Installed the “black chrome” MINI OEM exhaust tips and the SCP Automotive black front grill “S” badge cover.

And just like that all the chrome is removed from the exterior of the Hopkirk Edition

I will be posting more information about the exhaust tips in the 3rd Gen forum area.

Here are some pictures:







Rich

 

Thanks Dave at 129photos.com for this awesome Dragon pic!

 

Iyaayas!
(sorry, this was meant for Rich)

 

Yesterday, not today - but grabbed a picture today! Painted the speaker surrounds in anthracite. Blend in so much better now that all of the interior dash bits are chrome.

 

F54: Oil Change, checked brakes, rotated tires. Also cleaned and swapped front and back ride height sensors to root cause sensor malfunction. Damn the Molex connectors on those things are TIGHT to both remove and reinstall. And I added a USB port in the center console. I did capture picts of the install. Just have to find the time to organize and post the procedure (which is a variant of this: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-usb-port.html)

F57: Oil Change, tranny (and clutch) fluid change (6 speed stick), Brake Fluid flush and check, drive belt check. Tire rotation. At 40K miles the tranny fluid was gray, so like others have stated can't believe this is a "lifetime" fluid.

I was going to change the F57 tranny and brake/clutch fluid when I did it on the Clubby earlier this summer but whereas the Clubby only has a splash shield, the F57 requires removing the stiffening plate to access transmission drain plugs and easier access to clutch bleed nipple. And of course the stiffening plate uses 10 one-time use stretch bolts, which I needed to order. Not sure if I really needed to replace those bolts, but figured for $22 it was worth the cost of making sure the convertible's structure remains sound.

FYI, for those of you who want to inspect/replace the F57 engine drive belt, you'll need to remove the stiffening plate to access two (or was it 4) of the 18 small screws that secure the passenger side wheel well liner. Not sure if the F56 also uses the same stiffening plate, or if it is only for the convertible.

I have enjoyed working on my Mini's, but I can see why some people would get annoyed by design choices like this.

 

looks great. Love your seats too. What brand are they?

 

Looks good!

Was that with the Tamiya paint or something else?

And man,
those seats are so damn sweet!

Going back to read through your restomod thread for more details as I see a set of Nogaros in my future...

...any long term review updates regarding comfort etc?

 

Yep, it is - great color match, compared it with the wife's interior pieces. Just about spot-on. Thanks for the lead!

Thanks! They are nice seats! They do take some getting used to, and I will need to make a set of bolster protectors as you do slide over the side bolsters every single time you get in or out. Will have to start on that soon. But, wow are you planted going around the corners. Not sure if I want to do the GTI fabric or just leather for the bolster protectors. I think I might order a second set of cushions at some point with the same cushion pattern (I don't care for the stock Nogaro upper back pattern) but with just matching leather and grommets. Change out the cushions to suit my mood. That's after a lot of other stuff though. I also still have to lower the back of the seat to the lower position - a bit too straight upright right now. I actually have less headroom because of the lack of reclining, but the position change should fix that nicely.

 

Thanks! Cobra Nogaros custom ordered from the UK. Details in my restomod thread.

 

Installed the new 2022 side scuttles. Coded with Bimmercode.

 

I like the JCW red line in the grille too much to give up its visibility at night so I repurposed a PC RGB light controlled by an SP611E bluetooth controller and the SceneX app. Its run off of a 12V to 5V convertor and a fuse that only comes on with the ignition. At car shows I run it off a jump starter battery.

 

That's cool. Is it legal where you live to have that on while driving?

 

Any sort of moving pattern, no. Even red/blue solid can be interpreted to be illegal, but driving a Countryman where I live is like an invisibility cloak. No one notices this car. I've had this light bar for a month and driven all over Chicagoland and not a peep from any town's police force. I did drive a mile on a main thoroughfare once with the light on 'breathing' red like the ignition switch and people kept pulling over out of my lane. Never doing that again.
Of course, I can switch it off or to white within seconds, but the law around here doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

Oh, and the camera makes it look brighter than it is - its a red glow like a dull neon tube. The pics make it look like a lightsaber.

 

Wash (Reset in foam cannon)
Chemical decontamination (TriX)
Claybar (Meguiar's Mild)
Single-stage polish (Essence)
2 coats of Cquartz UK 3.0
1 coat of Cquartz Gliss v2

So satisfying...

 

Got all my spare tire stuff so can comfortably enjoy the non runflats on the weekend cruises. Spare tire donut from Outmotoring. Tire bag, spare collapsible tire wrench and smaller scissor jack all in a nice neat canvas duffle bag in the trunk. Test fit it so I know the jack will lift up the entire side, donut fits on the rear no problem and all good to go.

 

Bigger! I already have 15mm spacers with stock rims/tires, but decided to see how 225/45/17's would fit where 205's were. Only tried the rears tonight, but did test-fit a front, no issues on the front. So far, so good. There may be some....shall we say "adaptations"?....done by the new bigger rubber on the outer edges of the rear inner fender liners (maybe even on the plastic wheel arches, lol) once I get a proper alignment done.

 

Changed out front driver's side wheel bearing. Had been getting progressively noisier since the drive out to Minneapolis for the PS recall. A couple hours later, nice quiet front wheels. There was around 1/8" play in the old bearing. I think I only have one original wheel bearing left.

 

That's about it. Day three. Checked all bolts I can see and shields. Transmission mount looks dusty so may be the issue. But the noise is olny in drive but not reverse. And heard best on gravel at 5-10mph.if anyone else has an idea
​​​​​

 

Put in a new Alpine head unit. Took a little bit to get the steering wheel controls working (a connection had come loose) but it works perfectly and sounds great with the HK amp and speakers.

Next up is the Orranje GP wing. Hopefully it looks as good on the car as it does on the kitchen counter

I really liked it on my GP and think it will look great on this Mini!

 

Took a cool picture. Just now. I think in the past 7 years living in ND, this is the second old-school Mini I have seen. I think I have only seen like 6 R53's though...

 

I guarantee you will never see that Mini on the road over the North Dakota winter!

 

That probably applies to jcolletteiii's R53 too.

 

Good one!

 

LOL - nope, mine's a three season car now! But, before I started restoring it, it was my al-season ride for 2 years or so when I initially moved up here. It wasn't the snow that was bad. They don't plow it up here. They just let it pack down into solid ice on the roads. It's not so good with that...

 

Studded tires. 😉