MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
MDifficult said:
Had a great run-out in the Mini this Sunday as I took my old man to watch the BTCC at Thruxton. Great racing, glorious weather, plenty of incidents and less than 5 minutes queuing in and out.. couldn't ask for more.
Nearly had a heart-attack on the way out though..
Walked back to the car after the last race, but would it unlock? Nope. Totally dead. Not a dicky-bird.
I was just about to panic when I noticed the car had somehow gained a tax-disc while I'd been watching the racing.
"Hang on a minute.... this isn't my bloody car!"
Turns out, this fella had parked his GP about 15 feet from my car and I'd been trying to get into the wrong one!
Thanks Mr OV13VTJ for the Sunday afternoon heart attack
Well there's not many places I guess you'd get to see another GP so I think we will let you off on this occasion Nearly had a heart-attack on the way out though..
Walked back to the car after the last race, but would it unlock? Nope. Totally dead. Not a dicky-bird.
I was just about to panic when I noticed the car had somehow gained a tax-disc while I'd been watching the racing.
"Hang on a minute.... this isn't my bloody car!"
Turns out, this fella had parked his GP about 15 feet from my car and I'd been trying to get into the wrong one!
Thanks Mr OV13VTJ for the Sunday afternoon heart attack
P.S.
Does anyone find their door handles stiff at all (particularly the passenger side?)
New Mini handles miles easier to use.
It’s been a really odd time for the Mini over the last couple of months so I’ll split it into two posts. The first is a story of neglect, the second of redemption.
Neglect
A reasonably hefty bit of building work at home necessitated something new and much less interesting arrived on my driveway through June. While a convertible with a significant load capacity is always welcome, this one wasn’t really my kind of driveway ornament…
This, combined with a bunch of building materials filling the garage, left me with nowhere to put the Mini. I tried to use my very best Tetris skills but I’m not sure my solution would be very practical for the tradesmen…
…which meant I had to leave the Mini abandoned and unloved at my parents house. Outside. Under a tree of nesting birds. In the baking sun. For a month!
Not before I delivered the final insult by using it as a van
So that was June. Which sucked. Onto redemption then...
Neglect
A reasonably hefty bit of building work at home necessitated something new and much less interesting arrived on my driveway through June. While a convertible with a significant load capacity is always welcome, this one wasn’t really my kind of driveway ornament…
This, combined with a bunch of building materials filling the garage, left me with nowhere to put the Mini. I tried to use my very best Tetris skills but I’m not sure my solution would be very practical for the tradesmen…
…which meant I had to leave the Mini abandoned and unloved at my parents house. Outside. Under a tree of nesting birds. In the baking sun. For a month!
Not before I delivered the final insult by using it as a van
So that was June. Which sucked. Onto redemption then...
Redemption
One of the ways I kept myself occupied sans Mini was to follow through on an ambition that a few fellow Pistonheads and I had been discussing - organising a get-together of as many GP2s as we could manage for a proper run out.
A couple of reasons for this: Firstly, they’re pretty rare cars (circa 200 on UK roads) and are all pretty much identical to the naked eye, which means more than one of them in a group is certainly going to be a bit of a spectacle. Secondly, they’re much more fun to drive than they are to look at, so more than one in a convoy has got to be a right laugh.
Using a thread in the Mini forum, I managed to organise an initial group of 10 cars and a date and set about finding a suitable meeting place and route. In the end, we decided to use a loop starting and ending at the Cowley plant in Oxford and enjoy some of the best roads the Cotswolds has to offer.
When the day finally came (this Sunday), there’d been a few drop outs but four of us stuck with the plan and got to enjoy the absolutely outstanding early morning weather with an epic run.
But first, let me backtrack a bit…
With the skip gone and the garage finally empty, this Saturday was all about putting the garage back to normal and retrieving the Mini. People walking past the house were pretty amused to see me hoovering my garage floor These are the same people who shake their heads when they see me cleaning cars in the rain
When I got to my folks my Dad had already cleaned the worst off the car, but it was obvious that 4 weeks of bird s
t and sun had left their mark. A very quick bit clay bar and machining on the worst bits made it presentable but I’m going to have to go to town on it soon to get in back to how it should be. But anyway, I had the car back and less than 24 hours to go until the big run out!
