I hear you on the waiting these days. I ordered black stone covers for my Hella lights from Amazon forever ago. UPS has changed the delivery date on me 3x now. Probably backlog due to weather up here, but new bits and pieces are exciting to add!

Just ordered a new hatch rear carpet panel from Seattle Mini - trying to get all of the NOS pieces I can before these are NLA. Mine is badly delaminating and all stained from years of hauling stuff around. Not a bad price either.

 

No pics, unfortunately, because it was overcast and dark here all day, but got a few things done and a couple bits ordered.

Finally got my seat stitching re-dye done. I timed myself today and I was doing 2" per minute, so I finally hit my stride. It was kind of brutal though - I had to partially fold myself into some pretty odd shapes to be able to get to all of the blue double stitching. But, it is finished, and the color match to the other blue thread in my other leather pieces is perfect. So, that will not be keeping my OCD occupied anymore. Will try to get some good photos next time I am out in the sunlight - maybe tomorrow.

Started the install of my permanently mounted battery tender. I am going to run the wires under the carpet to the right rear lateral trim panel and mount the tender just inside of the removable cover there, and that will be where the plug access is. I may actually get one of the NOCO plug ports and permanently install it in the cover. Then I can just plug an extension cord directly in without having to open the little door and fish the plug end out. Pretty good looking port.



My new rear carpet will be here Monday - super excited about that, and I washed and scrubbed my jack bag and it looks almost like new, other than the stitching having broken and a seam partially opened up on one side. That's easy to fix. My jack and the plate are rusty messes though. So I need to find a jack. Adrian Willoughby has a pretty good one on one of the Gen1 Mini FB parts pages, but he wants 65 bucks shipped. I don't know if it's worth that... may keep an eye out on ebay. Ugh...

Put my new black stone guards on about a week ago. They look much more subtle - and will blend into the front nicely when I get some of the front end repainted and restriped this summer.




Just ordered a replacement left tail light lens as well. Mine has all kinds of grunge just on that one side. Don't know how it all got in there, but it's time it was replaced. The inner chrome has de-laminated as well. This might be a replacement, not sure - I know I broke one of them back in 2008 or 09 and had to replace it.

Lots of small things going on right now. The one bigger thing was the installation of the ECU and380cc JCW injectors a week or two ago. I finally have had a chance to drive the car - but only for about 10 minutes, so impression based solely on that. My impression so far is that any increase in power or torque seems to be on the lower end. I was expecting more of a boot to the pants when I stood on it around 4k or higher, but the lower end seems to me, at least, were the additional power is most feelable. I supposed to confirm this, I should look around a bit for a stock r53 and a JCW 210 dyno chart for comparison just to see where the majority of the changes in the power band occur. My car really does go like stink though with the mods that I have though... and with the diet having removed around 150lbs from the curb weight - I am sure that helps too.

LOVE this car.

 

It is really hard to get interior shots. I need to break out the DSLR with the lowest focal zoom I have on it maybe.







The stitching is now a perfect color match to my stingray **** and the down tube covers. I am pretty happy with the (labor intensive) outcome.

Took the car for a longer drive today now that most of the snow has melted away and it was a nice sunny day today with mostly dry roads. I definitely notice more power with the JCW210 tune. I realize that that 210 is at the crank, so maybe 175 at the wheels? Anyhow it's a little peppier - that's for sure! That is probably going to be it for engine mods for a while. Next year, I may add a head, and while the top is off, drop the pan and do some nice rods and clean the pistons and do new rings - really bulletproof the engine. What a nice day for a ride though!

Been thinking about stripes and have quite a few images in my morgue. I have a roll of air release matte black that I will use for the stripe ground, and will do a half-inch wide gloss black pinstripe to edge the two outside edges with to set it off a bit and make waxing less troublesome with the matte stripes. I have the stripe design narrowed down to the following:

1) No stripes on the bumper or roof though, just the hood. Double, W-I-D-E style.


2) Again, just the hood. This one does give some idea of what the color scheme might look like. This one is hyper blue and I believe the vinyl used is a very dark gray not black, but similar...


3) You get it, just the hood. I like how this one doesn't require trimming around the wings logo.


or 4). I kind of like not having the stripe around or under the winds logo. I also really dig the stripe sort of continuing out of the scoop, but just to the edge of it - I think that looks really neat. I think I am leaning toward this one.

 

Great job on recoloring the stitching. I would have done the same thing: details matter.

I'm jealous you were able to go for a drive. Sounds like it was a blast. I had hoped to but the weather here is lousy today. The weather is forecast to be much better next weekend. And classes end on Friday -- the last of my career -- so I'll be ready to take a celebratory drive.

