I should have already done a build thread, but figure better late then never. Bought an '06 MCS JCW in March 2019, with about 63k miles. It is in great condition having spent its life in TX and New Mexico (dry, no salt). From the factory it has Combo #2 Sport (DSC, 17" wheels), LSD, Combo #6 JCW Tuning Kit, & HK sound. Sticker says $31,050.


I am planning on converting it to a track car. It came with Koni sport suspension and after-market wheels. Also, new engine mounts, but need to check which ones.

I've done a few things and will add posts to capture those asap:
- 22mm rear sway bar and adjustable links
- Adjustable rear lower LCA
- Rear wiper delete (after I accidentally broke the rear window putting in new window struts, haha)
- Rear seats delete
- stainless steel brake lines
- aluminum coolant tank
- blacked out rear taillights
- blacked out chrome trim under windows
- Modified brake pedal to move it closer to the gas pedal for heal-toe
- Added Rennline pedal covers

Plans before taking it to the track:
- Replace 205 tires with 215s and get new wheels
- Another brake flush using MOTUL RBF 600
- Any TBD items recommended here

I want to get someone familiar with gen 1 minis to drive it. I am wondering if I can do something to get the shifting more smooth. Not sure if I have a synchro getting old or what, the shifting is not great. We have a 2015 JCW Coupe and shifting on that is a dream - very smooth and no hunting to find the gear.

 

Nice car! Was this on Bring A Trailer? I think I remember seeing it there but not sure.

 

Good memory - Indeed it was on BAT! In fact, that photo is from the owner prior to me.

 

Awesome JCW!

As for track prep, definitely do the ATI harmonic balancer, coolant flush since you’re doing the aluminum tank, fresh plugs, fuel filter, air filter, inspect control arm bushings (or was that already taken care of?). What kind of brake pads are on there?

If you ever decide to part out the interior to sell, I would be interested in the seats, front mainly.

 

Thanks for the comments. I was totally ignorant on the balancer - have not come across that before. I read a bit about it though. Can you feel the difference after installation? Looks like it takes two special tools - belt tool and puller. I need to look at the brake pads a bit closer. They have lots of pad left, but I have not noted the brand. Thanks!

 

We installed a PRW three years ago when we first got the car. I believe the motor is smoother, but it’s been so long that we can’t remember what it was like before. It’s definitely smooth, but then again all the other things we did to get it road worthy probably also helped. (Motor mounts, plugs, O2 sensors, etc)

 

My car came with an ATI super damper installed. I haven't driven a fully sorted stock example yet, but I think if you get the stock size balancer it shouldn't feel too different.

 

I just looked at my Sticker Price for my 2006 JCW...$33,450. Hard to believe these little guys cost so much even 15 model years ago.

 

I got suckered into a black Friday sale at Rennline. Bought mats and floorboards. It was a weak moment - I could have spent $350 on making the car faster. Took quite a while to install. But, looks pretty good IMO.

The clutch pedal scraped so had to do a bit of sanding. I drilled and tapped two holes on the floorboard driver's side. You can see the two bolts I added that secure the mat to the floorboard. I had to reduce the angle of the bend on the mat, but it turned out pretty well. On the passenger side I just drilled through holes in the mat to match the holes in the black part behind the floorboard and added bolts/nuts. You can't see the bolts or holes from the outside. After installing it, it seemed like the board was going to rattle against the mat. I had some rubber trim already and cut a piece of that and installed it across the bottom. No rattle at all. I might remove it one more time and put some black tape on the part of the mat that is seen through the lower-most holes on the board.

As far as functionality goes, they have not made anything worse as far as I can tell. Shoes don't slip as much as you would maybe think they would. Driving shoes have rubber on the back, so not an issue with those I don't believe.


Also got black mesh upper and middle grills. Not installed that yet, but will over holidays!

 

Here are some videos of prior mods:

• Strut brace -
  You Tube
• Lower control arm -
  You Tube
• Brake Lines -
  You Tube

 

Wow, that's quite the home shop. Can't even put my car on jacks at my house.

 

Thanks - added a second garage several years back. I need to make another round of hanging some things up on the wall!

It rained yesterday and drops from the car got the garage floor wet. When I was drying it up this afternoon, I noticed some fluid under the mini. Not engine oil. Either transmission or power steering. :(

 

Do you have to have someone come out to service the lift? It's a post style, right?

 

Nice workshop! A lift certainly makes quick work of getting the car in the air.

Regarding the mushrooming. I know you plan on tracking the R53, but perhaps consider the plates that go on top of the struts and sandwich between strut and tower. That provide more support than the plates on top. We put in the cravenspeed indurator plates to prevent future bulging.

 

Yes, it's a Max Jax. It uses a hydraulic pump and a "jack" on each post. I have not had to have it serviced. I don't expect the posts would ever need service, but maybe the cylinders or pump may. Not sure how I would get that done!

