Brown barn doors - mini R55 clubman
Discussion
Spent a little time giving it a wash at the weekend. It was very grubby.
Generally it cleans up well but with some dings and stone chips. Nothing too concerning.
The exhaust was pretty disgusting.
I was hoping some metal polish would so the job but the build up was just to thick (even using wire wool).
Lots of grades of sandpaper, then wire wool then metal polish. 5 min jobbturned into a 30 min job. It's lost some lustre now but it's better than black
Was hoping the wheels would be ok with a proper clean, but only a refurb will fix these. Corrosion is pretty bad. Oh well good excuse for new wheels, budget tyres need to go anyway.
Quick wipe down under the bonnet too. Nothing scary there, just the valve cover seeping which I had already spotted.
Inside next....
Generally it cleans up well but with some dings and stone chips. Nothing too concerning.
The exhaust was pretty disgusting.
I was hoping some metal polish would so the job but the build up was just to thick (even using wire wool).
Lots of grades of sandpaper, then wire wool then metal polish. 5 min jobbturned into a 30 min job. It's lost some lustre now but it's better than black
Was hoping the wheels would be ok with a proper clean, but only a refurb will fix these. Corrosion is pretty bad. Oh well good excuse for new wheels, budget tyres need to go anyway.
Quick wipe down under the bonnet too. Nothing scary there, just the valve cover seeping which I had already spotted.
Inside next....
Lovely thing. Unusual colour and I like it. Not mays MINI’s on Readers Cars (I know there is a MINI section elsewhere) so will be following with interest.
These always look like a fast little van - take out the back seats, make a flat floor and you’ve got an express delivery transport!
These always look like a fast little van - take out the back seats, make a flat floor and you’ve got an express delivery transport!
DanG355 said:
Lovely thing. Unusual colour and I like it. Not mays MINI’s on Readers Cars (I know there is a MINI section elsewhere) so will be following with interest.
These always look like a fast little van - take out the back seats, make a flat floor and you’ve got an express delivery transport!
Good thing about the Clubman is you dont need to remove the rear seats. You can fold them down in the rear and you have a flat floor already. These always look like a fast little van - take out the back seats, make a flat floor and you’ve got an express delivery transport!
Little but of maintenance today.
The clubman uses a good chunk of oil, the previous owner informed me of this before I bought the car and its pretty normal for the N14 engine.
Still it burns a bit more than I would like!
A few resources say that a faulty pcv could be to blame, well the pcv is I integrated into the valve cover. Mine was a bit leaky anyway (very common and could be another sign of a duff pcv). A bit of research suggested good results from cheap eBay parts so at £35 I thought I would give it a go.
It's an easy enough job with 10 or so 10mm bolts to come out and a few little bits to unplug.
Pleasing the chain guide was all in one piece and looked ok. Bit grubby in there but nothing too alarming. Cams all look ok.quite a lot of oil in the breather hoses. Catch can might be on the cards....
Took the opportunity to change the sparks too as the service history suggested they had been done for a few years. Got them from a citrus based mini specialist for £50 posted which didn't seem too bad. The old ones looked in a reasonable state but the electrode was definitely smaller
And all back together. (Note the lack of mini logo of the official unit)
No apparent leaks after a very short drive, but time will tell. Also interesting to see if oil consumption changes.
The clubman uses a good chunk of oil, the previous owner informed me of this before I bought the car and its pretty normal for the N14 engine.
Still it burns a bit more than I would like!
A few resources say that a faulty pcv could be to blame, well the pcv is I integrated into the valve cover. Mine was a bit leaky anyway (very common and could be another sign of a duff pcv). A bit of research suggested good results from cheap eBay parts so at £35 I thought I would give it a go.
It's an easy enough job with 10 or so 10mm bolts to come out and a few little bits to unplug.
Pleasing the chain guide was all in one piece and looked ok. Bit grubby in there but nothing too alarming. Cams all look ok.quite a lot of oil in the breather hoses. Catch can might be on the cards....
