Hampton Roads Club Mini

Roy, it's hard to believe that your car could survive a 4,000 ft free fall!

Oh, you meant...never mind.

 

I wonder if they kept the roof bubble?  Other than that it looks like a nice shell.

Ouch!

There is a guy in Smithfield with one I think.  It sometimes shows up for sale on EBay.  Never met the guy, but I can ask some people who might know him.

Hey, if you've ever tried to use a curling iron internally then you'll know that that's no joke...those things can be hot!

I think it is the leg burning exhaust tip that is responsible for Sean and Ben moving to other vehicles.  We could all just be one little leg burn away from ending our lova affair with these litte cars.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=131730

So, it turns out that hot metal can burn bare skin if the two are pressed together, but I am not worried as the government is undertaking an study to see if this is really the case.  If it is, then there is no way it would be the fault of the owner of the skin who moved their leg against the hot metal, the fault has to be the evil car deisgners the MINI Cooper S with its double exhaust tip centered under the bumper and extending outward past the bumper.

Clearly, this is unsafe and should be recalled.

I wonder if I put my hand on my gas grill while cooking if someone would do a study on that as well?

Seriously, has anyone suffered a burn from their exhaust tip?  If you have, do you think our tax dollars need to be spent investigating the problem or did you just say to yourself, "Durn that hurt, I'm not going to that again!"

(The durn was for Dale).

Sorry to hear this news Roy, but glad you came through it all mostly unscathed.  A month and a half is doable I'd think.  Will you get any time for setep/testing?  Good luck.

Roy,

Do you suppose anyone makes brake rotors with flowers and the sprinkling of pixie dust?  That would have to be the best setup.

I am suspicious of all car repair places especially dealers, but I a skeptical person.  As BJ and others said, brakes are pretty simple things to do on your own, however any time I work on them I always keep in mind the importance of them and give them their due diligence.  Even with whiptastic handling you gotta stop sometime right?

Roy, the car would need a cage and a fuel cell.  The old cage has been removed and sold same as the fuel cell.  As it is now, it either needs a new fuel cell or a new boot floor and battery box since there is a big rectangular hole where they used to be.

My flares would cover the rear fenders, but they have been cut a little to make the car able to be lowered.

The fronts are so cut out - mostly towards the front of the car that regular flares won't work - the radius is too big.

Even if I can get the wife buy in, this is a long way from a perfect find.  The firewall has been cut and a box inserted to allow clearance for a weber. 

Shawn, I agree on the lovely sound of the A series.  Hoping to get mine on a dyno in Novmber to see how little Hp it actually makes.

The shell has a windshield, a plastic back window, no side windows what so ever, plastic boot lid and bonnet.

Needs about $1600 worth of new sheet metal to make it right, but as is it is ready to run in GP.

The A series engine is in no way unreliable IMHO.   It is however an old antiquated design and does require periodic care and feeding unlike modern engines that are designed to go 100,000 miles with nothing but oil changes and air filter changes.

To me the biggest reason people go for VTEC's in Mini's is not reliablility it is more HP and torque.  With the light weight and good power the Mini VTEC's are quick little cars.

Speaking of classics,  I am lobbying the boss for permission to buy a Mk1 Mini shell that is rust free.  It has had some body modifications - it was an ex racer car - so the fenders are cut for bigger tires and the inner fenders and firewall are modified, but it is a Mk1 shell with no rust.  I am thinking of buying it, switiching over my front and rear sub frames and the driver's seat and having a new car.  Since the shell has no VIN or title it would still be my old car - just with a different body shell.

We'll see how this works out- not sure of the price or how much money I might be allowed to spend.  In my house, I just make the money I don't decide where it goes once it goes into the bank.   

The best way to get more of something is for the government to incentivize it.  Want more people to buy houses?  Offer a tax break on mortgage interest and offer interest rates to banks less than inflation.

Want to raise unemployment?  Offer longer and better benefits to the unemployed.

Maybe building better jails is a way to make sure they stay full?  If jails were nasty, terrible places maybe people would choose to avoid them. 

I am only being half serious with this so don't get too mad...I don't really think criminals commit crimes so they can go to jail and play video games, watch cable and sit in the air conditioning while I pay the bills.

Stan's Collision Center in Newport News did excellent work on my son's Fit. 

Maaco in Hampton also seems to get great reviews.

Both businesses are represented on this board as well - support other Mini/MINI enthusiasts.

I think the Japanese spec cars were built as RHD.  It is easy to switch from RHD to LHD, a lot of the parts are interchangeable.  Need a steering rack and maybe some new brake line.  There are some differences in the pedal boxes, but I'm pretty sure they can be used on the wrong side from which they were made.  All the holes are there for things like the master cylinders and steering column to the rack.

The add doesn't say anything about it either way.  Of course it also says the car is a 1960.