The first warm day of late winter prompted my latest low-budget "mod", which is a very inexpensive solution to AZ sun turning my MINI into a British Racing greenHOUSE....

$9 + tax for the super-extra-deluxe standard-size windshield shade from wallyworld. The nice Auto-Xpressions (I think that's the brand name) insulated one with the oval decoration on the windshield side....

I found that its 24" height matches the width of the moonroof perfectly, so I folded it one section at a time until I found where to cut it, which turned out to be right on the fold next to the divot for the mirror. It fit the front portion of the sunroof perfectly. From the remaining piece, I was able to cut a slightly smaller shade for the rear non-opening portion. Again, it lined up perfectly on one of the folds. The only thing left is to get some edging fabric, and sew it on the one raw edge of each piece. I might just get some gaffer's tape and slit it down the middle to make each piece about the right width, and use that--with the sewing to be added later when I locate a friend with a sewing machine....

The stock retractable sunscreens hold them both up next to the glass very nicely. I currently have both of the decorated sides pointing down, as they have a nice oval decoration on them that fits with the overall oval/round theme of the car's accessories. The gap between the two halves is about perfectly the size of one of the folds, so it looks like it was designed to fit....

I'll snap some pix soon and add them if anyone's interested.

C ya,
Dutch

 

Joe, please do. I'm going to need some soon here in Texas.

 

Love this thread !!

 

89AKURT I want to thank you for starting this thread. I've learned how to do some frugal mods, and laughed out loud a number of times .

You're the Clark Howard of Mini's

 

My 1st contribution:

I was helping a buddy clean out his garage when I noticed a piece of great looking carpeting, about 4' X 4'. I asked what do you want to do with it? He quickly responded, "we'll take it to the dump with the rest of the garbage". I laid it on the ground, and then placed my 4 rubber mats on top of it, and realized I had just enough carpeting to make 4 dorky floral mats that were the perfect color for my lil guy. The next day I took it to a local carpet store, along with the rubber OEM mats, to be used as a guide to make the new mats. They created 4 perfect fitting, bound and stitched mats for a total price of $40. I asked the store if I should Scotch Guard the mats, and I was told the carpeting was a high quality wool carpet and I should just clean it with a mild soap when needed.

Yeah they look a little dorky, but I really think they look great in my lil guy, and I'm betting no one else has this carpeting option.
I'll try to post pics soon.

 

iamsteve,

What a great idea !! Reading here has inspired me. I dug out two old license plate holders and sanded them and spray painted them black. My husband thinks I've lost it but hey....

 

Sounds to me you've found it.

 

 

My latest mod - a digital voltage gauge:



And, as requested above, pix of my moonroof/sunroof sunshade:

For the edging on the cut edges, I ended up using some gaffer's tape. I took a 2" wide piece and split it down the middle to make a pair of 1" strips, then folded each over the cut ends of the sunshade parts. All I need now is to find someone with a sewing machine, and the tape can be a permanent edging solution....

C ya,
Dutch

 

More info on the gauge?

BTW Gaffers tape is always a permanent solution.....when use din high enough quantities

 

The gauge is a super-cheap eBay thing I had lying around for almost a year. IIRC, the shipping was more than the cost of the gauge. I did a little work to the gauge itself to remove the cheesy silkscreened lettering on it and give it a cleaner, stealthier look. To complete the dorky cheapskate portion of the competition, and cinch the win, it is adhered to the dash with a recycled bit of that gummy stuff used to hold the labeling/instructions on a non-stick cookie pan I bought yesterday.

C ya,
Dutch

 

There's also a product called "Mighty Mendit" available at Walgreens.

 

Yet another cheap mod. Modded the airbox for better airflow and a little more of that whirry-supercharger-sound goodness....

Total investment: $11 or so worth of weatherstripping, of which half is left, and an afternoon out in the sun working on the car and watching the Thunderbirds do their thing at Davis/Monthan....

C ya,
Dutch

 

Chewing gum, anybody?

Seriously, extra points for creativity!