Sunday Morning. Early. First stop was near Reading to meet with Chris to join up for the drive to Cowley. With neither of us having seen two GP2s in the same place at the same time, this was a Kodak-moment:
We took a cross country route to Oxford, with the roads nice and quiet and the early morning weather was glorious. Only negative was that we managed to plough through the only ‘big muddy puddle’ in the whole of the South on the way
Arriving at Cowley we found Neil waiting for us (GP2 drivers are nothing if not punctual!). Two, became three.
…and shortly afterwards Matt joined us from Nottingham after an epic early start. Three became the awesome-foursome.
After introductions and a few snaps we formed up and drove from Cowley on the fast and winding roads to Cheltenham. In hindsight, having just four cars was much more manageable than trying to maintain a convoy of 10.
Neill’s GP2 has a later DRL conversion which came in really handy. With him at the back of the train all it took was a quick look in my mirrors and I knew if I could see him we’d not lost anyone!
After circa 100 miles of great roads, a few ‘leg stretches' and two runs up and down Fish Hill we arrived back at Cowley.
As a final ‘thank you’ to the guys for making the effort to join me, and thanks to a friendly contact at Mini, I managed to blag our group into the factory for a final epic photo
All in all, I don’t think the day could have gone any better. The weather, cars, roads and company were all absolutely fantastic, made even better by the puzzled looks, double-takes and extra curtesy given to us by passers-by and other road users. Can’t wait to do it again
One of the ways I kept myself occupied sans Mini was to follow through on an ambition that a few fellow Pistonheads and I had been discussing - organising a get-together of as many GP2s as we could manage for a proper run out.
A couple of reasons for this: Firstly, they’re pretty rare cars (circa 200 on UK roads) and are all pretty much identical to the naked eye, which means more than one of them in a group is certainly going to be a bit of a spectacle. Secondly, they’re much more fun to drive than they are to look at, so more than one in a convoy has got to be a right laugh.
Using a thread in the Mini forum, I managed to organise an initial group of 10 cars and a date and set about finding a suitable meeting place and route. In the end, we decided to use a loop starting and ending at the Cowley plant in Oxford and enjoy some of the best roads the Cotswolds has to offer.
When the day finally came (this Sunday), there’d been a few drop outs but four of us stuck with the plan and got to enjoy the absolutely outstanding early morning weather with an epic run.
But first, let me backtrack a bit…
With the skip gone and the garage finally empty, this Saturday was all about putting the garage back to normal and retrieving the Mini. People walking past the house were pretty amused to see me hoovering my garage floor
These are the same people who shake their heads when they see me cleaning cars in the rain When I got to my folks my Dad had already cleaned the worst off the car, but it was obvious that 4 weeks of bird s
t and sun had left their mark. A very quick bit clay bar and machining on the worst bits made it presentable but I’m going to have to go to town on it soon to get in back to how it should be. But anyway, I had the car back and less than 24 hours to go until the big run out!Sunday Morning. Early. First stop was near Reading to meet with Chris to join up for the drive to Cowley. With neither of us having seen two GP2s in the same place at the same time, this was a Kodak-moment:
We took a cross country route to Oxford, with the roads nice and quiet and the early morning weather was glorious. Only negative was that we managed to plough through the only ‘big muddy puddle’ in the whole of the South on the way
Arriving at Cowley we found Neil waiting for us (GP2 drivers are nothing if not punctual!). Two, became three.
…and shortly afterwards Matt joined us from Nottingham after an epic early start. Three became the awesome-foursome.
After introductions and a few snaps we formed up and drove from Cowley on the fast and winding roads to Cheltenham. In hindsight, having just four cars was much more manageable than trying to maintain a convoy of 10.
Neill’s GP2 has a later DRL conversion which came in really handy. With him at the back of the train all it took was a quick look in my mirrors and I knew if I could see him we’d not lost anyone!
After circa 100 miles of great roads, a few ‘leg stretches' and two runs up and down Fish Hill we arrived back at Cowley.
