R53 Police Auction Project

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seyre1972 said:

Hi, out of interest what auction site were you using ?

Cheers

Seyre1972

Hiya mate,

http://www.silverlake.co.uk

They use all different sources for their cars

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ambuletz said:

looks like whoever owned/stole that really liked their chocolate muffins.

Yeah... They didnt leave me any though.

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seyre1972 said:

Cheers - oddly I nearly Joined the Navy to be an artificer - but didn't fancy going to Uni and then into a commission so turned down a Scholarship - the follies of youth ... now sit at a desk all day, so do wonder how it might have been different if I had served ...

Best of luck with the car - looks like your fastidious attention to detail will make this a cracking thread to follow.

Thanks seyre. I've got quite a bit planned over the next few weeks so hopefully well worth you following.

The Mob is what you make of it - I know plenty of people here that sit behind a desk all day!

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bungz said:

Great start to a thread

Is it just me or is it completely on its arse at the rear?

Thanks Bungz, I'm enjoying keeping a detailed diary of how it's going.

It is a little bit.. I've sorted a few bits out so far but I'm yet to take the pictures.

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BuzzBravado said:

I think the twin clocks also came in a pack with a different wheel. A nicer three spoke with extra buttons on it. If you can get one cheap it would be worth it.

I think you're right... To be honest my priority was to get the air bag replaced so I'll have to investigate it on my next trip to the breakers.

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AyBee said:

Assume you checked it starts before you started?

Well after I've finished this course I'm fitting the JCW engine... Secured one so looking to fit that then get the key sorted.

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M3333 said:

Buy a key from BMW, they aint that expensive.

Hope it runs okay, watching with interest, good luck.

Cheers mate. I've been quoted roughly £180 from BMW for the key + coding.

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Tankrizzo said:

Looking at the location brings back memories, I played football on the pitch next to the car club twice a week for 12 years when I was Centurion-based!

Good luck with the project, seems like it's in not half bad nick underneath.

Ahh we've got a loggy on the thread! Still local are you Tankrizzo?
Centurion is all civvie run now, but ran past it with cross country the other day.

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aR53GP said:

Great job so far. How much did you pay? If you don't mind me asking.

I run a GP as a daily but would love a project like this.

It's great as a project.. I've had a few little ones before but haven't gone to as much h detail. Partly because the mini has so many options I thought it would be such a shame to keep it standard while restoring it.

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AWG said:

Wow they really do leave everything in the car don't they!

Good luck.

I found a bit of a random collection ... Peppa Pig annual, beer bottles, a mug shot of what I think was the owners partner, a few random socks in the boot a couple of screw drivers that have been fashioned to undo interior hex and a couple of quid down the sides of the seat( it's already paying off)

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jamiebae said:

I'd be interested to know what that cost - it looks a bit on the rough side and a pre-facelift car so I'm guessing hundreds rather than thousands. Do you know if it runs, or if there's any other issues mechanically, or is it just at your risk?

I loved my 2005 Cooper S and would have another like a shot so I'm a little jealous of this project!

Have you looked at one of the auction sites to pick up something like this? I love the pre facelift I'm so happy with the buy. As far as I'm aware the only issues are wishbone related! Up on the ramp in a few weeks to slot in the JCW engine

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jamiebae said:

Never looked at them actually. There's nothing wrong with the pre-facelift car (at least with the Cooper S, the others have a chocolate gearbox from Rover which I'd avoid), I was just using it as a proxy for age. Fingers crossed there are no more nasties lurking - mine had a clutch and flywheel under warranty, them popped the crankshaft oil seal out after about 20 miles necessitating the whole job to be done again but if you're swapping the engine then that's not really a concern.

The blocker for a project on my side right now is the fact I live in a top-floor apartment in Switzerland with no garage

Yeah I've heard about the 5 speed.. definitely not something I'm planning on putting in. Think I'll need that extra gear for the commuting up the m6.

Yeah I'm looking at clutch and fly wheel options actually, undecided as to the single mass conversion yet so I'll have to do a bit more digging. That oil seal is definitely on the list while the engine is out. Good opportunity to dress the bay bay properly, change the common gaskets and clean the motor. A couple of hours with the dremel should have it back to clean!

Bummer! Are there no garages you can't rent locally?