 

OMFG

Those Cobra Nogaros are just sweet heaven!

 

Hope you get some good weather for your celebratory blast, and congrats man! Plans for emeritus status or continued research? Office cleared out?

My last faculty senate meeting is on Thursday. I can't wait. On the one hand, you get to drive the agenda, but on the other hand, getting faculty to agree on a thing (even if that thing is considered by all to be good) is like herding ferrets.

 

They are SOOOO hard to get a decent photo of though. I need like a fisheye lens or or something super short like that to get the entire inside in. Maybe I'll do some photogrammetry and put a 3-d immersive environment together. Have the software on my work machine. Now that's an idea...

 

I think that your pictures are most excellent, but I really dig the fact that you aren't satisfied and strive to capture an image which may more completely convey their full glory!

 

Dude.

For real.

All the way up to eleven!



Your thread kills it with amazin' grace.

I am totally enjoying your write ups, photographs, and DIY abilities. Such good taste in my opinion, you have a nice eye which much aligns with my own vision.

Of course, I'm totally envious of your Nogaros as after much internal debate on the subject I've finally come to the conclusion that I'll settle for nothing less than a pair of them, it's just a matter of economics for me so it'll be cherry-on-top down the road for me.

I will be sitting in those thrones tho, eventually, guaranteed!

I absolutely love how you configured the appearance of material and it looks fantabulous to the max, like breathtaking actually, a serious jawdropper for sure.

Still trying to figure out what I want to do, sort of leaning to the conservative side and going with grey houndstooth...




...but still undecided.

I want to be 100% sure and satisfied with my choice though, because it is a hearty financial investment.

Seeing your design choice and actual install inspires me to no end. I love what you have done, and many many thanks for sharing your process.

But,
that's all beside the point at hand.

I quoted this particular post because GOODGAWDALMIGHTY! is that a spectacular living space and just simply viewing it conjures an inner calm of deep breath relaxation like Alice Coltrane peace vibes glittering oceanic upon a universal wave of ultimate warmth...



...and speaking of jazz, it's my main theme song, everything from trad Woody Herman, be bop out the oop bop sh'bam, or more viscerally the skronk of Brötzmann et. al., but spiritually the fire of late 60's/early 70's freejazz swings my soul the most, could cite Marion Brown or ESP catalog, but since Alice came to mind when viewing your incredible soundspace, well, must chase the 'Trane!


Cheers!

 

Also,
forgive me,
but I feel obligated now to also add Alice!

 

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately that listening space is no more. I have had to downsize in advance of building a smaller house. Today, my beloved Luxman PD-444 two arm table sits atop my Paul McCobb credenza in the living room. It feeds a vintage McIntosh preamp for tone control into a modern tube headphone amp. Sounds pretty nice indeed. When the move is all done in 2 years or so, I may dust off the old Citation II tube amp and get a small pair of really good monitors.

Love Coltrane! I'm more of a 50's to 60's guy myself, and love be bop! My jazz collection is probably the most valuable part of my vinyl collection. Man, I hate to think about what some of those records are worth now with the vinyl resurgence.

 

I feel for you on getting a good interior shot, especially with what looks to be sunshine for lighting. That said, it is all pretty amazing. Looks great; like it belongs there not just an “add on”...

As for HP - I seem to remember seeing dyno runs on stock JCWs that were in the range of 190 to 200 WHP. It seems either MINI under rated the engine or the drive train efficiency is really good, or both.

If you are looking for a really good set of monitors look into these:
https://gr-research.com/product/x-ls-encore/

I know they are DIY, but they are not a hard DIY. The thing about these is the ultra high end drivers and crossover part that this guy uses. The crossover parts he uses and the crossover designs he does are far better than anything found in almost any commercial speakers. I built a set for my daughter and her musician partner and they were both blow away by them. There are people who make “flat packs” that you just have to glue together and do a finish on, which would make them pretty easy for some without the means to cut up a bunch of wood...

This guy also does speaker upgrades and does videos of these upgrade. I am amazed at what one doesn’t get in the way of quality parts and how poor the crossover designs are in a pair of speakers that cost a few grand ... for example:

 

I owned a pair of smaller three-way Focals, and I have to say that I was distinctly underwhelmed. I am sure their higher end Utopia speakers are stunning, but their smaller monitors don't live up to their marketing hype. I did not take mine apart to look at the crossovers, but had I don so, I probably would have resold them a lot sooner than I did. As someone who has built my own audiophile carbon resistors, I am a bit of snob about electronic components, especially resistors and capacitors. I built my own crossovers for the Altex-based loudspeakers in that photo. My crossovers were a work of art. I used solid copper screw post connectors for all of the resistors and caps so that I could change them all out to listen for sonic changes in my all-analog signal chain. Here are a couple photos of my crossovers. Each one weighed maybe 25 lbs - and the bass inductors alone weighed maybe 5lbs each... lot of copper in there...





