Hello fellow MINIacs!

When I was barely 16 I could afford very few cars. But I could afford two Mini's which I made into one by swapping parts - notably the front & rear sub-frames among others. So that was the start of my automotive obsession which continues unabated as I begin to approach adulthood.

I currently have a 92 Miata, 92 Land Cruiser & 09 Forester XT. Somehow an 09 Clubbie (6spd) managed to find a spot in the driveway. Seemed like a good deal, LOTS of quality repairs & replacements in previous two years which offset some of the reliability issues that plague these cars. But I was already smitten so the warning bells became wind chimes in the distance.

After a few detailing episodes & minor repairs I took it for an alignment - queue up the horror movie music! Yep - front sub-frame, right front lower control arm rear bushing & the water pump for good measure! What an amazing opportunity to revisit my teenage self; a real trip back in time! Only this time I have a BIG garage, most of the proper tools as well as money for replacement parts. Oh yes, I also have degenerative discs in my cervical & lumbar spine so that tends to temper my teenage enthusiasm!

I'm waaaay deep into this project & really enjoying it in spite of insurmountable proof that these cars are a maintenance nightmare. If I didn't wrench myself I would not be able to afford this little beast. My time spent underneath the car has also reveled (no surprise) that the rear sub-frame is closely related to the flaky front component & I'll be taking on that battle another time. For now I'll scrape it as much as possible in situ & dose it liberally with Fluid Film (lanolin) to try & quench the crusties until I get to it later this year.

I've owned about 30 vehicles over the years & in the last two years this MINI has had more repairs than my 190K Miata & my 92 Land Cruiser have had in their collective histories. That's more than just a little crazy - but here's some more crazy for you - I can't wait to get my little clubbie down off the jacks & out on the road where it belongs!

HUGE shoutout to all the experts here on this forum as well as the sponsors who all contribute to sharing the love about these defective little buggers so that we can keep driving them in spite of the manufacturers dedication to keeping them parked for one problem or another.

cheers,
keith