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I've been listening to an intermittent squeal from my brakes for a little bit now, last weekend took the time to take the rear brake apart (believed to be the culprit) with new pads and rotors at the ready only to find they look brand new! Didn't have to replace my brakes! Took it for a drive again to see if maybe they had just needed some lubricating, and well... maybe it's the front? Put that on hold. Took a drive out to visit some family (1 hour on the highway each way) and on the way back thought I heard a high pitched grinding sound, turned down the music and listened in panic to see if it would happen again, heard it a few more times at highway speed but it silenced itself at city speeds (passenger heard nothing the whole time). Thinking it's the wheel bearing starting to go, run and pick up replacement part and well, might as well look at the front brakes while I'm in there. Front brakes are like the back and look brand new, lubricate them anyway, bearing also seems to be fine? Go for another drive and decide I was just hearing the whistle of the CAI at higher speeds and I'm being paranoid... brake still squeaks... BUT now I know all of my brakes have a lot of life left to them, and I get to get my money back by taking the parts back!
Made a quick run to the grocery store early in the morning, the MINI relished in the smooth, undisturbed 59* atmosphere, and we only caught one red light during the whole excursion; good times.
Today my 10.16.2003 build, 2004 pre-facelift R53 turned 20 years old.
I had ordered and purchased it new in October of 2003 for my lovely ex-wife (no sarcasm), and picked it up from the dealer on November 22.2003 with only 3mi on the OD.
She adored and drove this little car for 4years until (2008) when it was time to put her into a more competitive mode of transport in order to keep her safe from all the crazies driving big a$* SUV's and trucks that dominated the roads where we lived.
Instead of trading it in in order to offset the cost for an Infinity Fx35, I decided to keep the Mini and do away with my other four custom built cars (which I also had a profound attachment to).
Although it may not look like anything "special" (now with 98,752 mi on the clock) but since that time I've put a lot of preventative maintenance and performance upgrades (as well as personalization) into this Mini to keep it performing and looking "like new".
I preferred to keep it mostly stock with a little bit of zippiness added in to keep things more fun and interesting to drive.
September of this year became the most expensive of all my years of ownership when the manual transmission ultimately failed and was subsequently replaced.
While the gearbox was being replaced I decided to do a complete subframe/frontend refresh. The cost of which exceeded it's blue book value according to Kelly and Edmunds.
This 20 year old Mini it is undoubtedly deserving of the name "the Mini Pit", But I never stopped being enamored with this little car. Today I texted my ex-wife some recent photos of her once beloved Mini.
She called me up in tears. We've always remained very close with never any loss of love...She was overwhelmed with heartfelt joy that I managed to keep that little car after all these years....
Hooray! - I just finished my 600mi clutch break in.
After having the trans and clutch replaced a few weeks ago, despite the slow and grueling drive to work and back taking the slow residential routes, I felt it was prudent to break in the new clutch in that manner.
Boy what a great feeling it is to have a new clutch again!
It was also a good time to take advantage of testing out the refreshed suspension over less than desirable roads.
The car feels so much more grounded, firm but smooth. Bumps and pot holes seem less intimidating with powerflex LCA bushings while riding on those Bilstein B14's.
The handling is just indescribably wonderful...
No fault codes today.
Since having a new 6speed gearbox replaced as well as a front end refresh I had gotten quite a few fault codes after preforming a scan with my Foxwell 510.
Cleared the faults.
It's been about 900 mi since then.
Re-scanned this morning. No faults!
All good.
Also filled up w/93 oct. @$3.49/gal
While clipping along @ 55mph down a desolate 2wo lane mountain road in pitch darkness, I happened upon a poor confused opossum running down the middle of my lane.
If it weren't for my Rally/spot lamps - the both of us probably wouldn't have seen the sun rise this morning.
My 04 R53 just went almost 290mi on a little over 3/4 of tank of gas!
In the 20+ years of ownership, I haven't seen that kind of mpg aside from my cross country road trips
Coincidentally about a mile after the red fuel warning light illuminated I was lucky enough to pull into a Chevron station to fill up on 93.
The Mini has always been run on Chevron "supreme" since new (2003) and the needle has never fallen much below 1/4 tank / well above the red slash.
As I was snapping these photos; a woman in a Mercedes kept looking at me in a curios way.
As she was leaving the pumps, she stopped and said "What a cute car. I've always wanted one but my husband said - NO!"
With that; she proceeded to ask; "What are the pictures for?" - I replied with a smile "Ah - it's a Mini culture thing I share with other Mini owners that I've never met...Well, outside of cyberspace that is."
She then replied "That is exactly why I wanted one! Just to be different. Instead my husband insisted on "this" (referring to her $80k Mercedes Benz)". She gave me a friendly wave as she drove off with a pleasant smile on her face.
The roads out here are long winding and twisting through dense mountainous forests. Although there are not a lot of Minis out here - I can spot one a mile away. Unfortunately if I should cross paths with another Mini - no one waves.
Today - I stand corrected....
After filling up at Chevron, just about 6mi down the road, I spot a girl in 1st gen, Chili red R52 with her top down (I mean the convertible top), poised at a side road waiting to cross. I couldn't believe it - As I approached, traveling @55mph, to see her waving enthusiastically when she noticed another Mini (me) coming down the road.
I travel that road just about every day. I hope to cross paths with "them" again
Cool report! I too go out of my way for Chevron 93 (only one station in my town), however my buddy (2006 Checkmate JCW) and I now avoid such pump islands as you chose. Not with our MINIs but instead with his Can-Am SxS at a local non-Chevron station, which had a "green pump" handle as shown in your pic. He filled up with premium (as Rotax 1000R-spec V-twin engines require) only to experience poor running conditions after which only got worse. Turns out, diesel fuel had been pumped into that 93 tank, which subsequently fouled the injectors and much more as evidenced with a subsequent sniff test upon replacement.
