OK, to wrap up the story posted in the "Good Deals on CL" thread...

Had appt at 11am at sellers home 70+ miles away this morning with agreement to purchase at full advertised asking price. At 7:30, phone rings and it's the seller. "Sorry but I have bad news", says he. Pre-sale remorse stating he couldn't sleep last night and just can't do it. Sorry. I stayed calm and avoided saying anything offensive, despite being hugely disappointed. I get that, having owned a '74 ALFA GTV from new for 25 yrs. At that time, asked myself "Do I own stuff -or- does stuff own me?" Sold that and had immediate regrets as it was trailered away. I learned the lesson that stuff kept too long does tend to own you, at least with vehicles of passion.

While still talking to him, his wife is on call waiting, so he says he'll call me back in a few minutes. Unsure what was said but he does call back and says, "OK, I'll let it go - you can buy it." My buddy and I got there at planned time and the car was dirty to the point we couldn't clearly assess condition of body panels. At that point, it had total of 4026 miles since new. Yes, really. Did a test drive and completed purchase at local bank. Seller had lots of interesting cars in a huge outbuilding garage, including unused Racetech seats and unused set of wheels and track tires for this car, which had been prepped for tracking when new but never saw such action. Chose to pass on those with no plans on tracking but he offered to include a full set of OEM R85 S-lite wheels with original runflat tires mounted plus another set of same R85 wheels unmounted at no extra cost. I like what's on the car now (Toyo Proxes on Team Dynamics black alloy wheels) but hauled all those spares home in my truck anyway. Car was built 21Nov05, so it'll be easy to determine by tire date codes whether they're original to this particular car (seller had 2002 MCS and 2004 MC40 before ordering this car new). It's a unusual build spec in Black-Eye Purple with few options, other than Combo #2 Sport Pkg, LSD and Chrono Pkg. No cruise, no H/K audio nor steering wheel controls.

Got home and did double-wash with Chemical Guys foam cannon and wiped dry. Found only 2 notable blems; a dimple dent adjacent to passenger side headlight bucket (pretty sure it'll come out with professional PDR) and a rock-chip on windscreen. A/C needs recharging too. Otherwise, it's super clean and clearly a hotrod. Seller says build shop (BMW of Santa Rosa) stated it dyno'd 230 HP at front wheels. No way knowing for sure but it sure scoots! Also, strut and chassis bracing everywhere, lowered suspension with Konis and adjustable aluminum control arms, short shifter and AP Racing big brakes. Has boy-racer no-resonator single pipe exhaust which I'll want to replace. Probably with the complete resonated Milltek system. More to discover in the days ahead as I continue detailing.

Light was fading but took some quick camera pics to share. More to follow in time...

(See post 21 for list of known modifications plus subsequent updates and see post 424 for summary of project costs)

 

Excellent result . . and looks great!! Two things: (1) I love how crisp and new that steering wheel looks, and (2) I really hope it didn't dyno 230hp on the rear wheels .. or else you are truly in some trouble

 

Excuse me while I go empty my drool bucket. You should probably send his wife a thank you note.

 

What a great find and well optioned, especially with that slicktop.

 

Um, but this was MINI's even rarer RWD model! Yes, too tired when posting that. Typo corrected!

 

Congrats, way to jump on it! Cool, rare color and minimalist spec. Hard to believe only 4K miles.

It would be fun to see if you can find out more about it by reaching out to BMW of Santa Rosa. Keep us posted as you learn more about the car. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for the nice comments, guys - appreciated!

Seller couldn't find documents outlining work done, so it'll be discovery for me. Said, nothing was touched on engine internals which pleases me. Of the total 4026 miles, a significant portion was driving the MINI roundtrip to Santa Rosa CA and back to Phoenix AZ for build work with not much since. Found a service receipt from MINI of Tempe dated August 2011 showing just 3459 miles at that time, so driven less than 600 miles in nearly 10 yrs. Need to do complete maintenance service on all fluids, etc. ASAP.

