Hello! Just joined after getting frustrated with trolls in the Facebook group I had found. I thought the whole Mini thing was supposed to be fun and friendly and stuff but so far that hasn't really been my experience. Hopefully its better here :-D

I bought this R53 from a former coworker earlier this year and have been having a blast. It needed some TLC. I did the power steering hoses, bushings, and have been modding it. 17% pulley, ST coilovers, fixed front camber plates. Just put these 15" Advanti Storm wheels on to replace the 17" S-lites with runflats, improved the ride considerably and now it is a nice comfy cruiser up and down the Atlantic City expressway. et35, so far no serious rubbing issues but keeping an eye on the rear. I'm not lowered much, at the top of the adjustment range on the coilovers.



I bought an Invidia N1 catback exhaust to put on it because I liked the sound the best from YouTube videos. Because I have a northeast car there is quite a bit of corrosion to deal with, and the exhaust to cat bolts are corroded to the point that they would have to be cut out. It was a bit too much to try to get a torch in on the bolt that is higher up in the tunnel, so I decided to just cut it out at the pipe and got a Milltek header. Hope to get the header and exhaust installed this weekend and fix some loose heat shielding that is rattling in the back as well.



Also bought paint from automotivetouchup to paint the side skirts. I might do the front lip part of the plastic trim too. I also have some Brabus style puddle lights to install in the side skirts.

Other stuff I would like to do are PDR some dents and dings out, Martini stripes from a place I found that does stripes for exotics, front splitter and GP style wing (been eyeing the one on the Way motorwerks site), tint, and maybe dress up the interior a bit with aftermarket seats, plush floor mats and some cool electronics. I have the Harman Kardon sound but would like a head unit that can take a USB stick, so have been debating whether to swap out all the audio.

I had a Lotus Exige for 4 years and loved it, the Mini gives me a similar feeling/experience in a FWD package. Every time I drive the Mini it feels like an event.

I think I will have this car for a long time. I have a special needs son on the autism spectrum and he is in love with this car for some reason. He is mostly non-verbal and only knows a few words, two of which are "dad" and "mini" He'll take me out to the garage point at the car and say "mini" and want to just sit in it sometimes. So I don't think I'll be letting it go anytime soon

I guess I'm spoiling the car/myself a bit with the mods this year. I had a ministroke earlier this year while I was under the mini putting the last screws in the bottom of the front bumper cover wrapping up after dropping the front subframe. So I don't wait around anymore and I'm not gonna let a few trolls run me off. Having fun tricking out the car and building it up.

 

Welcome to NAM and the cult of R53 ownership.

Love the BRG/white roof/Cordoba beige combo. Looks fantastic!

 

Welcome! My first MINI was BRG with tan interior........man I like that color combo...

 

Thanks for the welcomes... I'm also in bucks...

Yeah I really like the BRG metallic, when it is clean and freshly waxed the color really pops.

 

Welcome and Congrats

Looks like you're well on your way with a great project. The exh and header will be a nice little bump in power and sound.

 

Congrats and welcome to NAM! Love the color, and love my '04 R53 as well. You're in good company here! Any questions please ask!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Thank you Sir for your inspiring story. I really enjoyed the part about your son loving the Mini, bought tears to my eyes. Welcome to NAM and we are all here to help, advise and have a little fun.

Cheers
Bernard

 

Hi Nullcell! I like your Advantis. What size tire are you running on them?

 

I just stumbled on this post two years late. I am disappointed to hear your comments about your reception on Facebook. While I am not a Facebook person, I have been a MINI and NAM person for the past year and have found everyone to be extremely supportive. I have also heard great things about the Philadelphia MINI Group and hope you have found them since it is in your area.

If you are still around, I hope you have found the MINI community to be more welcoming than your first impression. If you are around, do you have any update?

 

I hope you are still reading these posts! More important, I hope the site has helped you in keeping your Mini going.
Drop a line, if you see this post!
Happy Holidays!

 

Welcome! there are many other friendly groups out there. Since your from Philly (I live in New Jersey) you should check out www.phillymini.org , The community there is very nice and helpful we also go on road rallies from March- December.