Oh - For crying out loud. Are you serious?!
I have only speculated that : I would never trust (or at least try to avoid) many of these off franchise "gulp 'n' go" gas stations.
Your buddy's unfortunate experience only confirms that I'm not just another distrusting crazy cynic.
I've often noticed distracted tanker drivers delivering fuel (at east in the metro area I lived), to some of these quick stop stations and wondered to myself "are they sure they're filling the right tanks with the right grade...or have they've become so complacent with there job that it just becomes a thoughtless routine"
I really don't mean or intend to question or disparage these guys ; but I've seen a few more engaged on their cell phones than they were in the task at hand.
Just makes me wonder sometimes.
So what's the remedy?, In your friends case,...beyond draining the tank?
Is there any serious damage to the fuel system or engine?
Once again having been stricken with a bad case of RA / Lupus flare up; relieved from my job (difficulty walking standing) and pretty much been bed/house ridden for the past 2wo weeks - I had to get out.
Today:
After a 20 mi drive to the DMV for change of address and registration, I then set off in the Mini for a quick, "relaxing" drive through the winding foothills and mountain roads.
My right leg bearing the worst of the disease; it becomes painful to work the accelerator for any length of time. I figured I'd be back in an hour.
I decided to go GPS-less. I had no idea where I was heading. Quite frankly...I didn't much care.
I started off from Canton, Ga, then up to Monument mountain (upper Northern Ga), then onto the foothills of the Blue Ridge...
I was plugged in, mounted and listening to music, while hanging on for dear life through the switch backs so I didn't take the opportunity to snap any good photos.
I was having a pretty good time giving the Mini a little well deserved exercise.
A couple of hours driving, unexpectedly, the next thing I see is a sign: "Welcome to Tennessee" ...OK?. (sorry no pic). but decided to continue on.
I made a few stops to stretch and work my legs. I tend to avoid fast food joints but made a quick stop at a little town Sonic to let the Mini cool down, and probably one of the best fast food burgers I've had in 20years!
Nice little quaint towns line the southern region of Tennessee...
Three miles outside of Knoxville ended the fun. I encountered 3 0'clock rush hour, bumper to bumper traffic which brought us to a dead stop.
'Fired up the GPS and set a course for back the way I came.
What was to be a short fun drive turned out to be a 10hr, near 400mi, 16gal (rndtrip), from Northern Ga, almost to Knoxville, TN,
And even though it was a hot 93°, sunny, day, I had the windows down (without the ac adding a load), so the Mini ran cool and the oil temps stayed around 94°C (201°F)....
All 'n' all - Today was a pretty good day.
I don't know if I'll be able to say the same tomorrow morning after getting out of bed.
But boy was it a blast!
I am sorry if this is not the right place to ask this question, but I am wondering if anyone has retrofitted a brushless radiator fan.
These seem to be way more powerful and efficient than the stock fans that came in our First Generation cars, but they require a bit of electronic wizardry, and I need some guidance (i.e., it's more than just a matter of cutting into the harness and wiring in the new fan). My stock low-speed fan works, but here in the scorching Phoenix heat my high-speed fan cycles on and off almost as if the low speed fan doesn't work at all (but it does). It would be nice to have a fan that comes on with a gentle start (as the brushless fans do) and pulls in way more CFM while drawing less voltage.
I am sorry if this is not the right place to ask this question, but I am wondering if anyone has retrofitted a brushless radiator fan.
These seem to be way more powerful and efficient than the stock fans that came in our First Generation cars, but they require a bit of electronic wizardry, and I need some guidance (i.e., it's more than just a matter of cutting into the harness and wiring in the new fan). My stock low-speed fan works, but here in the scorching Phoenix heat my high-speed fan cycles on and off almost as if the low speed fan doesn't work at all (but it does). It would be nice to have a fan that comes on with a gentle start (as the brushless fans do) and pulls in way more CFM while drawing less voltage.
Yet another interesting and thought provoking idea you've come up with.
Might I suggest copy/paste into the 1st generation discussion forum or under Modifications: 'cooper (Non S)' or 'Electrical' (?).
Some of the folks that still participate on the forum are impressive wizards at these sort of mods (IMO).
"The common metaphysical meaning of a dragonfly is transformation, change, new beginnings, or fresh starts" I'm not surprised.
Having built my first car @ 21years old.- (coincidentally), I've often had a dragonfly perched atop my antenna and had the wanderlust to travel cross country.
I've traveled to and lived in 10-12 states over the span of 40 years. Four of which since I've owned my Mini (2003).
I've only moved up here just a few months ago...
Every time I sit behind the wheel of a car/my Mini I feel the urge to drive...and just keep on going.
I think it's time for a change. - Again.
Took a 260mi round trip drive up to Blue Ridge in lieu of another major move. I had a great time driving the Mini through the desolate winding roads..
Everything was great today!
I picked up this 2002 R53 a couple months ago with the intention of making in mine. So far so good. Rear seats have been removed. Random lights and bulbs have been replaced. But what really makes the difference for me is the Journeys Off-Road 2" lift with Sparco Terra wheels and Falken Wildpeak 205/60-16 tires. It's amazing how much this has transformed the look. The ride is good as well. Meaty tires help to smooth out the small bumps. Next on the agenda is creating a seat delete platform. Then putting a carplay system in.
09-11-2023, 12:14 PM