As a final ‘thank you’ to the guys for making the effort to join me, and thanks to a friendly contact at Mini, I managed to blag our group into the factory for a final epic photo
All in all, I don’t think the day could have gone any better. The weather, cars, roads and company were all absolutely fantastic, made even better by the puzzled looks, double-takes and extra curtesy given to us by passers-by and other road users. Can’t wait to do it again
Great write up, it really was a lot of fun. Must admit I was flagging by the time we arrived back at the plant after such an early start, but a visit to the MINI-themed Burger King next to the factory revived me for the drive home. So much so that I avoided motorways and main roads most of the way, and had a lot more fun doing some route research both for an upcoming club run and the next GP2 meet.
Circa 200 in the UK ... and now three just in your neighbourhood.
And bird poo is kryptonite to GP2 paint ... parked mine on the sea front in Llandudno recently for just a few hours to visit Porsche on the Prom. Bird poo, baked on, left a mark in that short time. I think my detailer friend likes the challenge though.
Circa 200 in the UK ... and now three just in your neighbourhood.
And bird poo is kryptonite to GP2 paint ... parked mine on the sea front in Llandudno recently for just a few hours to visit Porsche on the Prom. Bird poo, baked on, left a mark in that short time. I think my detailer friend likes the challenge though.
NeilAndHisMini said:
Great write up, it really was a lot of fun. Must admit I was flagging by the time we arrived back at the plant after such an early start, but a visit to the MINI-themed Burger King next to the factory revived me for the drive home. So much so that I avoided motorways and main roads most of the way, and had a lot more fun doing some route research both for an upcoming club run and the next GP2 meet.
Circa 200 in the UK ... and now three just in your neighbourhood.
And bird poo is kryptonite to GP2 paint ... parked mine on the sea front in Llandudno recently for just a few hours to visit Porsche on the Prom. Bird poo, baked on, left a mark in that short time. I think my detailer friend likes the challenge though.
Cheers Neil - can't believe I didn't know there's a Mini-themed Burger King! Circa 200 in the UK ... and now three just in your neighbourhood.
And bird poo is kryptonite to GP2 paint ... parked mine on the sea front in Llandudno recently for just a few hours to visit Porsche on the Prom. Bird poo, baked on, left a mark in that short time. I think my detailer friend likes the challenge though.
The grey paint is some of the softest I've ever come across, it's ridiculous. You can add swirls to the paint just by shouting near it
Nearly had an expensive disaster this weekend!
I keep the Mini tucked up in the garage when it’s not being used. Due to the insane level of heat in the garage this weekend it seems that the relative expansion rates of the wooden roof and the aluminium LED strip lights caused the strip lights to unhook themselves from the screws in the ceiling joists and plummet towards the Mini!...
Thankfully, my wiring skills held up and the lights remained attached via the power cables and swung down, missing the roof, windscreen and bonnet by about 6 inches
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu…..
I’ve put them back up, with the addition of big globs of No More Nails and some extra strong cable ties as a backup.
I keep the Mini tucked up in the garage when it’s not being used. Due to the insane level of heat in the garage this weekend it seems that the relative expansion rates of the wooden roof and the aluminium LED strip lights caused the strip lights to unhook themselves from the screws in the ceiling joists and plummet towards the Mini!...
Thankfully, my wiring skills held up and the lights remained attached via the power cables and swung down, missing the roof, windscreen and bonnet by about 6 inches
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu…..
I’ve put them back up, with the addition of big globs of No More Nails and some extra strong cable ties as a backup.
Been a while since any update on the M5 so probably time for one - it’s been a little ‘GP-centric’ of late
The M5’s been merrily pounding the miles since its service in April and was coming up for nearly 65k until a dreaded ‘Drivetrain fault’ threw itself up on the iDrive recently. For the non-initiated in BMWs, this can basically mean anything from a dodgy battery or troublesome sensor to “your gearbox is going to explode!”. Time for a butt-clenching trip to BMW…
Since the car was going in anyway, it was a good opportunity to get a couple of other items dealt with at the same time. At the recent service the tech had spotted a weep on the rear diff so it was time to get that sorted, plus the front end had started to exhibit the infamous ticking/graunching noises during low speed manoeuvring (M5s, M4s and X5Ms are all prone). I’d spotted a recent PUMA update from BMW that supposedly cures it so I added that to the list.
