Replacing the hard a/c lines caused many many sailors discomfort as I abused the saltiest of epithets. I had to remove the front end again. Plus airbox, ecu, and an engine mount. Then I had to Jack the engine out of the way. Ewwww.
But. Regas was a success! Woohoo!
Meanwhile had windshield done. One a-pillar garnish was cracked during install. The other one flew off on the highway this morning. So the glass place has ordered new ones from Mini, but I will put them on because I trust almost no one. And apparently with good reason?
Two steps toward one step back. But SUPERCHARGER! So there’s that…
This is my daily, so all winter, unless its really bad in which case one of the trucks gets the nod. It does have winters.
But funny - so far we’ve been having the nicest fall in recent memory. NO snow whatsoever yet, not even a hint!
Added an aftermarket armrest the other day, and its been great to have a place to put my elbow. Otherwise nothing to report - no LEAKS, no lights, I’m almost afraid to even acknowledge it. LOL
Man, you are sitting real pretty right now, vehicle-wise. Kudos, mate. I know you’ve put in the work.
Have you done anything to mitigate corrosion? I know you tend to rotate the fleet every few years, but you also tend to send things off in far, far better condition than you brought them in.
We got snow in early dec so mini sat until this week. Drove it everyday to work this week. But umm… Miss the truck. Maybe next week I’ll drive truck? Lol.
This thing has such little clearance it’s laughable. But… It’s a hoot to drive and it’s fast and corners something wicked. And it’s cool, and retro, and has a cool history, which I think cars need, to make them interesting.
But…
I think I’m broken. I would rather drive the fully leaf sprung, n/a diesel. Slow. Ponderous. Glacial in its acceleration. Loud. Football field braking.
What ended up being the impetus to sell, Phil? An offer you couldn’t refuse? Cut out all the nonsense that was getting in your way in life and it still wasn’t enough so you decided to bit the bullet and let go of something you know you truly loved because you knew wouldn’t be using it much over the winter and maybe that would make it easier when you “couldn’t” use it anyway? (I’ve been there a lot in the last few months.)
Or was it just this image burned into your memory and, now that Ol’Betsy is running like a top, ain’t nobody got time for that?
Well, I think you nailed much of the reasoning. I know it will need things. It’s a mini/BMW so expecting toyo/mitsu reliability would be optimistic, if not naive. It was going to need brakes soon, for starters. And yes, winter was coming at that point (and it did come last week), so it would’ve sat all winter.
It was a blast. But it was also difficult to get into. It had long doors and the hinge didn’t hold at all on the first stage of opening, so you generally had to use your knee to keep it closing on you as you attempted egress. The key fob was empty, so only one door lock on the exterior, combined with no easy access to the back seat meant you’d unlock with key, go around to back, put your bag in boot, then come forward again (and reopen the door that closed while you were gone) and lever yourself in. I sound whiney but in practice it felt a bit of a pain, compared to throwing bag in back door (on curb side), then climbing up and in with a little hop. Also curbside. Much more fun. Perhaps RHD is starting to spoil me in a way?
Fuel econ was pretty okay, maybe 7L per 100kms, but when you factor in premium fuel EVERY time, it wasn’t as cost efficient as it should be for how much smaller it was then the truck.
Speaking of which, it was LOW. The JCW edition was lower than stock, but holy moly! I went over an ice chunk that had fallen off someone’s mudflap last spring and I thought I was going to take out my electric power steering…
Despite putting a giant 10inch sony screen in it, it didn’t really lend itself to an aftermarket deck (didn’t fit the ergo), and so I went back to a single din and bluetooth. With no android auto, did I really even want to drive it?
All these are nitpickey whiney bitch things, but cumulatively, I just more enjoyed the truck. Soooo…
Absolutely. I’m looking forward to catching up. Been a while and I think we’re in similar places. Work has been challenging lately to put it mildly. Hoping to get some updates in tomorrow or Wednesday.
Most importantly, sorry about your FIL. Fuck cancer.
It was going to need brakes soon, for starters. And yes, winter was coming at that point (and it did come last week), so it would’ve sat all winter.