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rtz62 said:

Excellent project, going to follow this with interest.
SWBO has a Cooper S, i drove it back from Madchester along M62 and M1, and had the most gruesoe backache: i did wonder if this was going to be turned into a semi-track day weapon, as stripping the existing interior was getting it part-way there (and gave the opportunity to fit some lightweight seats). However, thats my personal view and doesnt detract one iota fro what promises to be a good read!!

Thanks rtz62,

I've done Glasgow to Plymouth in one of these before and it felt like I'd been driving a fraction of the time... Really comfortable! Each to their own I suppose. I wouldn't mind a track project to be honest but I wouldn't want to use the mini base. I've really loved the s2 Elise for years so I've got my eyes on one of those as my next project post mini. A bit heavier on the budget but that would be the dream.

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Saturday update,

After another busy week on course I jumped at the chance to spend the day with the car. With my time constraints at the moment the big jobs are on hold so I decided to pull off the door cards



Personally, I think whoever decided to put that awful 'Attacked by a grinder' to finish on the plastic trim needs to reconsider their life choices. To match several other parts of the interior it's going gloss black on the outsides and i plan, along with the dash front, to get the middle parts hydro dipped with carbon fiber effect.

Anyway, looking at the back of the cards it's obvious when they built these they were designed not to be removed



Not something a drill and a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer and small chisel can't sort....

After obliterating an obscene amount of these little melt rivets the panels release giving me a good glimpse of how well the cars been looked after over the years.





Rather expectedly after removing the arm rest you can see the effect of the sun on the plastic over its 14 years



All that rubbish and gunk in the door can't be doing anyone any good and definitely won't be making the car smell any better so after a good clean the door card comes up quite nicely



Skip forward an hour and alot of elbow grease trying to hack of the production top coat with 120, a pretty prime of 400 and several prime/800 layers, even the dull grey is a massive Improvement



The dash has also come back off... The 3 air vents in the top are going gloss black to match the interior details as are the two side plates that cover the dash bolts



I've also decided to wrap the dash top in alcantara. This and a few more details such as the arm rests in the door cards should look a bit better than the standard vinyl wrap the factory use. I'll be picking up a few different colour samples next week so I'll have a chance to pick the best colour to match the different accents inside.

After a good couple of hours with the sandpaper and primer I eventually run out of 120 so I can't start anymore of the bits but after a solid few hours I'm pleased with the haul



Hopefully next week I'll get a chance to pick up the stuff I need and get the rest of the bits done. I should get a chance to get the engine out next weekend too so stay tuned!

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405dogvan said:

Replying to this a bit late but if you have the ecu (DME) and immobilizer (EWS) units as well as the ignition barrel+key from the same car, you won't need to do any coding as those units will be coded as a set/will transfer to another car and work.

You may even be able use your existing barrel/key by swapping the chip from the 'paired key' to your key - this certainly worked in older BMW products (the stuff they put into late Rovers, for example)

This trick works with a lot of cars - people sell 'ECU sets' on eBay which show which bits you need to avoid having to re-code parts (sometimes the sets including more bits than you need but generally you'll need what everyone includes!)

p.s. loads of BMW specialists can code older models too - for a LOT less than BMW charge

Thanks for the advice dogvan,

I'm enquiring about a new set actually, it might be easier to pick up the ECW, bcm, ignition barrel, locks and key from the car the JCW engine is coming from considering it'll have the ECU and everything coded together already.

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Got that Friday feeling!

So after what felt like the longest few weeks of my life I managed to get back to base and collect all the bits I'd ordered. The post office here had turned into a bit of a garage but I've managed to pick up a few odds and sods.

I got an absolute bargain of a new wing after the previous owner had kindly smashed it up. No scratches, a bit mucky but nothing a good polish won't sort.



Talking of which, albeit a bit presumptive I ordered in plenty of clay to restore the paint to its former glory. I absolutely hate car washes, they totally ruin the paint! Even the hand washes seem to destroy the layers of wax that'll build up.



Just to give you an idea, several years ago I restored an old Clio. It was 14 years old at the time and had been nailed by the swirl mark monster and i managed to restore it to this standard.