All of the caps are either 1) Russian cold war era paper in oil with glass-sealed metal cans, or 2) paper in oil motor run caps that have a very nice sonic signature. These crossovers really made those big drivers sing. When I was sitting in the sweet spot between the speakers the imaging was the best I have ever experienced. On good recordings I could point out the location of each instrument in the soundfield not only left to right, but I could tell you the approximate number of feet apart they were front to back. Astonishing what a good analog recording can reveal. I still have a bunch of tube-era stuff needing restoration.

God - I used vintage Western Electric 12 gauge silk wrapped cloth covered vintage wire because a lot of the wire they produced for telephony applications had to be ridiculously pure so you wouldn't have as much noise or signal attenuation over the long distances the signals traveled.

I will probably go with either a repop of the classic BBC studio monitor little 2 way, or a vintage version. I hear the Rodgers version is astonishing to hear.

 

Got my new carpet in today - and It's just awesome!


Out of the bag that it went into around 2005...


Mmmm..... that new carpet smell. Degassing formaldehyde...


Beautiful. I LOVE NOS parts! Now, I just need that damn right lateral trim panel. Compare the left lateral trim (what you can see of it in this photo) to the right. The right hand side is a mess - mountain bike scratches, moving scars... ugh.

Details matter!

 

^^^ High quality stereo speakers are pretty much wasted on me now, being (literally) deaf in one and constant tinnitus in the other. Maybe both but then, how would I know? In any case, I still have a pristine pair each of Rogersound Labs 3600 and 2800 studio monitor speakers purchased at their original Canoga Park, CA factory store way back in their heyday. https://rslspeakers.com/

 

You might be surprised. This may be sacrilegious but I have my high end speakers in my home theater system and I can now understand what most people are saying. I blame that last Rush concert I went to for driving the last nail into my hearing coffin...

jcolletteiii - The crossover looks awesome. I have read about people using some of that older stuff. Really brings out the details in the sound. And no iron in the system, high purity copper wire. All good stuff. Go you. Nice to see someone who really digs into and understands this stuff.

If I may... thank you and I will drop the subject...
Here is the crossover I built for that little speaker I linked to. For its application I went with some of his upgrades to the basic version he sells, but not all. These are audiophile level speakers. Not sure if they are at your level, but they are up there. (Ignore the amp and clip wiring. This was just a sound check of the crossover.)



By the way, the jazz videos were both really good. Something more for me to listen to.

And glad you are pleased with the carpet.

 

I am going to continue doing research for a while. A collaborator and I are in the midst of a really rewarding swarm intelligence project that has been very productive for several years now. I don't want to walk away from it when there are still many interesting questions to explore.

Congratulations on making it through your year as senate president. I'm glad I never had to take that particular bullet.

 

Wow - are those Deulund caps in that circuit? Can't quite tell, but if so - GAWD are those pricey! Good components make a good circuit. I love those big mil spec resistors. I used similar ones... sound really great. How do you like those DIY speakers? Do they move enough air to get that punch when the volume s elevated? How do horns sound?

 

I can’t say I am overly knowledgeable about the components in these crossovers, but, before I pulled the trigger on one of these kits, I did read a lot about what people were saying about these speaker designs and I watch a lot of upgrades that this guy does.

These have Gen 2 Sonicaps, Miflex copper bypass caps and Erse air core inductors. I know that there are some caps that are a step up from these. But from what I have seen those get pretty large and there are size restraints within the cabinet.

Unfortunately I can’t say much about their performance as they went directly to my daughter when they were done. The best I can do is to draw reference to the much larger, floor standing X-MTMs that I have, which uses the same drivers... Horns, pianos, drums are all well defined. For reference I like listening to Hiromi on the X-MTMs..

My daughter’s comment was that she has never heard speakers as good as these. I did try them out for little bit before they went to her and will say they did well in the bass department. Given their smaller size, I would expect less bass in a larger room, but not lacking in range. My daughter did say something about shaking the room when she watched the movie Dune.

 

Those erse inductors are very good. Ad Sonicaps are fantastic too. I may indeed look into those - is the veneer on the cabs real wood? I would probably veneer over, and if I did, I would need a wood substrate. Are they rear ported or unported?

Today, some reproduction magnetic vinyl stickers of an old original came in. They are AWESOME! Nice quality, and plenty magnetic. Love them!



