A MINI (R53 Cooper S) Adventure

[tallpaul26]

[Loui]

wobert said:

Loui said:

Pretty sure they’re a few names I recognise on this thread from the old mini2 days.

Cars looking good, always had a soft spot for chili red and white as my first cooper was that combo

Haha,

Yes, I joined M2 back in 2002 just after I’d ordered my first MCS in August.

I used to organise the N Wales runs, I also organised a couple of trips to Plant Oxford.

Highlight for me was a group run to the Nurburgring back in 2003, six months after I picked my car up.

This still adorns my home office

20 years ago

Was that the trip when cheeky put it in the barrier?

[wobert]

Loui said:

wobert said:

Loui said:

Pretty sure they’re a few names I recognise on this thread from the old mini2 days.

Cars looking good, always had a soft spot for chili red and white as my first cooper was that combo

Haha,

Yes, I joined M2 back in 2002 just after I’d ordered my first MCS in August.

I used to organise the N Wales runs, I also organised a couple of trips to Plant Oxford.

Highlight for me was a group run to the Nurburgring back in 2003, six months after I picked my car up.

This still adorns my home office

20 years ago

Was that the trip when cheeky put it in the barrier?

Yes, I gave him and his mate a lift back to Manchester.

That was fun, three up in a MINI with all their luggage

[Loui]

Mad to think that was 20 years ago

[tallpaul26]

Back on the ground and looking pretty handsome, to my eyes at least!



Took her out to sort the tyre pressures and give her a shakedown. I set the camber pretty neutral and the toe roughly as was (by the tell marks on the chassis from the original brackets). Full alignment needed ASAP but at least it drove straight.

Brakes worked. Might give them another bleed. It’s hard to tell if they’re sub-par or just naturally ste!

Little milestone rolled over as I pulled back in to the driveway:



Sooo, what next? Well, if I’m stumping up for an alignment I might as well sort the front end out. Soooo



I’ve also bought a good used front subframe that’ll I’ll send for powder coating as well as new inner and outer track rod ends. There’s zero play in my steering so the rack will be swapped over. That’ll mean ever bolt, bush and suspension component has been replaced…

[and31]

Excellent work-but I really do think it’s a shame you want to keep everything bog standard-a pulley would give you much more excitement.these cars have so much to give if you go a little way over standard.

[President Merkin]

and31 said:

Excellent work-but I really do think it’s a shame you want to keep everything bog standard-a pulley would give you much more excitement.these cars have so much to give if you go a little way over standard.

Agreed, it's possible the brakes need a re-bleed but it's more likley they're working just as they would have from the factory which is underwhelming, as has been pointed out a few times.

[tallpaul26]

I’m perfectly happy with the performance, just as I was 15 years ago. I’ve never felt this was a car that needed more power. I’m sure it would handle it perfectly well, I just don’t see the point in modifying it. It would make more sense to buy a JCW in the first place.

Front subframe dropped at the powder coaters this morning:



This photo is also testament to the fact the R5X series is a genuinely small car by modern standards when our Kodiaq boot took that part easily!

A small but satisfying job completed last night, refurbishing the wiper arms. I don’t have a before photo but I think we all know what rust looks like. Came up ok for very little effort!

[wobert]

tallpaul26 said:

The exhaust sounds alright, at least at idle and on the overrun. Drone remains a concern…

(I think you need to click the image to get the video)

I can’t get any sound on that video.

Remind me, is that a resonated or non-resonated system.

I’m interested as I’ve just bought a new Direnza resonated system off Marketplace, for a reasonable price.

How easy was it to fit? Any tips or suggestions?

[tallpaul26]

wobert said:

I can’t get any sound on that video.

Remind me, is that a resonated or non-resonated system.

I’m interested as I’ve just bought a new Direnza resonated system off Marketplace, for a reasonable price.

How easy was it to fit? Any tips or suggestions?

It’s a resonated system. The one I bought was already bolted together as was used. I separated the mid section from the back boxes to load it in the car and simply rejoined them and bolted up to the downpipe.

In all honesty it’s a little on the squint but importantly it doesn’t knock or blow anywhere so I’m tempted to leave as is. There’s that many joins that I fear straightening the tips will just cause it to foul elsewhere!

I think it sounds great. The silly pops and burbles on overrun are more audible in the cabin but I wouldn’t say the overall sound is particularly changed, just a bit louder. Very happy with it for the price, loads online say the fit/quality of these is poor and you must go Scorpion/Milltek. Whilst I agree the fit isn’t perfect, I’m sure it could be improved, I just can’t be bothered! The quality is absolutely spot on. I’ve seen plenty of used Milltek systems in the classifieds on FB in a terrible state.