To match the red interior I also picked up a few 501 Red LEDs for the foot wells. The glove box and boot are different bulbs and i haven't looked at replacing those yet but they're definitely on the list. My crappy tablet camera wouldn't pick them up when it got dark so I'll have to get a better camera and post them installed.



I'd also ordered some hycote paint and top coat in the hope that I'd be able to start bringing some of the interior to life so needless to say I was surprised when these turned up Instead...



I can't say I've got much use for a granny grabber let alone a standby incase the original were to be lost or otherwise employed. The marketing team at Kinzo however seem to think differently..



Thankfully the seller has sent a return label and the original order on priority delivery. Standby for paint pictures this week!

Given that frankly I've decided to change half the original factory scheme and my inability to paint plastic with a magnet arm extension I decided to muster the weekends haul



It may seem pedantic to some, but I figured a bit of cleaning on the new washer tank was worth 5 minutes



Much better!



Again, some of the interior plastics have been really neglected over the years and the grime build up is totally unacceptable.





Nothing a good scrub won't get off





Without uploading hundreds of pictures of sanded plastic that's my lot for Friday. Thankfully I'll have all weekend to crack on so hopefully I'll have a few more photos to share with you over the next few days

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howardhughes said:

Good luck with build. If this anything to go by, my beloved MINI has just seen 240,000miles - same gearbox, and still pulls very well. On another note, the shape/looks has definitely stood the test of time too.

Look forward in seeing more photos.

Thanks Howard, which model have you got? That's some good going

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Mr Tidy said:

You're a brave man OP!

Love these Minis - OH had an R53 One followed by an R56 Cooper.

They just drive so well, but a Cooper S must be fantastic - will be looking out for the updates.

Hope it all goes smoothly!

Thanks Mr Tidy,

I don't know if brave or daft best describes it all to be honest....

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briang9 said:

cracking thread, all the best with it OP

Thanks Brian!

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Long over due update!

So with work and the weather being somewhat unreliable I've struggled to keep a regular work pattern on the car. However having been a few weeks since my last update I've got a few more pics and a video to keep the post somewhat interesting!

After a good few hours contacting people on eBay and the web I managed to find the body panels I needed in the right colour, a passenger door, bonnet a d both bumpers arrived a few days after I ordered them. I don't don't the guys at the post office were particularly happy about having half a car taking up their space but nonetheless:



I'd explored a few options for my keys considering I'd need it all coding together and it turned out the best option was for me to buy a whole new set. I'd called the breakers and the Key, door lock, ECU and Immobiliser module from the car I'm getting the JCW Engine from were still available so picked them up, plugged them all in and waited for the sweet sound of success.

Unfortunately, the battery was flat :/ so thankfully after a boost from an R56 cooper s (which I didn't hear the end of) she started and ran like a dream:

https://youtu.be/2PdOhV9qkmI

Having ran up the engine, the guy I'm doing the engine swap with was happy and so the striping began!

I decided to take photos every half an hour to kind of mark my progress with the engine lift. In the end it took me about 4 and a half hours:



As the weather was nice at this point I could crack on quickly:



Rather inconveniently, someone else at the site decided it would be a good idea to set their car on fire while welding so the mini took a back seat while I did a bit of ad-hoc fire fighting:







Alas! Back to the car. As the front end of the mini comes away from the car it was relatively easy to keep striping bits off:





Note the saw in that last picture.. where the front end had cracked it turned out to be easier to saw the plastic off!!

After consulting several online guides it would appear to remove the engine with ease, dropping the drive shafts off would help me so jacked the beast up, removed the wheels and had a chance to inspect the damage on the suspension from the crash.

Turns out the wishbone did take all the impact and kinked along with the drop link whilst the TRE sheered also.To pull the driveshaft out would mean I'd have to grind through the old one:



What I'd also discovered is that what little care was taken with the car before has fruitfully given me upgraded discs with pads that look almost new:



Having droped the shafts out and a lot of swearing/persuasion with a pry bar the engine mounts released and it was finally out!





I was also planning on posting a few painting updates but the Initial test piece didn't quite come out how I want it to so I'd rather put a bit more time in and show you the proper finished product.

Next step for me now is to drop my gear box, strip the engine down and do the trade! I've also managed to acquire the factory LSD gearbox and plan to put that in... I'd rather have a better drivetrain than spend loads on lots of power increases.

Until next time!