 

Replaced the chrome lettering on the rear hatch today with black. More of a pain than I thought it was going to be!


Video here:

 

Got the "M7 Ultimate Upper & Middle Grilles" on. I like the look. I opened up the middle grill slightly by removing a bit of plastic that would otherwise block the airflow. Used a dremel tool.

They fit really well. The top one only uses two screws/bolts to secure it, but it seems fine. While I had the bumper off, I was checking out the possibility of removing the fog lights and putting in brake cooling ducts. I'm sure there are some threads on that, but I have not checked them out yet. Looks like a good bit of work.


I checked out my slow leak/drip...it's definitely power steering fluid. The source seems to be the hose coming from the reservoir, although I didn't have a lot of time to check it out yet. There's no way for oil to drip up, so I assume I have to follow it up to find the source. Stay tuned.

 

I installed a Borla exhaust yesterday. Took a few hours, but was pretty easy. Video here

 

Thanks for the great thread.... nice to see people put in the effort to post up their projects .... and pics and vid...

Keep it coming...

nice build !!



.

 

I had/have a vibration problem once I installed the Borla exhaust. I've never done an exhaust, so I didn't think to check for parts of it that may touch the car. I found one place for sure that was rubbing and possibly two more. Pics below. The hangar just past the resonator was rubbing. I used an angle grinder to cut about 1/4 inch off of it. I trimmed the other side too, although it was not likely to rub. I trimmed one of the rear left hangars also.

When doing a more detailed inspection I noticed the exhaust tips were nearly touching the plastic part of the bumper. So, I added spacers to lower the entire back-end of the exhaust. The other benefit is that it also lowered, ever-so-slightly, the resonator which is dangerously close to rubbing the top of the heat shield.

And, as a bonus, I installed a small wing (spoiler?) on the back. Made by LEAP out of CF. Looks well made.


Also did oil/filter change. Will drive it tonight and see if the vibration is gone! [edit: yes, MUCH better after driving]

I need both power steering fluid hoses. The leak(s) is not bad, but it is dripping slowly...

 

Have you considered a dead pedal ?
i was looking at this mount that sits to the left of the clutch pedal and raises it up off the floor so you don't have to raise your left foot to clutch , you just slide it to the right and push down..
It just raises the floor in that spot to make it even with the clutch pedal . Simple thing that imo could really help on track use .

 

I haven't thought about that (dead pedal). TBH not sure what I do with my left foot, but will think about it! Thanks for the idea!

Before I got this car I did not know how to heel-toe. My other track cars were both Porsche Caymans which have auto-blip (rev-match). I still have a GT4. I drive the mini so much now, doing heel-toe everywhere, it now feels strange to drive the GT4 and NOT do heel toe. I accidentally did it once by habit which confused both the car and me. The GT4 revs so much faster, I over-did it.

Anyway, I ordered two power-steering hoses and watched a video. I'm going to need to pull the PS fan and pump for the new hoses. And will need to do some cleaning too (fluid drips).

I do not know what brake pads are on it, so I ordered some OEM fronts. I have an annual track inspection (I believe this weekend) and need to do something on the pads quickly. Did not have time to research it.

Still have the ATI super damper, new plugs, and catch can on the list. I have the catch can, but not installed it yet. I will want to clean oil from the intake and intercooler too.

BTW: with 66k miles, this car burns absolutely zero oil.

 

Installed new lenses for license tag lights. The spring-tabs had broken off. I had used some epoxy to try and fix it, but it eventually gave up.


Also, finally installed an oil catch can. Just followed instructions from M7, but I understand there may be other ways to do it. I also installed a stainless steel mesh with an aluminum tube on the inside of it to add surface area for the particles to catch on.

I used a dremel tool to cut two notches in the plastic as shown. Added a zip tie through the rubber seal to hold it down. One benefit to this approach is that I do not have to remove the hoses from the OCC to remove and drain it.


I also replaced two power steering noses that connect to the PS reservoir. Added a small heat shield too. Need to get some pics of that up.
Got the ATI super damper. Will install soon. I'm also going to install oil temp and pressure gauges. Found a nice connector on Way Motor Works that goes between car and existing oil pressure switch that allows another sensor/sender to be installed. It's expensive ($50), but a nice solution. I am thinking about gauges from SpeedHut. Been doing a bunch of reading on various brands.

 

Put new plugs in. Here's what the old ones looked like. I assume these have been in for the entire 66k miles. Also put in a new PCV valve.

 

New fuel filter this past weekend. Already had the rear seats out so it was a decently simple job - about 1 maybe 1.5 hr. I did not release fuel pressure via the fuel rail (lazy) so about a cup or two of gas came out of the fuel line when I disconnected it. I had some rags there that pretty much soaked it all up. Had to put a fan blowing in the car to take away the fumes.

I'm watching the current thread on tunes. I'd like to eliminate rev hang. It is highly annoying...