A Mini Adventure, part 4

[Liggle]

Great stories, still never driven a classic Mini despite owning a Bini 🙈

[inconsistant]

First week of ownership update. 

Took it for a 15-20 mile economy run along the M25 the other evening and was pleasantly surprised it showed a bit over 40mpgs at a steady 70. Not sure how accurate the read out is though. On the way back it showed 35mpgs on A roads sticking to speed limits of 30/40/50 as I went through villages/towns. On the odd occasions I hoofed it I couldn’t believe how quickly the av. mpg readout dropped. I’d imagine an excitable driver could get down to low 20s mpgs fairly easily.  It's such a laugh when you wind it up though!
After the few times I’ve driven it this week the av mpg is showing about 31-32 which is fine I reckon. I also like that it does almost 70 in 2nd gear. Having driven the 924 at the weekend this couldn’t be more different: short stubby and upright feeling with the screen miles from you, with an urgency to have some fun, and easy peasy to manoeuvre and park in tight spaces, whereas the 924 is low and long and pointy and feels smooth and relaxed on the road but needs a fair bit of effort at parking speeds. They may be the perfect combo of fun cars!

I love that the Mini’s heater heats up quickly and is nice and hot, so I’m enjoying driving with heat on feet & just the the first bit of the roof open. Like this:

Picked up a microwave for a friend, and it had to go on the back seat so it’s not going to be a load lugger by any means, although I am surprised how much room there is for an adult on the back seat, at least behind the passenger. From poking, prodding and pulling things at the back I’ve found out that oddly the rear seat backs fold (well one does the other one doesn’t, I think it needs convincing) and also that you can lift the bottom of the hood very slightly to make the boot hole slightly bigger. It's bizarre: either I’m missing the point or it should open much wider but doesn’t. There's also a hinged parcel shelf you can see level with half way up the seat back  that doesn't seem to bring much to the party.

Found the locking wheel nut and found where it lives in the tiny tool kit down the side of the battery. 
The little No9 shaped wire pull thing looks like it's for removing wheel nut covers so they might be missing?
Jack comes in a handy bag with hooks but I can’t figure out where it hooks onto.

Time to have a read of the owners manual to find out what everything does. Especially that handle on the inside of the boot. I’m sure if I pull it will release a parachute or something. 
TL:DR… OMG I absolutely love this car! I hope it behaves itself as I’d love it to be a keeper!

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Edit to add, found the links so popping them here:

Parts numbers & assembly drawings:

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partgrp?id=RH32-EUR-09-2006-R52-Mini-Cooper_S

Mini 2002-2006 service manual:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx1GXoE0BrzXRmhSVDAtQTV6dVU/view?fbclid=IwAR1_MkdCsCp2BTrSWxVPLI7xlKyJTLaUZbuiH8QjgbCQfm4zqxEBVPfvbJg&resourcekey=0-mFwY-c6Pp5GRJBcDDgsrXw

 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Looking good!  The jack bag (on the tin tops, at least) can clip onto the boot floor on the offside, next to the CD changer, if fitted.  There are small metal loops coming through the carpet.

However, I don't put mine there, as it fits in one of the cubby boxes either side of the boot compartment which are accessed via a clip-on cover.  I've never owned a convertibubble one, so you may not have these storage places, or, indeed the metal hoops in the boot floor!

The super slim tool kit that goes beside the battery is really neat though, don't you think?!

[inconsistant]

Time for a mini Mini update. Haven't used it much, mainly due to OMGfakepetrolcrisis and only having 15miles range and no petrol locally.  Took it in to a local friend of friend's garage who fitted a full exhaust system from the cat back for a very good price. Standard exhausts for the R52/R53 Cooper S seem to be about £330 so even a very good price is still really expensive. Also he couldn't get the tailpipes off the old exhaust so had to order a new pair at £40. At least they look amazing now! Also got the split driveshaft boot replaced while he had it, so that's both MOT advisories sorted.

He had it for over a week as we were in no rush for it back, but I was really missing it and got quite excited when I got a call to collect it. Filled the tank (230miles range from £65 of petrol according to the dash) and had a mild hoon home. 22mpg. Oops.

I've ordered a spare wheel, at the moment it will live at home rather than in the car, as there's no where to put it. I think it will fit in the boot with the parcel shelf in the higher position, but then the roof won't go down, so what's the point? Except winter is approaching so maybe it could go in the boot. OMG never had a convertible, and never had a car with no room for a spare before. So many unique owner challenges, how exciting!

