horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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I've got quite attached to Modern Minis of late and I fancied an R50 Cooper to join my R55 Clubman Daily and R53 Sprint/Hill/Track cars in the fleet. I wanted to do this without taking too much of a bath should I need to thin the fleet down quickly, so there hunt began for a Y reg car. Why a Y? Because they are the earliest of the early cars as almost of all them were dealer cars, customers cars being delivered post August 2001 and on a 51 Reg. They have a few things that are different to the cars built after Aug/Sep and therefore are deemed a little collectable. If you want to dig into the nerdy fact you can find them all on the Y Register site. Here's a good part of that site to get you started: miniyregister.co.uk/blog/history/yobl/ So I found one and it's number 387 off the line, built 18th May 2001. Two months before you could order one. Here's the pics from the advert:  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.43 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.49 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.56 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.04 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.11 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.24 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr It was up for £550 and I haggled off £50. So what's wrong with it? Well: It's done 138,000 miles None of the LCD panels work It has a mark on nearly every panel The plastic arches are badly scuffed The filler flap is loose It has 4 odd tyres The airbag light is on It feels tired and baggy It has a not so slow puncture On the upside: It was cheap It runs It has MOT The AC works The sunroof works My plan with this car is to simply tidy it up without spending lots of money and enjoy driving it for what it is. I got it up on a ramp for a nosey and I swapped the wheels for some S spoke my mate had that had 4 reasonable tyres on. £100 for the wheels was a bargain. I took some pics which make it look a lot better than it does:  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Total costs so far - £600. |
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Last Edit: Jan 7, 2020 11:26:06 GMT by horney™
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Nice project,
I know (in some fields) they're not too popular but I like them,
Keep the updates coming,
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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Nice project, I know (in some fields) they're not too popular but I like them, Keep the updates coming, Thanks, will do! The ordering and delivery/collection of parts has commenced. Oil Oil Filter Spark Plug Leads Fuel Filter Sump Plug Used Rev Counter to fix LCD not working Used Central Speedo to fix LCD not working Free replacement exhaust from a mate because the current one is falling apart Exhaust hangers Exhaust gasket Total spend: £720 Short term fixes/jobs: Service Fix LCDs not working Fix heater panel illumination not working Fix rear wiper not working (Motor makes a noise though!) Replace crappy looking exhaust that is falling off Replace black plastic wheel arch trim that is scuffed investigate vibration only apparent at motorway speeds (suspect worn CV) Wheel alignment New speakers in doors (current ones blown) Fix loose filler flap |
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Last Edit: Jan 7, 2020 11:30:45 GMT by horney™
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A lot of the parts came out of the R75 development so there is a fair bit of interchangability between them. Still very 'Rover' inside at this stage.
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Rover Metro - The TARDIS - brake problems.....Stored
Rover 75 - Barge
MGZTT Cdti 160+ - Winter Hack and Audi botherer...
MGF - The Golden Shot...Stored
Project Minion........
Can you see the theme?
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ivangt6
Part of things
Posts: 776
Club RR Member Number: 132
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2001 Y Reg R50 Mini Cooperivangt6
@ivangt6
Club Retro Rides Member 132
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That looks in quite nice nick for its age and the value of these things at the moment.
I didn't realise they where out for the pre 2001 reg plates, the original minis went up to x reg I think and those last ones are worth a bit so surely these are worth saving.
I'll post a thread on mine in a bit. It's nowhere near as original as yours though.
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1979 Mini 1000
1972 Triumph GT6
2007 VW Golf GTi
1979 VW T25 Leisuredrive
1988 Range Rover Vogue SE
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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Some of the very late classic minis are on 51 plates!
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Jem45
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,021
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How's the gearbox Horney? Did these very early ones have the Midland unit? Mine was sounding close to death at 80k iirc. You're doing well if yours is on 138k and still sweet.
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Carbs 'n chrome
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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It should have the midlands box, yes. Whether it does or not now, I don’t know. It may have been replaced in the past with a facelift gearbox. One to check next time I have it on a lift. Currently the gearbox is nice and quite.
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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I've been using this car more than any of my others over the last week, it's slow but so much fun! A small update as I tackled a few jobs over the weekend, only got one pic though. I changed the oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs and leads and the car now runs much smoother and feels more responsive. I may also have drilled the airbag for a bit more induction bark because I'm 41 but wish I was 18. I also swapped out the speedo cluster so I have a working LCD display. I need to find someone who can code the mileage to match what it should be. Clocks read 111,000 but the car has done 139,000.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I've also managed to find some replacement used front struts which I'm going to try and see if that cures the front suspension knock/clunk on slow speed cornering.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I'm waiting on the replacement rev counter to arrive still and I have bought a replacement heater switch panel as the lighting is broken on the current one. |
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Nathan
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,626
Club RR Member Number: 1
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2001 Y Reg R50 Mini CooperNathan
@bgtmidget7476
Club Retro Rides Member 1
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Jan 14, 2020 10:24:44 GMT
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My other half decided to get one last year, I fully expected to hate it but how wrong was I! Just love driving it!