 

What did you pay for it?

 

I would also proactively do all the usual gaskets, seals, o-rings, hoses, etc. that are the typical weak spots so that you can drive it without interruption for a long time.

 

So much awesome!

Major congrats.

Just too cool rare spec goodness.

Looks absolutely fabulous and crazy low mileage.

Thanks for the story too, bit of a cliffhanger there and I'm so glad it all worked out.

 

Congratulations, glad it worked out! Nice find/spec. Makes sense as a minimum build - just the performance stuff and nothing else.

 

If you had followed the link in my first post, you'd already know since I stated I paid full price. Not especially cheap, but then how often does such a car come up for sale within 1.5 hrs drive? My reasoning was/is buying vehicles on B-J or Mecum or BaT comes with buyer's fee plus pro transport expenses. I figure, better instead to put those $$ towards direct purchase and with eyes-on vs sight unseen.

 

Agreed, I'll assess all those aspects in the course of things. In the meantime, the car won't be driven much.

 

Agreed. Minimal options weren't a budgetary decision but instead, "less is more" for intended track day purposes. Happy he chose not to do that. Ironically, my 2017 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is much like that, i.e., all the good parts but minimal options. Just hardtop and tow receiver. No auto trans, no power windows or door locks, no nav or upgraded audio. Happy though that cruise control was included for highway use.

 

OK, projects this afternoon was cleaning all interior surfaces. I like Woolite in a warm water solution for all fabric seating and carpeting too, since it's mild and smells nice afterwards having eliminated accumulated funky smells in seating areas.

Also cleaned the mounted wheels/tires and extra unmounted wheels to evaluate condition and originality. The mounted set did turn out to be original to this car with Pirelli tires date coded 4405 and 4505, which coincides with November 2005 build date of this car. Of course run flat which I won't use, however evident from minimal brake dust of backside that very low miles when removed with TPMS sensors likely still in play. Once cleaned, no scars or blems whatsoever on the R85 S-Lite wheels. Hooray! The 2nd R85 set are likewise very good, although not quite as pristine with a few scuffs on some (not curb rash) which might come off with minimal effort. I'll be posting those for sale in Phoenix CL before long if anybody in AZ is looking for a set.

No more updates for at least a week with away plans starting tomorrow...

Edit: I determined the R85 S-Lite wheels won't play well with the AP Racing "big brake" front calipers, so I've listed all for sale here.

 

If you’re gonna buy “any” car that’s ordered and built with intention, that’s the one to have, you’re a lucky man. The car is lucky to have found you. Regarding price...awkward. I consider that a very...very good buy.

 

Stupendi !!!



.

 

Fantastic find!

 

Pardon my silliness here,
must inject theme song!


blackeye purple all in my brain
such low mileage totally insane
havin' too much fun you know why
'scuse me while I drive up the sky!

 

^^^ What a "head trip", for those old enough to remember! I'm still in a mental haze on what I scored...

Edit: Fun little ditty you wrote, too! Very appropriate!!!

 

Got home midday after being gone most of a week, so more discovery on how this car is equipped with performance mods. If what BMW techs told the original owner is accurate, i.e., 230hp at the front wheels, seems must also have cylinder head tuning in addition to what is listed and known so far. I believe has larger throttle body too. No tracking plans for me (got that out of my system by late 70's) but I'd like to know out of curiosity. Not yet on jack stands for proper look underneath. Appointment with BMW/MINI specialist shop Thursday morning for fluids change including coolant and brakes plus recharging A/C. Straight exhaust (small MagnaFlow canister) replaced by full Milltek resonated system (UK) 29June. Yes, it really is as nice as it looks! Grins galore!!!