Also, changed out my hazed-up, dirt-inside-the-lens somehow left rear taillight. Not OEM, but plenty high quality.



Waited until dark and then took the car for a nice drive - longest since the injector and JCW tune addition. There is definitely more power there - now that I've spent time hitting the gas pedal pretty good - I notice distinctly more torque steer when really getting on it. Seems to be significantly quicker to the redline in first too. This car is just such a pleasure to drive.

Waited until dark so I could use the auxiliary lighting. Still adjusted perfectly - those Hella 500's - even the halogen ones I have throw just a TON of light, and look oh so good. The fogs throw a nice laterally extensive swath of illumination that is very thin bottom to top. It's perfect for illuminating road edges and fields at night for critter spotting. And when I put on the highs and the aux lights come on, I feel like the road in front of me starts to melt just a little. Great for night driving on the almost completely abandoned ND secondary roads after dark!

 

Good to hear that the Hellas perform just as good as they look.

The tune sounds like it was worth it too and delivered an extra oomph! to amplify the fun time.

ACTUAL SIZE

The forum I've been on for the longest time is The Car Lounge,
posted up a thread on this topic over there...

https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/actual-size.9334869/

...some of the pix are missing now, but still a good many to look at.

One of the most striking is the Miata vs. Elan:

 

Wow - didn't realize Elans were so small!

 

Good that the brands speak for themselves.
Danny Richie is the guy in charge and from all that I read, all of his stuff is really good. All of the designs are his. The drivers are all made to his specs; not off the shelf.

He recommends that all of his speakers be made from 3/4” MDF. A lot of people veneer them. I have see some that people have taken to an automotive paint shop to get a piano-like painted or lacquer finish. Those small X-LS speakers are rear ported. Internally all of his speakers have a crazy amount of bracing. Then he recommends the internals be lined with his No Rez material, which is a hard, floor tile-like material that has an inch of open cell foam bonded to it.

Here are pictures of the 5 speakers I have built.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.ph...775#msg1901775

I know, not the greatest or fanciest finishes, but my wife wanted them to “disappear” in the room. Also, I figure it’s what is inside that counts.

There is the option to have cabinets built. These range from flat packs that your would assemble and finish to completely finish speakers.
https://gr-research.com/speaker-cabi...-and-finished/

Here is the blog that Danny runs. Lot of good info about people’s speaker builds and a good source of help:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=16

 

Started wheel-off cleaning this afternoon, but started raining so only go one done. I scrub the wheel liners when I take the wheels off to clean the backsides, and then I use the same Maguire's Ultimate Black trim stuff that I use on the rest of my trim once it's clean. It really does help to keep grunge from sticking to the inside of the wheel liners and it looks so good when it's done. Lasts quite a while too, but I don't drive my car in the rain.



Weather's been weird this spring, so haven't had much time to get it into the driveway to get stuff done lately. I finally got round to ordering a couple pieces. Picked up a brand new oem under the bonnet fuse box lid - as mine was munched by a rodent/ Really loving BMW Parts Worldwide. $10 bucks for the oem part. Also ordered a plug in port for the in-car battery tender. That will be permanently installed in the left rear access hatch so I can just plug an extension cord in there quick for a charge maintainer for the lightweight battery. So far I have had no issues with the battery at all. It starts the car much quicker than any other battery I have had in this car before - seems to be a great, lightweight option. Got a notification from Seattle Mini that some of the parts that I ordered were in from Germany - I ordered those so long ago, I can't even recall what it was - a vacuum pipe and some hardware, I think. Ah well, it'll be like Christmas when I get it.

Sent my old MA from NY an email to see if she might be able to locate the 2003 MINIUSA configurator on cd for me. Would be fun to play with. Anyone remember all of the stupid little flash games MINI used to have on their website back in the day? I went looking on waybackmachine, but I could not access a version of the configurator or even the main website prior to 2006. Hopefully, she can come through and someon has one kicking around in the bottom of their drawer or something. Did manage to get a couple of screen grabs using a flash emulator on the waybackmachine site snapshots...




Posted on the other thread about the cd ISO image.

 

OOH - also ordered a Foxwell NT510. We'll see what codes it's been hiding from me.

Also changed the wife's hydraulic engine mount. I changed it last year, but the vibration issues didn't go away. So I have been slowly going through her car changing out bushings, the lower mount, all sorts of things wondering if facelift cars were just noisier or prone to more vibrations. Turns out that the new hydraulic mount ECS sent to us last year was defective - it had no hydraulic pressure at all and had allowed the aluminum motor mount to collapse onto the top of the mount. Put the new one in today, and blissful quiet in the cabin. She's taking it up with ECS - I'll definitely report back on the outcome of that.