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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Jan 14, 2020 10:48:35 GMT
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My other half decided to get one last year, I fully expected to hate it but how wrong was I! Just love driving it! I went from being a bit anti BMW MINI to now owning 3 of the damn things! lol. |
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lightyearman
Part of things
GYJDM - Grimsby based Japanese car club - Find us on Facebook
Posts: 639
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Jan 30, 2020 23:39:24 GMT
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Love it! ive got an R53 supercharge one from 2003 and i love it. Picked it up last year for a grand with receipts for a new clutch and a supercharger rebuild  Its a lot of fun, mines on 145 k now too. Brakes are a bit curse word, interior feels cheap but they handle great and i love the pull of the supercharged lump. Different from my vtec CR-X, like the opposite way to make 180 brake from 1600cc with an entirely different character and driving style required to maximise it - equally fun though |
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'89 Honda CRX siR Glassroof Flint black fully restored track beasty
'90 Nissan S13 Pignose - pass the mig wire
'86 Mini - matt orange, 13" Wellers, Project 2018
'97 LDV Convoy home built camper/tramper van
'04 Saab 9-5 Aero HOT. Anyone want it?
'91 Honda VFR400 NC30 17,000 km from new
'87 Honda XR80 4 stroke baby crosser
'03 Mini Cooper S - honestly, they are fun...
'15 VW T5.1 LWB daily brick
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Jan 31, 2020 13:38:01 GMT
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my landlord/boss now has 4 of thess buggers  one turned up with a 'ticking noise' erm...   dropped a replacement engine in and the hydraulic clutch has decided to not work  |
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pobsey
Part of things
Posts: 25
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Jan 31, 2020 20:40:15 GMT
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There is a nak to bleeding the clutch slave cylinder 😉
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,588
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Thinking of buying one of these as a Daily. What are the main things to look out for? I learned to drive in new Minis years ago and thought with a bit of age on them they are now coolish and possibly reliable?... fancy doing a modern mr bean style bonnet and lowering one.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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2001 Y Reg R50 Mini CooperChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Thinking of buying one of these as a Daily. What are the main things to look out for? I learned to drive in new Minis years ago and thought with a bit of age on them they are now coolish and possibly reliable?... fancy doing a modern mr bean style bonnet and lowering one. Early cars had the Rover 400 gearboxes which were variable in how they lasted. The later ones are a stronger unit. Brake discs don’t sometimes last but they are cheap to buy. I often think about buying an R53 MCS. But they are just a little too small for my needs |
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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2001 Y Reg R50 Mini CooperChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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I almost bought one of the pre-production Minis off ex-PC’s Neil Campbell, but I could not justify it at the time. I’ll be seeing how you get on . |
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Nice find. You can get those wheelarch trims refurbished to avoid having to fit expensive replacements.
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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Time for a little update. I ordered some replacement number plates in the earlier pre 2001 font and spacing. I also got the supplying dealer name and number printed on them.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Next up, the sounds. The front speakers sounded like a fart in a bath and I knew they were past their best. Turns out they were properly FUBAR.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr £25 for some speakers and adaptors off amazon and the tunes are now pumping as the should!  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr On Thursday I'm going to fit a replacement exhaust and the front struts I picked up the other week. Total Spend: £825 |
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horney™
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,289
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Love it! ive got an R53 supercharge one from 2003 and i love it. Picked it up last year for a grand with receipts for a new clutch and a supercharger rebuild Its a lot of fun, mines on 145 k now too. Brakes are a bit curse word, interior feels cheap but they handle great and i love the pull of the supercharged lump. Different from my vtec CR-X, like the opposite way to make 180 brake from 1600cc with an entirely different character and driving style required to maximise it - equally fun though Brakes are awful on the Cooper S models. I’ve just fitted Renault Megane Brembo 4 Pots and a E46 M3 Master Cylinder on my R53 race car. my landlord/boss now has 4 of thess buggers one turned up with a 'ticking noise' erm... dropped a replacement engine in and the hydraulic clutch has decided to not work A boosted one presumably? Never seen an NA one bend a rod. Thinking of buying one of these as a Daily. What are the main things to look out for? I learned to drive in new Minis years ago and thought with a bit of age on them they are now coolish and possibly reliable?... fancy doing a modern mr bean style bonnet and lowering one. PAS pumps, Front lower wishbone bushes, rad fan failure (it’s the resistor that fails) and as said gearboxes on the pre-facelift cars. Gearboxes on the facelift cars and all Cooper S variants are much better. |
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