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Aug 11, 2019 15:57:16 GMT
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Here's my 2003 R50 Cooper: P1020759 by mtjhunt, on Flickr P1020760 by mtjhunt, on Flickr Fitted with Junk Re'jekt 15" alloys, which are quite a bit lighter than the standard 16" Cooper 5-spoke alloys. That's about as silly as the mods get so far, aside from poly bushes at the back of the front control arms, as the original rubber ones fell apart.
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Aug 11, 2019 16:11:12 GMT
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I saw a Mini today, all lowered and stanced in blue. It made me oof a bit. It sat like this. Now I want one in matt dark mustard with black details and black wheels, like that, but an earlier one.
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Aug 11, 2019 17:21:27 GMT
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Well great thanks alot guys. I was all set to buy a Porsche boxster or mx5 for Lemans now my eBay and Facebook market place are firmly set on r53 minis since I like forced induction! and in the mean time the kids can go in the back of a mini too so not a fully selfish toy car to have!
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Aug 11, 2019 17:27:47 GMT
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Well great thanks alot guys. I was all set to buy a Porsche boxster or mx5 for Lemans now my eBay and Facebook market place are firmly set on r53 minis since I like forced induction! and in the mean time the kids can go in the back of a mini too so not a fully selfish toy car to have! I would love to drive one of these HARD on a track, or private road mountain pass. I am looking at buying another tool, to replace Prozac, but have a real itch in my butt for any of these.... long as it’s Mk1 as I like their size and relative simplicity.
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Aug 11, 2019 18:59:29 GMT
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Now I want one in matt dark mustard with black details and black wheels, like that, but an earlier one. Haha, I like the crafty BMW roundel in the bonnet badge. I was considering doing that to mine, since the old MINI logo has long since faded.
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60six
Posted a lot
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Posts: 1,654
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Aug 11, 2019 21:07:45 GMT
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What's the main thing that's done to these to make them quick? I remember the supercharged one was pretty rapid ...
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Some 9000's, a 900, an RX8 & a beetle
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Aug 12, 2019 13:37:57 GMT
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Can they be supercharged and turbo'd? That would make some lovely noises
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Aug 15, 2019 22:35:02 GMT
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Aug 15, 2019 22:46:01 GMT
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thanks alot guys..... I hold you all responsible haha. it's on 17" alloys and rides terrible. why is everyone wanting bigger wheels on small cars!! need something nice in a 16" I feel.
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Aug 20, 2019 17:39:48 GMT
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Yes, R50s are supposed to be best suited to 15" wheels. Even the standard 16" Cooper alloys are quite heavy and 'tramline' a bit, although to be fair, they do look pretty good and are easy to keep clean.
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m30rmf
Part of things
Posts: 62
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Aug 20, 2019 18:08:05 GMT
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Mrs had one of these for last 15years, Cooper in red, white roof bonnet stripes, chilli pack, full leather etc. Been a cracking car tbh, great fun as a back road blatter but as a commuter car I totally detest it tbh but then again I don't drive it...
Getting to the point of needing few quid spending on it now but its worth nothing now so at tht point of either drive it till it dies or keep repairing it!
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OGDB
Part of things
Posts: 544
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Aug 20, 2019 19:09:58 GMT
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What's the main thing that's done to these to make them quick? I remember the supercharged one was pretty rapid … The only supercharged ones are the R53 "S" model. the later R56 "S" has a turbo motor and has two variants, N14 and N18 IIRC. The early ones suffer with a magnitude of problems and death rattle and total failure is a very common problem with them, the later R56S models from what I know are a better buy. The limiting factor on the R53 is the top mounted intercooler, due to its size and location it can be a bit of a struggle to keep the intake temperatures low enough to run too much power. There are alternative options to the standard TMIC. Hobo cooler which are very good for the money, Airtec & GRS are a very good item but come in at around £500 with diffuser and then you have what I am lead to believe is the best of the best which is the factory GP item which change hands at around £600/£700 used and from what I understand cant be bought new. The pulleys can be removed and swapped around and in turn more power can be produced. 15% and 17% pulleys are the common upgrades but again, the inter cooler has to be upgraded accordingly to cater for this. 15% pulley can be done on a hobo cooler 17% will need a GRS/AT/GP intercooler. Obviously these pulley upgrades will need supporting modifications, such as intake and injection alterations. From what I understand a 15% pulley and a CAI/JCW intake could add 20 to 25bhp. considering that a pulley, belt and plugs can be bought new for £140 now its not a bad power increase for the cost. I have just actually done some reading for some accuracy and have found someone using a JCW airbox and injectors, GRS I/C and has produced 195WHP at 17psi. Obviously there are a lot of other things which can be done, Manifolds, cams, head work, 550cc injectors and anything else you're prepared to pay for. I was reading a build blog the other day and someone had got to 275bhp on a standard Teflon charger (as standard in later cars) and standard internals. Another had converted one to turbo and on standard internals made 375bhp. I have a work colleague with a R53 GP on a 17% pulley, they're from the factory with a 15% pulley which I have driven and it certainly goes well, it was 215bhp standard and I think he claims it made 250bhp at 1320 with recent work, however I'm not totally sure. I don't know if you saw mine when you was down last, I probably didn't point it out because it was modern, but I have a R53 JCW which i've had for nearly 3 years now and I love the thing.
