Changed valve cover gasket last nite, never seen the inside of any cylinder head with so much wasted space, make a V8 out of a coupla of these and it would be the size of a small car. (orig mini?). Also never seen ignition coils like that before, very interesting. Nice to have an engine that doesnt smoke anymore, now how about BMW figures out how to make them last longer than 42K? Same engineering team as the timing chain, I s'ppose.

 

That is wild this one was in Fall River it was always parked in front of the Crosson oil gas station on eastern avenue. Small world.

 

That is the one from right up the street from me, it was on eastern avenue all the time and I would see the guy cruising in it. Funny he never had a sign on it or had it advertised around here. I wouldve grabbed it lol, nice find the car always cruised around without issue here good luck with it.

 

I fixed the vacuum/boost leak that was causing the low boost PSI and making idle only pull 12 in. Hg instead of 14 or so.

Goes like a raped ape again.

Best pull so far, on flat land, almost 14 PSI at the top of 2nd gear. It should get a little higher on an on-ramp due to the hill making it take longer to accelerate, and allowing the gauge, with its little restrictor tee to catch up....

Also disassembled, degummed, regreased with much better grease, and reassembled my front brakes. Gotta throw out that old tub of "high temperature" grease, since it obviously is not high temperature grease by modern-day standards....

C ya,
Dutch

 

HI:
Many Thanks. Now youv'e got me thinking. USC Highscool rules!!

 

Got my Aux radio cable from Atlantic British today. $36. Will try to install this weekend if it dosen't snow....

 

I'm pretty sure you can somehow de-yoke the headlights. I will definitely be trying that once I do the wiring.

Once the 6K's warm up they look pretty much white while looking at the front of the car. But when driving they look semi-blue. The stock xenons are either 4300 or 5000, can't remember.

I still have to find time to wire them correctly, so I'm not completely sure if the hi-beams come on or not. I'm assuming that they don't since the housing doesn't look like they have any moving parts (stock housings are bi-xenon).

For now I have the stock ones back on while I work on the aftermarkets. I will definitely be posting pictures of the finished product

 

Last night I did the first oil change at 5K. Coincidentally my hotside muffler delete hose had arrived in the mail that day so while the car was up on the ramps I installed it while the oil was draining. I seem to have one of the coolant tanks with the hose fitting at the bottom that leaks with any stress, so I got coolant dripped on my head and it ran into my eye. That stung! I guess I need to do the turkey baster trick. Put it all back together, added 4.5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W40.

Then today I hit a couple of on-ramps and found the rev limiter in second gear.

 

Still on my plasti dip kick. Did the rear hatch license plate light trim..the hood scoop... and then did the dash panels on the inside in the red plasti dip. I used the glossifier on the interior parts and the outside mirror covers and is it me or does it make it look really grainy?

 

Stared at it wishing I had the money to take it to the level I want it to be.. Still sitting stock now, had it for 6 years.. College kid status suuuucks

 

Plasti dipped my door handles last night. Also got some 195 55 blizzak ws70's being put on 16" oem 5 spokes.

 

I haven't seen anyone use the glossifier yet. Do you have pictures? I'm wondering how it would look on the black fender trim - if it would make them look painted and less plasticky.

 

Curious myself. I'm thinking of doing the wheel thing. Anyone have any experience with that? Longevity seems pretty good, but ... it's still paint.

 

Just got done treating my baby right.

Full wash, clay bar, wash again, wax, wheel polish, back to black the trim, detailed the interior, rainex'ed all the glass and had my first attempt at plasti-dipping some chrome off. Did the head and taillight surrounds as well as the grille trim. Matches the black trim around the fenders and bumpers nicely. And does fairly well with the astro black. I think I'll be doing the side scuttles, door handles and gas cover next. Also, the beltline. Looking to de-chrome the lot. No idea how to get the handles, beltline or gas cover off though. Any suggestions? I did one of the s-winder wheel center caps as a trial to see if I could do the plasti-dip well and I liked the look of it with the silver wheels. I may do all the center caps too! But I ran out, so I have to run to lowes to get some more.

 

Installed under dash storage tray. Neded the space!!

 

Ill snap a few pix for you tonight and post them. I don't know if it was because it was cold in my garage or what but the glossifier made everything look really grainy. I did my mirror caps, the dash trim and the rear hatch handle. I wasn't to impressed to be honest. Put 2/3 coats on everything i used it with.

 

I bought replacement key because I locked myself out last week hah, got a call from Mini of Ontario today and got them. I was able to have it programmed to the car without any trouble, phew :D

 

Plasti dipped my rims started with two of them in white, it came out dull looking and the covering was flat, i peeled them as soon as they dried, waste on my rims.

 

Ummm.... PlastiDip is a flat/matte finish, not a gloss like actual paint.

 

3M 33+ Tape. It's electrical tape, but it's like it was made for going over the belt line. It's a LITTLE wide, but shrinks to a perfect fit. Easy to do, lasts a long time, and it's pretty common if you read up on it for the beltline elimination.

 

Anything textured, with a glossy coat, will just accentuate the texture. . . think about a high gloss popcorn ceiling, yuck.

 

Since tearing my bug/wind screen (sunroof) I'm noticing that the front edge of the front panel settles down below the level of the roof - maybe 1/4" since it no longer has the bug screen to sit on. Do you think it's doing any damage?

I like the cleaner look and the added breeze when I open up the sunroof all the way, but not if it's a problem. I can't wait to see what a replacement costs...

 

I finally picked it up and took it for a first drive. Been a long wait since I ordered it back in July.

I have a Craven dipstick and a Whalen billiard ball shifter to install tomorrow. Definitely need to add lumbar supports to the cloth seats. Otherwise, loving it.

Ted.

 

Got it ready to go fast tomorrow at NHMS Loudon raceway..

 

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