For anyone who’s particularly interested, the new PUMA solution installs a couple of new parts 31108053073 in order to increase the friction coefficient between the hub and brake disk, and brake disk and wheel. It seems to have worked a treat for me but time will tell whether it’s a permanent solution
Thankfully, the rear diff seal change went fine and the 'Drivetrain Fault’ turned out to be an O2 sensor. Not cheap, but thankfully also not serious. As if my wallet wasn’t battered enough, I also finally had to get all four tyres replaced. I went for Michelin Pilot Supersports again as, by my calculations, I managed to get over 20,000 miles out of the last set which makes them ridiculously good value for the grip and performance on offer.
In other news, the M5 and GP have been joined by a new member of the car family. With my middle daughter successfully passing her test (1st time! I’m envious), I’ve been car hunting for a suitable first car. The good news is that she’s a Mini fan so that narrowed the field a bit, and being only 17 the only real option was a Mini One. The sensible choice would almost certainly have been an 1st Gen Mini One but, already owning a 2nd Gen Mini in the GP, it made sense to look for a 2nd Gen Mini One as my knowledge of these is so much stronger.
You would think that finding a good one would be easy but.. wow. I had to visit 7 cars before I found a corker. The first 6 (all described as ‘immaculate’ or ‘excellent condition’) were unbelievably rough on inspection. Missed servicing, rust and peeling paint-lacquer seem to have plagued the cars at the ‘entry’ end of the Mini spectrum. My guess is that most of them have been young driver cars so the cash and desire to look after them properly just hasn’t been there. My personal favourite was one that had four different tyres on four different corners - some run flat, some not… at a dealer!
Thankfully, as is often the case, a diamond in the rough showed up. Only two previous owners, 65,000 miles, excellent service history, Pepper pack, leather seats and steering wheel with four matching premium Pirelli tyres, a year’s MOT and a Gold AA warranty. I may have paid a little over the odds but compared to the basket cases out there it’s a peach and hopefully the cracking spec should see easy resale at some point.
So, the M5 and GP have a new little brother to play with…
Being black, the paintwork needs a good machining and the wheels aren’t perfect (no point in doing them yet) but otherwise it’s a great little thing. Clearly, there’s a huge power and handling deficit to the GP but the drive is still fantastic, lively and really enjoyable - awesome first car.
How good would it look with a 2” drop and some Team Dynamic Pro Race 1.2s?
Lastly, but by no means least, NeilandhisMini did a great write-up of our recent GP adventure in the latest edition of Performance Mini magazine. A suitable footnote on that great day out
The M5’s been merrily pounding the miles since its service in April and was coming up for nearly 65k until a dreaded ‘Drivetrain fault’ threw itself up on the iDrive recently. For the non-initiated in BMWs, this can basically mean anything from a dodgy battery or troublesome sensor to “your gearbox is going to explode!”. Time for a butt-clenching trip to BMW…
Since the car was going in anyway, it was a good opportunity to get a couple of other items dealt with at the same time. At the recent service the tech had spotted a weep on the rear diff so it was time to get that sorted, plus the front end had started to exhibit the infamous ticking/graunching noises during low speed manoeuvring (M5s, M4s and X5Ms are all prone). I’d spotted a recent PUMA update from BMW that supposedly cures it so I added that to the list.
For anyone who’s particularly interested, the new PUMA solution installs a couple of new parts 31108053073 in order to increase the friction coefficient between the hub and brake disk, and brake disk and wheel. It seems to have worked a treat for me but time will tell whether it’s a permanent solution
Thankfully, the rear diff seal change went fine and the 'Drivetrain Fault’ turned out to be an O2 sensor. Not cheap, but thankfully also not serious. As if my wallet wasn’t battered enough, I also finally had to get all four tyres replaced. I went for Michelin Pilot Supersports again as, by my calculations, I managed to get over 20,000 miles out of the last set which makes them ridiculously good value for the grip and performance on offer.
In other news, the M5 and GP have been joined by a new member of the car family. With my middle daughter successfully passing her test (1st time! I’m envious), I’ve been car hunting for a suitable first car. The good news is that she’s a Mini fan so that narrowed the field a bit, and being only 17 the only real option was a Mini One. The sensible choice would almost certainly have been an 1st Gen Mini One but, already owning a 2nd Gen Mini in the GP, it made sense to look for a 2nd Gen Mini One as my knowledge of these is so much stronger.
