Parky

You tried one of the Rain-X chip repair kits? Mrs P’s Min had three chips, eradicated one, reduced another but didn’t do much with the third. Worth the tenner though... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rain-Windscreen-Repair-Kit-white/dp/B00IPS4APU/ref=asc_df_B00IPS4APU/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310668964056&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8632133313688213514&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9044994&hvtargid=pla-332272334571&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Looks like just the bumper, is there anything more structural we can’t see? Massive pisser though either way

That GS definitely needs a note under the windscreen. Unlike an FTP, the number plate suggests it is “Ready to proceed”

Cunt? Karana converters? Shit, where do I sign!!!!!!

Read a stat this week that suggested men, confronted with financial worries, family issues, stress, and fear of failure hit their lowest point in their lives aged 47.2 years old. That’s nice. That’ll be me in May. At least it means things will start getting better from June onwards!

MOT on Thursday. Usual pacing up and down watching a man with a concerned look on his face pulling and prodding things. End result? “Yeah good as gold mate, one of the headlights was slightly out so I tweaked it down a bit so all good. No advisories or anything, brake pads could do with a change soon but that’s all good. £40 please” Twelve years old and its one and only failure was last year when the rubber seal in the filler cap had split which was an £11 replacement part. Goes to show that keeping an eye on stuff and maintaining regularly is a good idea. Shame it’s lousy cosmetically! Will treat it to a wash and wax later. Good old Leon....

Buy an RX8, take the Rotary out and swap it with the four from the Lada. I bet the wife doesn’t notice. It’s the Autoshite way!

Definitely Battery, Mrs P’s 500 did exactly the same when the battery died in that. Never seen so many error messages in one go!

Don’t forget the Rotary versions - very rare indeed http://cp_www.tripod.com/rotary/pg07.htm

Mini now has a new headlight - should have been easy but as per usual one captive nut decided to spin so after trying several conventional approaches I tried an unconventional one called “Hammer”. That worked. About to find if three bolts hold it in as well as four bolts but I have a replacement mounting bit on the way so can get all four bolts in later this week Light is in and roughly aligned by eye but will have to have another go when it’s darker. Just having tea before changing the pollen filter, let’s see if I have to use “Hammer” again or whether “Super unleaded and matches” might be the better approach for this...

Loving this Sarge, welcome along and look forward to updates on this with interest! These are great looking cars, especially earlier ones with the more delicate chrome trim such as yours Admire the chutzpah of fitting a K. Certainly like a challenge don’t you!

Ordered light Monday, arrived Tuesday and it’s a brand new TYC aftermarket. Looks alright for £65 though. Has to be a better bet than a busted OEM anyway as at least the light will now point vaguely where I want it to. Weekend will see if the fucker fits or not but generally they have an OK reputation as a pattern part so we’ll see. Other jobs are clean crap out of the ventilation fan to stop a flappy noise, change the pollen filter, and lube up the gearchange mechanism as it’s pretty stiff. It’s certainly nowhere near as light and slick as it should be so something’s dried up somewhere. Some Redline MTL wouldn’t be a bad shout either. Gradually getting there....

Fuck it. I can confirm that Halfords 50% brighter bulbs are, in fact, 50% brighter. Or at least they are on the drivers side of Mrs P’s Mini.... The passenger side has appeared to be misaligned and vibrates over bumps, unlike the drivers side so I thought the bulb was loose and moving around. I was right, in fact the reason the bulb was moving was the entire inner light fitting was broken and held roughly together with cable ties. See this pic? All three adjuster lugs are kaput so a secondhand light is winging its way to me as we speak. Or at least I hope it is as whilst the description was accurate (I think) the image was a library pic so fingers crossed whatever arrives is alright. That said I have learned how to strip them with a hot air gun so I could still retain my own lens according to this lunatic -

Another oil change done on the daily - 106600 miles on it and having had a sumpful of decent synth every 6000 miles the engine should be reasonably decent inside. Used the Pela as per usual and I know it might miss some but a 90% change should avoid a lot of sludge issues considering it’s done so regularly and I only use decent stuff. This time around I decided to use up a few odds and sods I have lying about so it has a litre of Total 5w30, a litre of Unipart 5w40, and two litres of new Quantum 5w40 so I now have a sumpful of 5w37 by my reckoning. 3 litres of Quantum left over so I will get another litre lined up so I have enough for a future change Mrs P also complained that her Mini’s headlights are a bit shite so bought a couple of Halfords 50% brighter ones to try out when she gets home later. They are poor but I reckon they are either shite bulbs or could be the originals. I found my Leon’s lights were fine until one blew and the replacement standard bulb was about twice as bright. Will report back on how that goes

Tone Loc’s classic song “Funky Cold Medina” was originally written about a Vauxhall Meriva with AirCon he found at Car Giant in Staines. Sadly when he dictated the lyrics to his mate in Los Angeles, the phone line was a little crackly hence the slight name change.