 

From reading the owners manual I found out a few exciting things:

1. You need the key to unlock the rear seats from inside before you can fold the seat backs down. I tried this on both seats and that was why only one would fold the other day. I don't understand the logic of this, as you need access to the boot to release the (fake Marina door) handles to fold them so it doesn't make sense as a security measure to stop access to the boot if you parked up with the roof down.

2. There's a 12v outlet in the boot, but it's hidden from view so you'd never find it by accident.

3. I worked out where the tool kit hooks on. Well, I checked out what RR said above. Kind of obvious really but it took me a while to realise.

 

4. Finally, and most excitingly, I also discovered you can fold the roof from outside the car using the buttons on the key. After unlocking the car,  another press and hold opens the sunroof bit, and a further hold puts the whole roof down. Only the first sunroof bit worked when I tried it, I'm guessing (+hoping) because the battery is low on charge (showing 12.2v but still starts first time) there must be a clever sensor stopping it.  So next job is to order a new battery. Halfords want £112 for a this high power Yuasa battery but this place have them for £75 delivered, which is a decent price I reckon and should avoid any non starts on cold mornings over winter.

And finally, I succumbed and gave it a quick wash. It looks lovely. The black is growing on me. 

 

Unfortunately it now highlights how bad the wheels look.  

A bloke locally did the V70 Dark Beast wheels when we got it and they looked amazing, (and still would if it wasn't for all the kerbing since). He was very reasonable too so will get them done asap. Question is, same silver colour or a bit darker? I like how the Dark Beast looks with grey wheels but I wouldn't want people thinking we cared enough to have colour coordinated our cars. On the other hand, the V70 could be up for sale soon, so can't decide. More unique owner challenges!

[Ghosty]

The spare wheel kit was an optional extra, you just got runflats and a can of foam as standard. It mounts in a cradle under the boot floor a la PSA, but it was never offered on Cooper S models because they put the exhaust there instead. 

 

I wouldn't paint those wheels a darker colour IMO, they lose some detail and don't look great. Silver's fine IMO and a good contrast against the car. 

[inconsistant]

22 hours ago, Ghosty said:

I wouldn't paint those wheels a darker colour IMO, they lose some detail and don't look great. Silver's fine IMO and a good contrast against the car. 

Thanks, I think you're right.

Coincidentally someone posted this yesterday on one of the FB R52 groups, which is pretty much the colour I was thinking. I think I like them more the colour they are, so they shall stay silver.

[inconsistant]

Time for a post-winter Mini update. 

New battery ordered from Battery Megastore and delivered free within 48hours beautifully wrapped in its own bespoke battery packaging so arrived in tip top condition. Highly recommend Battery Megastore. While fitting the battery I worked out what the weird long clippy things were either side of the boot, they’re struts to hold back of soft top up to allow better boot access. Suddenly they make perfect sense..

 

Replacing the battery is quite a fiddly job as the recess is only slightly bigger than the battery and it took 2 or 3 goes to get it to sit properly and to get the fixings in position. It's made massively more difficult by having to lean right across the open boot lid with knees bent and back at 90degs lifting a heavy battery into position. I reckon if you had a tendency towards back problems this job could cause you a bit of pain.

I was right, and after replacing the battery I had to have 4 days off work. No, really.

I ordered a space saver wheel off eBay which arrived and was in great condition. Got this just for peace of mind even though it has run flats, because punctures are always going to happen at night, on Sundays or in the rain. Having a spare wheel at home meant at least if local that we only had to limp it back here after a puncture. The ebay listing was £70 delivered for the spare and a tool kit so that will sit in the boot.

I also got a space saver spare wheel cover/protector for a tenner and worked out that it would just fit  in the rear footwell wedged between the drivers seat and the rear seat (we're very unlikely to have more than 3 in this at any time) and the rear belt looped through the cover to keep it in place. It fits perfectly. 

I also bought a Haynes manual, to go with my old Mini one, and the book I got from Autoshite secret Santa..

I popped over to Beckenham in the Mini to meet a chum and found myself in @RobT's favourite multi storey car park, which is as photogenic as Rob describes. I got a bit carried away.

I drove it up to the NEC classic car show in November, our first long journey so I was keen to find out what it was like over distance. An early morning departure as the sun rose and M25 & M40 achieved with aplomb, cruise control kept me at 70-75mph all the way, and average mpg was showing about 40 over the weekend, which was reasonable for the weapon it is. The only hiccup of the weekend was after returning I went to check the levels and engine stuff and couldn't get the bonnet open. The following week I did a bit of reading up ands it seems TADTS  as the cables (there are 2 and they go to 2 catches, 1 each side of the bonnet) stretch, or the catches are not suitably lubed and stop releasing, or both. There are work arounds and it is possible to release them through wheel arch trim flaps, so armed with this info and after a couple of weeks of not using it I for fear of it running dry I decided to have a go at fixing it. Got Mrs to pull the level while I stood at the front thinking I'd first try jiggling the bonnet, and it popped open first time. Oh how I love self fixing problems! Especially in the winter months. So with the bonnet open I cleaned, lubed and wiggled the catches to the max as they were quite dry, and hopefully all will be well for a bit, but at least I now know to keep an eye on them.