* MiniMotors.com water-to-air intercooler (unsure of actual manufacturer, likely limited production or 1-off unit )
* 4-into-1 tubular headers with flex pipe and hi-flow cat (unsure of actual manufacturer)
* S/C pulley (assuming 15% / 60mm OD)
* Racing Dynamics CAI with K&N cone filter (Now with de-flapped JCW airbox with Amsoil cone OEM JCW filter)
* Nology Hotwire ignition wires
* SFS silicone coolant hoses (UK)
* MiniMotors.com carbon fiber hood scoop (unsure of actual manufacturer)
* Cylinder head, supercharger, 340cc fuel injectors - Cyl head mods unknown (now with JCW 380cc injectors plus tune by Adrian)
* Hack-job cat-back single exhaust (now with Milltek resonated system - UK (again)
* B&M P/N 45131 Short Shifter Kit (now OEM without B&M SSK but with Cravenspeed shifter bushing & Raceseng "Slammer" shift ****)

* Carbon fiber front strut bar brace - Racing Dynamics (?) (Now with M7 Strut Tower Plates & OEM R52 Cabrio braces)
* Carbon fiber rear (boot) bar brace - Racing Dynamics (?)
* Koni "Yellow" shocks with Eibach springs (now with JCW Sport "red" springs - Germany)
* Helix front strut adjustable camber plates
* Eibach adjustable aluminum rear lower control arms (Germany)
* Eibach rear sway bar - 19mm (Germany)
* Eibach front sway bar - 25mm (Germany)
* Polyurethane bushings throughout
* AP Racing front big brake kit w/ drilled rotors (UK)
* OEM BMW rear brakes w/ drilled rotors
* Goodrich stainless braided brake lines (UK)
* Team Dynamics 7x17 ET45 wheels (UK) with Toyo Proxes RA1 205/40ZR17 (now Michelin PS4S 215/45R17)
* Wheel stud conversion kit

 

So jealous. Love how the color of those wheels goes exactly with the body trim, I don’t usually like dark wheels. You gotta get that one on a track, just for thrills.

 

Looks like an air to water inter cooler. My friend had 1 on his Celica all track. Could be hooked into cooling system or a separate canister and pump..

 

Agreed on the color coordination aspect. I'm one who likes aesthetic balance. In this case, no desire for de-chroming with the existing trim providing nice contrast. To complement that CF hood scoop, I popped for BMW's "slimline" real CF license plate frame at the back end. Yes, its spendy bling but it'll accomplish that objective.

No more track days for this old guy. Last time at the long-gone SoCal RIR, where I dropped the inside front wheel on my Alfa GTV off the track heading up the esses at 100+ mph and spun. Fortunately, just minor flat spotting plus same for my under drawers.

That's an "aha" moment which might well explain no visible air cooling fins. I did see an unidentified pump, which I'll now trace back on plumbing connections. I googled MiniMotors which was USA product distributor of MiniSport of UK until the former was absorbed by Mini Mania. All performance work was done when this car was still new in 2006, so some part suppliers as well as specialty parts they produced and sold are no more.

 

As thebmwnut suggested and with further eyes-on, the intercooler indeed is water cooled, in its own closed system with coolant pumped from "Johnson Pump" (Sweden) and circulated from hoses routed from that pump down to RF corner, under the radiator to intake side of the intercooler. So then, another UK-sourced performance item which seems was a theme here.

Edit 17May22: Discovered one non-UK aspect of the MiniMotors W-2-A intercooler, that being small coolant radiator mounted low where not noticed previously. Googled the name "Dutton Radiator" which was a small independent shop in Santa Rosa (now out of biz) which was near the former MiniMotors shop before being acquired by Mini Mania in year 2008. With that aspect now known, seems this intercooler was a hybrid kit with component parts sourced from multiple countries.

Edit 4Mar23: Added pics showing dedicated radiator for W-2-A IC with bumper cover removed plus Google image of the defunct Dutton Radiator Service company circa 2021. Clearly, a small business in early 2006 and not an aftermarket specialist, which seems to confirm this radiator was sourced as part of a low volume and perhaps even a 1-off project.