 

here is my latest list of free/cheap mods

plasti-dipped some stuff

front


downtubes


DIY home depot RSD kit

 

Love this one. I went right out Lowes and bought these plugs (black) and installed them in the parking lot - they look great - Thanks

 

I did the plug mod too! I painted mine Cool Blue to match my colored doors. I figure if they peel, it will be cheap enough to replace! Thanks to the OP for this mod--love it!!!

 

Dimension drawing would be godly right now. =]

 

I took apart a cardboard box and made up a template for one of those a month or so ago, but haven't gotten around to getting the aluminum bar stock and putting it together. It was pretty easy with just a pair of scissors (and a ultra-fine-point sharpie to mark cuts) to make the template.

So far this spring we've been very lucky with the weather--only had a few days over 90. It's a pretty important improvement to the cooling system for us desert rats, so it *will* get done soon....

Mine is a little wider than the one in the pics. It sticks out *just* over the bumper lip, and will have some foam camper seal tape stuck to the bottom for a seal along the lip. I might paint it satin black with some leftover "Bumper Paint" that's sitting around here.

C ya,
Dutch

 

Awesome thread

 

I forgot to post the drawing.
I think I have it in PDF format.
I'll try to post before leaving for the dragon.

 

I'd like the dimensions as well please! Wanna get to this asap! Thanks! Looks great! And how did you do such a clean cut? What tool if ya don't mind me asking!

 

FYI if you want this to actually work you should seal that front edge .

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

To be brutally honest, I bet this diverter's job of improving the efficiency is SO minimal, seal or no seal does not really matter.

so, where are the dimensions?


drew-

 

Oh Realllly


Modern combustion engines produce a great deal of heat while producing power. To avoid damage due to overheating, the radiator is used to transfer the heat from the metal block and heads to a mixture of antifreeze and water, and out to air moving through the radiator. Effective heat control, then, relies heavily on efficient and consistent flow of cooler air through the radiator.

The MINI’s distinctive front end has two opening in front of the radiator, one low in the bumper and one at the front of the clamshell bonnet. Though this would seem to be advantageous for more airflow, the design leaves much room for improvement. The openings are separated in the fascia by a solid bumper that blocks a significant portion of the radiator’s cooling surface from fast moving, direct airflow. In this case, to move air through the blocked portion of the radiator, the design relies on a pressurization of the open area between the bumper and the radiator. Since the area behind the radiator is at a lower pressure, this works in theory. Unfortunately, the theory is not always a reality.


At the top of the bumper on the MINI, there is an open gap between the lower grille inlet and the upper grille inlet.

This area allows air to pass freely between the two openings. This could allow the open area to act as one single pressurized region to force air to flow through the radiator, but in truth it is more inefficient in regards to cooling. In the lower section there is a second heat exchanger for the air conditioning (the smaller of the two radiators). To cool correctly, the air must pass through both, but the longer flow path presents a larger resistance to flow than the section of the radiator not covered by the AC heat exchanger (the part above the bumper line). Since air will follow the path of least resistance, the design leads to an interesting effect that can be seen in the following fluid flow analysis diagrams.



The first Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation was run as the stock setup, with the area above the smaller radiator open. Upon a quick inspection of the results, several oddities should become readily clear. The first is that there is a section of the radiator where there is no flow (arrow 1)! The air that should flow through that part of the radiator (arrow 2) is following the path of least resistance, flowing up and over the double thick region and through the single region above leaving significant portion of the radiator with no cooling air flowing through it. This will reduce the efficiency of the radiator.



Always thinking, M7 has developed the Air Plate Diverter (APD) to help stop the migration of the cooling air from the lower grille to the upper section of the radiator where it is not needed. The APD separates the two open areas behind the bumper and bonnet, trapping the air. As the CFD simulation shows, with the APD installed, the pressure buildup in the lower opening will force the air to move through the entire double-thick radiator system. There are no more dead spots as there is no longer a path of less resistance for the air to take.

Now I am all for DIY projects even if the idea came from us but if you are going to spend the time to do it , you might as well make it work .

Randy
M7 Tuning