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Aug 20, 2019 21:09:17 GMT
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Mrs had one of these for last 15years, Cooper in red, white roof bonnet stripes, chilli pack, full leather etc. Been a cracking car tbh, great fun as a back road blatter but as a commuter car I totally detest it tbh but then again I don't drive it... Getting to the point of needing few quid spending on it now but its worth nothing now so at tht point of either drive it till it dies or keep repairing it! Sounds very similar to my 2003 Cooper, bought to replace a BMW E39 523i that was on its last legs. Why do you detest it as a commuter car? I drive mine as a daily hack on country roads, and find it quite agreeable. I would say the first generation MINIs will always be worth something, and may well appreciate - they've been mentioned in Practical Classics, after all.
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OGDB
Part of things
Posts: 544
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Aug 20, 2019 21:38:08 GMT
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Mrs had one of these for last 15years, Cooper in red, white roof bonnet stripes, chilli pack, full leather etc. Been a cracking car tbh, great fun as a back road blatter but as a commuter car I totally detest it tbh but then again I don't drive it... Getting to the point of needing few quid spending on it now but its worth nothing now so at tht point of either drive it till it dies or keep repairing it! Sounds very similar to my 2003 Cooper, bought to replace a BMW E39 523i that was on its last legs. Why do you detest it as a commuter car? I drive mine as a daily hack on country roads, and find it quite agreeable. I would say the first generation MINIs will always be worth something, and may well appreciate - they've been mentioned in Practical Classics, after all. I quite agree with its usability. I have a Cooper S and my better half has a Cooper. I've driven the Cooper from the south coast of Kent up to Scotland with no problem and have done regular 300 mile trips in both of them. Usually get fantastic MPG in the cooper as well. I find the cooper far more forgiving than my S but neither are terrible. That said our shocking road condition in the winter makes me wince at the thought of hitting the slow lane in my S, the pot holes are bigger than the car! However I'm sure this is a problem for anyone that drives anything which doesn't have balloon tyres. Price wise both of ours have apparently increased in value. I only found this out when a work colleague wanted to buy a presentable JCW. They've certainly gone up in value it would seem. Going off on a bit of a tangent, I remember when the R53 first came out, I had just bought myself a 1982 998 Mini and was disgusted by the sight of the R53. I recall I must have been about 15/16 at the time and my really good friend had a Silk Violet Nova, GSi or SRi I cant remember. We was over in Essex when the car meets used to be packed full of idiots and we was on the stretch of road that links the A13 to lake side, before the roundabouts were barriered off to stop the idiots, it was that long ago! There was a very well sorted Sapphire Cosworth which at the time, by my standards was a darn fast car. It kept coming around and around, with a British racing Green R53 firmly stuck to its rear bumper. As much as I hated to admit it it was then that my opinion of them changed and I'm glad it did. They're a cracking car.
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m30rmf
Part of things
Posts: 62
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Aug 23, 2019 21:06:25 GMT
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Mrs had one of these for last 15years, Cooper in red, white roof bonnet stripes, chilli pack, full leather etc. Been a cracking car tbh, great fun as a back road blatter but as a commuter car I totally detest it tbh but then again I don't drive it... Getting to the point of needing few quid spending on it now but its worth nothing now so at tht point of either drive it till it dies or keep repairing it! Sounds very similar to my 2003 Cooper, bought to replace a BMW E39 523i that was on its last legs. Why do you detest it as a commuter car? I drive mine as a daily hack on country roads, and find it quite agreeable. I would say the first generation MINIs will always be worth something, and may well appreciate - they've been mentioned in Practical Classics, after all. Doesn't help that I'm 6'3'',just find it very uncomfortable,constantly banging my Head of the sunroof surround, it's noisy, runflat tyres are awful things, no boot space.. Having said that the Mrs loves it, I only drive it when she thinks something not right in all honesty so doesn't bother me. Does like the dogs when it's all clean and polished though..
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Aug 23, 2019 22:23:38 GMT
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I suppose it helps that mine doesn't have a sunroof, and I'm only 5'8" or so tall. The boot is admittedly a tad on the small side at times, but being a hatchback, better than the original Mini, and my first car, a 1973 Fiat 126!
I have the Minor Traveller if I need to get bigger items lugged about...
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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Sounds very similar to my 2003 Cooper, bought to replace a BMW E39 523i that was on its last legs. Why do you detest it as a commuter car? I drive mine as a daily hack on country roads, and find it quite agreeable. I would say the first generation MINIs will always be worth something, and may well appreciate - they've been mentioned in Practical Classics, after all. Doesn't help that I'm 6'3'',just find it very uncomfortable,constantly banging my Head of the sunroof surround, it's noisy, runflat tyres are awful things, no boot space.. Having said that the Mrs loves it, I only drive it when she thinks something not right in all honesty so doesn't bother me. Does like the dogs when it's all clean and polished though.. Just about the first thing I did on mine was to ditch the runflats and fit one of the rare spare wheel kits. Transformed the ride beyond belief.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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Aug 26, 2019 22:56:39 GMT
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Last Edit: Aug 26, 2019 23:03:01 GMT by deadlikeme
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At £500.00 with a clean MOT history, claimed to be AUTOMATIC, and having 80k miles.
MOT expired February.
No 4 cylinder missing is part of the description.
And a Mini One for £400.00
Spares or repair car won't run don't turn over maybe engine needs repair does not drive
I am sure they can be found for less too.
Question is, are any being bought for silly builds or mods?
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I'd avoid the automatic (CVT) ones, as they are reknowned for problems. Beware the clutches on manual ones also; you have to take the whole front of the car apart and partially drop the subframe to get the gearbox out. I chickened out when mine failed at about 97,000 miles (with my mum test-driving it! ), and got my local Mr Clutch to do the job - even they said it was a real mission!
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