Took the opportunity to change the sparks too as the service history suggested they had been done for a few years. Got them from a citrus based mini specialist for £50 posted which didn't seem too bad. The old ones looked in a reasonable state but the electrode was definitely smaller
And all back together. (Note the lack of mini logo of the official unit)
No apparent leaks after a very short drive, but time will tell. Also interesting to see if oil consumption changes.
So far I felt the ride was really crashy, I have read the run flats make a huge difference as do the weight of the wheels.
So when some hyperlite F1 came up for sale locally I jumped at the chance. Also fancied going for darker wheels.
They are so much lighter than the standard wheels. 17kg Vs 21kg. They do make the ride a but better but not massively. They are et35, and I think the extra width is maybe a bit too much poke, and adds to tramlining.
The ride is better but only a bit. With that in mind I took them off and sold them!
I have replaced them with a set of Oz super leggara in 16" which are lighter again. They are also narrower at 7j Vs 7.5j and an offset of et37. Not fitted them yet though.
In other news the car passed its MOT today but the garage were rather shocked by how much the car was smoking.
I knew this already. Seems like a good excuse to get the bottom end forged....
So when some hyperlite F1 came up for sale locally I jumped at the chance. Also fancied going for darker wheels.
They are so much lighter than the standard wheels. 17kg Vs 21kg. They do make the ride a but better but not massively. They are et35, and I think the extra width is maybe a bit too much poke, and adds to tramlining.
The ride is better but only a bit. With that in mind I took them off and sold them!
I have replaced them with a set of Oz super leggara in 16" which are lighter again. They are also narrower at 7j Vs 7.5j and an offset of et37. Not fitted them yet though.
In other news the car passed its MOT today but the garage were rather shocked by how much the car was smoking.
I knew this already. Seems like a good excuse to get the bottom end forged....
Dull update alert!
The left (2nd) barn door wouldn't open. The handle just made a strange grinding, mooing sort of noise and it didn't open.
BMW in their wisdom didn't include a manual release so some intervention is required. It's not particularly unusual, in fact my car looks like it had been repaired before, so a quick Google found a YouTube video of what to do.
Firstly put the back seats down and climb in (not easy when you are 6ft5).
Remove as many clips from the plastic trim that goes under the door (note I had already released the door at this point)
So you now can't remove the trim as the door holds it in place, so you have to lift up the trim and ferret around looking for the lock mechanism. The lock does actually have a manual release on it but it's tiny and had no cable on it so you have to release it by hand, no chance with just a finger so a Allen key is employed (well it's a torx key but you get the idea)
Rummage around for long enough and the door releases and then you can remove the plastic trim and the lock
2 torx head screws and the lock is out.
As I mentioned there is a manual release on the lock so I bodged in a bit of wire to be able to open the door until I can get a new unit.
Works a treat too!
New unit was only £55 from BMW (much cheaper direct than on eBay) so that will be picked up in a couple of days hopefully. Part number 51247167498 in case it helps anyone!
Tempted to build in some sort of cable on the manual release for the next time it goes wrong....
The left (2nd) barn door wouldn't open. The handle just made a strange grinding, mooing sort of noise and it didn't open.
BMW in their wisdom didn't include a manual release so some intervention is required. It's not particularly unusual, in fact my car looks like it had been repaired before, so a quick Google found a YouTube video of what to do.
Firstly put the back seats down and climb in (not easy when you are 6ft5).
Remove as many clips from the plastic trim that goes under the door (note I had already released the door at this point)
So you now can't remove the trim as the door holds it in place, so you have to lift up the trim and ferret around looking for the lock mechanism. The lock does actually have a manual release on it but it's tiny and had no cable on it so you have to release it by hand, no chance with just a finger so a Allen key is employed (well it's a torx key but you get the idea)
Rummage around for long enough and the door releases and then you can remove the plastic trim and the lock
2 torx head screws and the lock is out.
As I mentioned there is a manual release on the lock so I bodged in a bit of wire to be able to open the door until I can get a new unit.