 

In November I finally got the Alloys refurbished, and they look great, a big improvement. before pix posted previously, here's the after photos.

 

 

Then shortly after that 80,000 miles was achieved...

And then shortly after that Boobs miles was achieved, which is my favourite out of all available mileages, because I am a childish giggling idiot under this thin veil of an adult.

Then in February the sun came out and I whipped the top off on the way back from getting the shopping. I grinned all the way home. Best shopping trip ever!

The rear of the car gets filthy really quickly. I noticed the exhaust tail pipe trims looked a bit rusty. After cleaning it and a bit of wheel cleaner too, the right one came up nicely but the left one is really corroded, not great for less than 6 months old.

Will get in touch with the garage that did the exhaust in the autumn and see about getting it/them replaced.  But that's the only real problem with the mini so far, and long may it last. But I suppose it probably won't. Anyway over winter this has been a brilliant car, it brings a smile to our faces driving it, and although it encourages you to drive it enthusiastically it's just as much fun pooling along at 30-40 in 6th and enjoying being in something a bit interesting/different/special. If it's this good in winter I can't wait for the good weather to get more use of the roof.  

[inconsistant]

It's been 11 months so better have a little catch up. Last spring I took the exhaust tips back to the garage, after they'd rusted badly after only 6 months.

So to recap... these were the original exhaust tips after 15 years on the car:

These were the new ones fitted in September 2021 with the new exhaust:

Same exhaust tips April 2022:

Took them back to the garage in April last year (2022) and they were replaced with these

Even brand new they looked shite, pitted, marked and really badly chromed.

I let the garage know I wasn't happy but would fit them and see what happened. They looked nice from a distance:

Fast forward 9 months to January 2023 and this is what they currently look like:

This might sound a bit obsessive but bear in mind...

1. Their ONLY JOB is to look nice

2. They cost £40 each. £80 for a pair of shite Stainless CHROMED drinks can sized bits of metal that don’t last a year without rusting.

Will be returning these to the garage for a refund this time, I think I’ll try some aftermarket ones. Anyone else had this problem? Is everything just shite these days or have I been unlucky twice?

 

[Matty]

If they're stainless steel bud I'm a monkeys uncle

Edit. Ignore me, they aren't 🙂

[inconsistant]

Other than the exhaust tips, the Mini has been great and there's very little to report. My wife enjoys her daily commute in it and it continues to be ridiculous, hugely impractical fun.

I noticed the other day one of the locking wheel nuts was missing so I bought and fitted a replacement set bought off eBay (£15). The old set of three locking nuts & key are available for the cost of postage  if anyone wants them?

Back in early summer last year a chum and I were chatting, and we noted that his Porsche 924 turbo and our Mini Cooper S were both rated at 170bhp, and it would be fun to compare them since they were about 20 and 40yrs old, so we hatched a plan to take each other out in our cars and write an article for the 924 Owners Club magazine off the back of it. He'd just had his 924 resprayed so it was a bit of an excuse to take some nice photos and show it off in the club mag. I was amazed at the massive lag then massive boost of his, and he was surprised at how the supercharger gave pretty much instant power in any gear at any speed. They're very different driving experiences but with surprisingly close performance figures.

A weird thing happened one day last summer. On the same day I parked up twice and both times I came back to find another black Mini convertible parked next to it.  Made me to a big grin both times. There's so much annoying stuff involved in owning cars it's important to enjoy the little pleasures!

September 2022 and a clean run at the MOT, which was nice!

Photo of it posing with the other car. This is not a practical family motoring combination.

With the exciting arrival of the A2 I haven't driven the Mini for ages so took it out on Sunday, using the flimsy excuse of checking the wheel nuts were OK. It was January, drizzling and getting dark but I couldn't help popping the top off for the first roof down motoring this year!

[inconsistant]

27 minutes ago, Matty said:

If they're stainless steel bud I'm a monkeys uncle

Edit. Ignore me, they aren't 🙂

Sorry you beat me to the edit, I meant chromed, not S/S

[stuboy]

55 minutes ago, inconsistant said:

good picture