Contacted by the original owner of my mini, and he says he'll give me the spare key! He also said he really misses his (my) car. Good thing I'm getting the key from him. hahaha

I'm gonna pick his brain regarding issues and maintenance so I'll have a better idea what kind of shape the car is in.

 

Today we rotated the tires, looked at the brakes while we had the wheels off, checked the fluids & hoses.Later this afternoon mini will get a nice bath & detailer applied. Do you sense we have a "road trip coming up" ? Doing the **happy dance**!

 

I put some seat covers on her front seats:

 

That MINI of yours must look pretty sharp sekhmet - the purple stripes and seat covers together =

 

Had Inspection #1 done by Princeton MINI.

4 year new car warranty expired today. Just over 29000 miles on the car, service interval was right at 1000 miles. I had to do some extra driving to get the mileage down to the minimum that they could do the inspection. Not that more time driving the MINI is a bad thing.

They also replaced the upper motor mount, which was leaking, a seized power steering fan motor, and the thermostat and housing.

I drove a 2011 MCa as a loaner. Much different experience than the 6 speed S. But I found the "sport" button.

I guess I have all the common failures. But they're all replaced now, under warranty, no charge

 

I "Plasti Dip"ed my grill ring. I did the top and bottom this afternoon.

Next is the headlight and tail light rings.

 

I did the black out grill trim too, but I left the headlight trim chrome. I like the surprised frog look and the chrome headlight rings make the headlights look bigger.

I'm still deciding whether or not to black out the hood scoop.

Dave

 

Fresh Butter is washed and Hydro-ed and looking spectacular!!! It's loaded to the max and ready for a 2-day road trip tomorrow. Need to check tire pressure in the morning.

 

Thanks Albie. It would look better if the back seat covers fit right.

BTW, did you get my pm on nemini about the net?

 

Passed 120k on the R56

 

After a week off, I drove it.

Kinda hard to get in/out & clutch with a knee brace that goes from your crotch to your ankle.

 

Thanks to gRay rAvEn and Motor On, got my NAM grille badge yesterday. Thanks for the assist, guys!

 

Nice! I have to get me some badges.

 

Hand washed it! and it is shining like diamond

 

[QUOTE=Albiecrazy;3144825]Thanks to gRay rAvEn and Motor On, got my NAM grille badge yesterday. Thanks for the assist, guys!

That badge looks great. How does one obtain one?

C ya,
Dutch

 

[QUOTE=joe_bfstplk;3144865]Join Motoring Alliance!

 

[QUOTE=Dwight Walhood;3144867]Ah, ok. I'll put that on my short list, then. I'd do it today, but I'm in the process of buying a house. It will happen sometime after closing, though....

C ya,
Dutch

 

Ruffian got some new livery today!

Bonnet before:


Bonnet after:


Boot before:


Boot after:

 

[QUOTE=fridayxiii;3144887]Ruffian got some new livery today!

Bonnet after:


I pass a new Mustang on the way to work every day, might even be a Shelby, with the same stripe. Looks good on both!

 

Love them!!! I'll have to show the picture to my daughter as well. I know she'll love them too!!

 

Blasted down to Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday for Cruising the Coast!!! Fun times!!!

 

Thanks FD! Found the seller on ebay but they had to be special ordered. The back seat covers don't fit right so I'm waiting to see what will happen with that.

 

Heard so much about Plasti-Dip that I thought I'd give it a try.

Took my original grill, Plasti-Dip'ped the chrome inserts, and swapped out the honeycomb grill.





Not sure what I think about it yet, but it might be a good winter grill in place of the honeycomb grill.

Time to evict the dead bugs and put the Plasti-Dip to the test. It's off to the local LaserWash.

 

I actually did this yesterday, and just now got around to posting it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvrd5Mw7eGo

 

I posted this in the 09+ JCW sub forum but thought that this would get more exposure here.

Finally got a chance to bring my car to Phil at Detailers Domain in Norwood, NJ. Phil detailed my car for the fall/winter. He did the inside, outside and engine bay. He did a fabulous job as always. Thanks Phil.

Took some various pics of my car with JCW accent pieces like, the CF mirror caps, dash, boot handle and rear diffuser. If you are on the fence about these pieces, I will say this... they look a million times better in person. Carbon fiber does not show up well in pictures.

I will have my car for 2 years at then end of next month (November 2010.) Just turned 20,000 miles today. I am happy to state that I have not had any serious or major problems to date. The car has been very solid and reliable.






JCW carbon fiber mirror cap:


Also took pics of the interior with the Craven Speed "W" mount. I have a Scangauge II, and a VEI high res boost gauge on one side and a on the other side is a TomTom iPhone mount with integrated GPS enhancer.




VEI high resolution digital boost gauge:


I modified the TomTom iPhone mount to work with the the Craven Speed TomTom "ball" mount:


Rear of the TomTom iPhone mount:


CF dash piece:


And finally some close up shots of the wheels. I swapped the OEM brake pads for Carbotech Bobcat 1521 ceramic pads. The car has over 200 miles on it since it was deatiled. These new brake pads rock!!!