2mAns Daily Driver Thread - who knows what it is today...

[rjmcdermott81]

Noice - congrats 2man! I happened into a mini myself a few months ago and I've been really impressed by the quality and reliability. All 3 have 220k+ miles and drive wonderfully. I'm sure you'll have many years of enjoyment to come. I wish I had an R50 though...

[Conrad311]

Love the blue! R50s are super fun to drive. As a bmw/mini mechanic I hate most miniÂ’s But the n/a r50s are pretty good, you will likely get used to pulling the nose off though. It not too bad but still a pita. Most of minis bad rap came from the supercharged versions, the SC would seize up and for a long time they were on international back order. The turbos were a bit better, but r56s were garbage. The high pressure fuel systems and timing chains in the n14 have left many minis needing new cylinder heads. And I totally thought this was going to be an R50 retro badass motorcycle :/

[2mAn]

Had some time to play with the car while socially distancing myself lol

Got some 8mm spark plug wires from Mini Mania ($22!) , OEM NGK plugs and a new air filter. Air Filter wasnt a K&N, but Im still glad I did it because the old one was filthy. When it came to the plugs and wires I was even more glad I did it. I pulled out the 4 old spark plugs and they were 3 different types! DAPO (dumb@ss previous owners) strikes again!



The coil pack was a little ugly and needed attention too.

Before:


Cleaned and covered in dielectric grease:


Next was dealing with that last piece of the light that I couldnt get off. Damn thing wouldnt budge. We had to resort to the bigger, more brutal tools


And after some cutting grinding and more, finally got the other spare aux light off the car.


Thats all for now!

[ZeKahr]

Hope you enjoy the car. I drove one of these a while ago and they’re actually quite fun! Feels like your driving a go kart, just like the E30 does

But for a Mini the Cooper looks pretty... BIG right next to the Fairlady lol

[2mAn]

Nice car minis are underapreciated imo. You had better put some basket weaves on this thing

I hate weaves buuuttttt.... https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...al-area-please Max, this thing isn’t getting lowered!... at least not for a while A Porsche is in my future, luckily they made a LOT of them so no reason to rush.

[95BMWIC]

I was really close, but the thought of selling the Roadster was really difficult. While I was still preparing to do so, some other life events happened that meant I wouldn’t have the financial safety net I was expecting. Not having a (large) financial safety net and buying a Porsche felt very irresponsible, so I explored all the options and decided “slow car fast” was the path I was going to take for now. There’s plenty of Porsche’s and I want to be able to buy the best one I can afford while also being prepared for the inevitable big maintenance bill. Will this be another moment in my life where I look back and say “shoulda done it”? Time will tell. But for now. I’m happy with my decision

You know.. its a personal decision and there will be plenty of them available in the next coming years. I bought one 3 years ago and have been real happy - however they are expensive, expensive to maintain, and the community is way different then the E30 community (or whats left of it).. I bought a 3 ltr that had been rebuilt and I have been lucky - but read about others grenade-ing the engine ...-breaking head bolts, exhaust bolts, timing chain tensionors, running low on oil, etc and then having to drop 12K on an engine rebuild.. Scary stuff... You made the right decision..

[Motheye99]

Nice car minis are underapreciated imo. You had better put some basket weaves on this thing

[WestCoastEta]

Congrats! I'm a big fan of Minis (and small cars in general as evident by the Abarth). My dad has owned a Clubman S since new. Love driving it.

I'd be waaay too tempted to lower it if I were you

[2mAn]

I really thought you'd buy a 911.. (After seeing you on Pelican Parts)

I was really close, but the thought of selling the Roadster was really difficult. While I was still preparing to do so, some other life events happened that meant I wouldn’t have the financial safety net I was expecting. Not having a (large) financial safety net and buying a Porsche felt very irresponsible, so I explored all the options and decided “slow car fast” was the path I was going to take for now. There’s plenty of Porsche’s and I want to be able to buy the best one I can afford while also being prepared for the inevitable big maintenance bill. Will this be another moment in my life where I look back and say “shoulda done it”? Time will tell. But for now. I’m happy with my decision

[mike.bmw]

Nice!

[95BMWIC]

I really thought you'd buy a 911..

(After seeing you on Pelican Parts)

[2mAn]

Also forgot to ask. What is to the mini, that the timing belt is to the E30 M20s ?

I havent found anything like that yet. Its a timing chain motor so I dont need to worry about that. Looking into the engine mounts now as the car has 130k miles.

[IceWhite]

Also forgot to ask. What is to the mini, that the timing belt is to the E30 M20s ?

[Reichart12]

Nice! That color looks good and should really shine up for you. I drove a Mini once a while ago but was surprised they were roomy for a tall guy.

[2mAn]

It's great that you enjoy it, as an N/A Mini is off of the radar for most of us. That said, they are a decent amount of fun, and not quite as unreliable as some people make them out to be.

Yea a 1.6L with a timing chain. I bought new spark plugs and 8mm plug wires for about $30, a pair of Mann Oil filters for $10. Got a "new" never used Eibach rear sway bar for $100, so Im enjoying the price point. Trying to stay on top of the maintenance and enjoy it.

Nice!! These are definitely fun cars. How long have you owned this, and how is the daily commute now?

Just a few weeks now, my daily drive is short which was tempting me to get something really powerful as the poor MPG wouldnt really be an issue, but the other items that have happened pushed me to make a smarter decision.

I feel like this car is a "new" Rabbit GTI. I cut my teeth on mk1 GTi's and this certainly feels like a new version of that