[President Merkin]

I'm running a non res Miltek - it was a £100 bargain on Ebay, too good to turn down. It is too loud in truth & I'm on the hunt for a centre section to quieten it down. The pops & bangs are cool though.

[wobert]

Thanks for the feedback.

A genuine JCW exhaust would be my “go to”, with the Milltek being my second choice.

The Direnza I’ve bought is brand new and £210 so a relative bargain.

I’ll just loosely assemble the rear end and fit, then tighten everything up once it’s in situ.

[tallpaul26]

A MINI needs bonnet stripes, right?

I think so anyway

Before sticking vinyl to it I needed to make sure the surface was well prepped so embarked on a paint correction of the bonnet and scuttle:



A 2-stage polish ensued with a mixture of 3” and 6” pads to get right in to the fiddly bits. Not the best shot but it’s now nice and shiny and swirl free. There’s the odd age related mark that only a respray can cure but I’m happy:



With that it was on to fitting my £22 eBay special stripes:



They went on pretty well. They’re not OEM quality but they are 1/4 the price!

Edited by tallpaul26 on Saturday 15th July 11:31

[Court_S]

Your car is looking great; the exhaust looks smart. Direnza products seem pretty good; I had their intake on my 335i.

[wobert]

I agree regarding the stripes.

To me MINIs and stripes go hand-in-hand.

Hence I went with silver on my R53.

Back in the day I had the same but with a two-tone UJ on the roof, plus spot lights.

[tallpaul26]

Back from holidays and had a few minutes to think about the MINI.

First up was collecting the front subframe from the powder coaters:



This will be going on with new arms, bushes and inner ball joints as well as new lower engine mount, ARB bushes and track rods.

Before that, I’m getting one of the most bothersome issues sorted at last - the awful boot lid! No idea what nonsense has gone on here in the past, it’s definitely been (badly) repainted but there’s no evidence of damage or repair. In addition to the ste finish the typical rust spots are just starting to show - primarily the mounting holes for both the chrome belt line clips and the boot handle. Nothing serious, just surface corrosion but it seems these can rot out pretty fast once it gets going.

First job was strip the lid of all its accessories:



Then make a proper assessment of the scabbage. Worst spot is the outer face of one of the holes for mounting the grab handle:



Luckily here (and all the other spots) are pretty clean on the inner face with just the lightest bubbling:



I’ve rubbed back all the inner faces of corroded mounting points and treated them with rust encapsulator. The outer panel itself is being professionally stripped and repainted. Once that’s done I’ll cover up the treated inner faces with a touch up stick.

In the interest of keeping the lid as rust free as possible for the future, the following new parts will be fitted:

- new chrome trim
- new chrome trim mounting brackets (uprated part from BMW with a little seal on the body facing surface of each)
- new grab handle gasket
- all new push fit expanding plugs for the grab handle and number plate screws (probably fitted with a dab of sealant for good measure!)
- new boot lid to body seal (spendy at £87!)

I’ve also got new MINI and Cooper S badges to fit.

I’ve also purchased a couple of body/trim bits that I’m not sure about. More on these ‘nice to have’ items once the boot is sorted…

[wobert]

This is where I was at when I bought my R53, except the level of bodge was 10x worse.

It was easier for me to replace the boot lid with one in better condition less the bodgery.

Stripping the bootlid of the wiring and other hardware is straight forward.

It cost me £300 to have the lid and the bumper re-sprayed. I then spent an evening reassembling and refitting them.

I too replaced the boot handle, also bodged, with a brand new chrome one which came with a new gasket. I also went with a genuine Cooper S badge, expensive at £30.

The car resides in a garage now, so hopefully it’ll stay good now.

[tallpaul26]

Front subframe out! The only bolt to put up a fight was the offside track rod end…



Both track rods being replaced anyway so the medieval approach is of no consequence, fortunately.

My PAS pipes look sad. Looks like I’ll be replacing those too!

[President Merkin]

My PAS pump failed last week. It's a matter of time with those really because of the design, they run constantly & fill with a ton of carbon dust which eventually causes a voltage supply error. I mention this since your subframe is out, you'll never have a better opportunity to either change it (£££S) or open it up & blow the dust out & prolong it a bit.

[tallpaul26]

President Merkin said:

My PAS pump failed last week. It's a matter of time with those really because of the design, they run constantly & fill with a ton of carbon dust which eventually causes a voltage supply error. I mention this since your subframe is out, you'll never have a better opportunity to either change it (£££S) or open it up & blow the dust out & prolong it a bit.

The pump was dead when I bought it and I changed it the knuckle grazing way