Works a treat too!
New unit was only £55 from BMW (much cheaper direct than on eBay) so that will be picked up in a couple of days hopefully. Part number 51247167498 in case it helps anyone!
Tempted to build in some sort of cable on the manual release for the next time it goes wrong....
Also did the first performance mod this weekend.
I picked up a jcw airbox and panel filter second hand.
It's an easy change as it's OEM.
The original filter housing is quite flat, this means the cold air feed goes through a rather strange route within the box itself.
(You can see the cold feed coming in on the bottom right of the box)
The jcw box is taller which allows the feed to take a more direct route and doesn't have the bracing within the box to hold it together. It's hard to picture but it does ook like a cleaner design. I put a a silicone intake pipe on too but to be honest the OEM didn't look like it would cause any problems.
Panel filter in there too....
Does it make any difference? Probably not! It may give a bit more noise but not loads, it may feel a bit more eager to drive but it's subtle if it does. It should however be freer flowing for when later mods come.
Also mounted an ultra gauge using a 3d printed adapter I got from eBay. The r55/56 doesn't have a temp gauge as standard which seems crazy so the ultra gauge was one of the first things I bought ....
I picked up a jcw airbox and panel filter second hand.
It's an easy change as it's OEM.
The original filter housing is quite flat, this means the cold air feed goes through a rather strange route within the box itself.
(You can see the cold feed coming in on the bottom right of the box)
The jcw box is taller which allows the feed to take a more direct route and doesn't have the bracing within the box to hold it together. It's hard to picture but it does ook like a cleaner design. I put a a silicone intake pipe on too but to be honest the OEM didn't look like it would cause any problems.
Panel filter in there too....
Does it make any difference? Probably not! It may give a bit more noise but not loads, it may feel a bit more eager to drive but it's subtle if it does. It should however be freer flowing for when later mods come.
Also mounted an ultra gauge using a 3d printed adapter I got from eBay. The r55/56 doesn't have a temp gauge as standard which seems crazy so the ultra gauge was one of the first things I bought ....
Edited by drgoatboy on Friday 29th October 09:25
dirtbiker said:
Looks great, love the brown! Kinda wish I hadn't opened the thread because these have never really been on my radar but I'm now off to the Classifieds 
.
Thanks! The brown is really a grower.....Do your research if you are thinking of buying. They are not without their... Err...... Characteristics.....
drgoatboy said:
So far I felt the ride was really crashy, I have read the run flats make a huge difference as do the weight of the wheels.
So when some hyperlite F1 came up for sale locally I jumped at the chance. Also fancied going for darker wheels.
They are so much lighter than the standard wheels. 17kg Vs 21kg. They do make the ride a but better but not massively. They are et35, and I think the extra width is maybe a bit too much poke, and adds to tramlining.
The ride is better but only a bit. With that in mind I took them off and sold them!
I have replaced them with a set of Oz super leggara in 16" which are lighter again. They are also narrower at 7j Vs 7.5j and an offset of et37. Not fitted them yet though.
In other news the car passed its MOT today but the garage were rather shocked by how much the car was smoking.
I knew this already. Seems like a good excuse to get the bottom end forged....
I think the original design Enkei RPF1’s are the best looking wheel ever made and those Ultralite’s look really great on there! So when some hyperlite F1 came up for sale locally I jumped at the chance. Also fancied going for darker wheels.
They are so much lighter than the standard wheels. 17kg Vs 21kg. They do make the ride a but better but not massively. They are et35, and I think the extra width is maybe a bit too much poke, and adds to tramlining.
The ride is better but only a bit. With that in mind I took them off and sold them!
I have replaced them with a set of Oz super leggara in 16" which are lighter again. They are also narrower at 7j Vs 7.5j and an offset of et37. Not fitted them yet though.
In other news the car passed its MOT today but the garage were rather shocked by how much the car was smoking.
I knew this already. Seems like a good excuse to get the bottom end forged....
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