You would think that finding a good one would be easy but.. wow. I had to visit 7 cars before I found a corker. The first 6 (all described as ‘immaculate’ or ‘excellent condition’) were unbelievably rough on inspection. Missed servicing, rust and peeling paint-lacquer seem to have plagued the cars at the ‘entry’ end of the Mini spectrum. My guess is that most of them have been young driver cars so the cash and desire to look after them properly just hasn’t been there. My personal favourite was one that had four different tyres on four different corners - some run flat, some not… at a dealer!
Thankfully, as is often the case, a diamond in the rough showed up. Only two previous owners, 65,000 miles, excellent service history, Pepper pack, leather seats and steering wheel with four matching premium Pirelli tyres, a year’s MOT and a Gold AA warranty. I may have paid a little over the odds but compared to the basket cases out there it’s a peach and hopefully the cracking spec should see easy resale at some point.
So, the M5 and GP have a new little brother to play with…
Being black, the paintwork needs a good machining and the wheels aren’t perfect (no point in doing them yet) but otherwise it’s a great little thing. Clearly, there’s a huge power and handling deficit to the GP but the drive is still fantastic, lively and really enjoyable - awesome first car.
How good would it look with a 2” drop and some Team Dynamic Pro Race 1.2s?
Lastly, but by no means least, NeilandhisMini did a great write-up of our recent GP adventure in the latest edition of Performance Mini magazine. A suitable footnote on that great day out
I'm running the same tyres on the Z and I'm so impressed. They just take what you throw at them. Although my rears don't last quite as long as yours 
8,000miles on the last set.
You've reminded me of Fish Hill, thanks! I ended up there one evening on a random drive, I'd probably been driving 2 hours, making it up as I went along, so would never have found it again. Now I know, I can head back there and do it again. The village seemed nice for a pit stop too. Seems it's 'only' 45 mins direct, should be good for a blast when the sun is out one evening. Unfortuantly the missus is not into anything but pottering, so it'll be a solo visit, or maybe leave her shopping and do a few runs!
Nice One, Always had a soft spot for the minis.
8,000miles on the last set. You've reminded me of Fish Hill, thanks! I ended up there one evening on a random drive, I'd probably been driving 2 hours, making it up as I went along, so would never have found it again. Now I know, I can head back there and do it again. The village seemed nice for a pit stop too. Seems it's 'only' 45 mins direct, should be good for a blast when the sun is out one evening. Unfortuantly the missus is not into anything but pottering, so it'll be a solo visit, or maybe leave her shopping and do a few runs!
Nice One, Always had a soft spot for the minis.
illmonkey said:
I'm running the same tyres on the Z and I'm so impressed. They just take what you throw at them. Although my rears don't last quite as long as yours 8,000miles on the last set.
You've reminded me of Fish Hill, thanks! I ended up there one evening on a random drive, I'd probably been driving 2 hours, making it up as I went along, so would never have found it again. Now I know, I can head back there and do it again. The village seemed nice for a pit stop too. Seems it's 'only' 45 mins direct, should be good for a blast when the sun is out one evening. Unfortuantly the missus is not into anything but pottering, so it'll be a solo visit, or maybe leave her shopping and do a few runs!
Nice One, Always had a soft spot for the minis.
Cheers. Fish hill is just fantastic, especially having a handy roundabout at one end and a carpark at the other - almost like it was designed for run-outs 8,000miles on the last set. You've reminded me of Fish Hill, thanks! I ended up there one evening on a random drive, I'd probably been driving 2 hours, making it up as I went along, so would never have found it again. Now I know, I can head back there and do it again. The village seemed nice for a pit stop too. Seems it's 'only' 45 mins direct, should be good for a blast when the sun is out one evening. Unfortuantly the missus is not into anything but pottering, so it'll be a solo visit, or maybe leave her shopping and do a few runs!
Nice One, Always had a soft spot for the minis.
Drop the missus off in Broadway - it's absolutely stunning and you can run the hill for a bit and be back in 30 minutes
Finally got the GP out of the garage for a like-for-like comparison. You wouldn't believe that these are fundamentally the same car
Been a real pleasure to watch my daughter do exactly what I did at her age - find any (and I mean ANY) excuse to drive the car. It seems our family may finally have it's own chauffeur
Been a real pleasure to watch my daughter do exactly what I did at her age - find any (and I mean ANY) excuse to drive the car. It seems our family may finally have it's own chauffeur
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