the 04 I kept passing in this guy's yard. I drive a 08 335i, have done some nice mods..jb4, dci, X pipe, crossdrilled rotors etc...minis have not been on my radar...and I kept seeing this one every day. Well I did a quick little homework, liked what I read and i bought it. Its a base model 5spd w 120k miles. Needed a bit of tlc..put amsoil in the engine and tranny.fresh coolant, power steering fluid, and brake fluid. Ngk iridium and msd 8.5 wires, w a cold air intake. Bought cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads but have to get them installed. Needed a headliner and a detailing...some mini carpet floor matsand found a hatch cargo cover..door panel needed a speaker grill cover and a little repair. Oh..threw in a sony bluetooth stereo so i can talk and drive a stick shift. Im all in at about $5k. Need tires soon. I oove it...I see a s or jcw in my future. ? Already have a few buds trying to buy it off me..few more months maybe..having a blast with it. So do I want a S or JCW?

 

I have an 04 base as well and find that as long as were not running straight (read no fun) roads, I have not problem keeping up with the S and JCW MINI's Ive put a bit of work into the suspension as well and on the tight twisties, find that I can pull away from the "faster" Cars. Personally I'd suggest building up the base Model. Just as fun, cheaper to insure, better on gas, just as quick where it matters. Unless all you do is race between the lights, you don't need an S IMO. Keep rockin the Cooper. Welcome to MINI Land. You'll enjoy it here.

Side note: what %tint is that? I love it

 

Welcome to NAM, wakesurfer and congrats on your new MINI. It sounds like a diamond in the ruff. Can't wait to see what you do to it. Thanks for the pics right up front but don't forget to keep up pictorially updated. Happy motoring and please don't forget to promote the MINI wave.

 

looks like you found a keeper! JCW's are a bit hard to find, but can find them if you really need it, like RLM said, in the corners you can keep the same speed as an S or JCW, you already have your 335i for speed haha, unless you are feeling too slow, you can modify the head and get a bit more flow, or get an S

and you can make and S a JCW very easilly power wise

 

Thanks for the warm welcome and great advice. I figured everyone was all about the S model..interesting info on staying w a base model. I looked through the classified on here...the super moded out look fun I hmy best buds son turns 16 first of the year....ive agreed to get it in tip top shape for him and sell it to him he is not letting him know... it will be a great surprise. The kid loves the car and talks to his dad about it all the time.. so I have a few months to locate another.

The tint was on the car when I bought it, but seems to be qbout a 20%..I dont think its legal here. Have been pulled over but had the windows down.. I have some 5% im going to put on the sunroofs tomkeep some heat out...

edit..sorry for the typos..I need a new keyboard app for this galaxy tab 2...mods for everything!

 

sounds like a cool idea, have fun with it now, or not at all cause im sure youll miss it ahha