my MINI

Ford Prefect

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
1,872
Location
Bavaria
Car(s)
MINI, E30, GT86
So I?m bored, and therefore decided to do something which I had promised/threatened some people with a few times already: post my car...

It?s a Mini One, built in September 2001 it?s one of the very first of the "new" Mini generation. It?s basically my first car, as the two I had previously weren?t technically "mine". It started it?s life as a sort of general purpose car for anyone to use in the carpool of a company in Berlin.

I had never really liked the BMW Mini at all, until I actually drove one. I got the car in September of 2003, and considering it only had 16000km on it, it was quite cheap. But I?m pretty certain most of those kms were done in Berlin traffic, and it does have a few bumps and has certainly seen some hail damage. As I mentioned, it was used as a cheap car you could give to anyone, so it?s about the most standard version of the Mini you can get. The only options it had are A/C, fog lights, rev gauge, and a radio that plays tapes (yay). So all in all nothing special, but great for an ongoing (and never ending) project.

Ironically, within less than 10 days of getting the car I had my first contact with the ring. I drove it around for two laps of the GP-circuit and Nordschleife along with a large group of other Minis, an event which was used to fill the gap between other stuff going on just before a VLN race. The car was still in it?s stock form with steel rims and the wobbly One-suspension, and while this was quite adventurous and not a lot of fun, it heavily (very heavily) influenced my life and that of my car.

So a lot has happened since then. The car will probably go past the 150000km mark within a week, and compared to other early Minis, has caused me very little trouble. I do obsess about taking good care of it, but it has seen quite a lot of action on the N?rburg- and Salzburgring, and will complete it?s first lap of Spa in about a month if all goes as planned.

Anyway, I won?t bore you with all the history so here are some pics. Unfortunately I don?t have a decent camera, and have therefore never really taken the time to take any proper pictures, and I don?t know anyone with the proper equipment who?s been up for it either, so most of the stuff here is what other people posted on the internet or emailed me. If anyone finds their work here and would like it removed, just let me know.

http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/3650/dsc0177wm.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/6947/dsc0514wm.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/3138/32touris001920070520.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/3041/32touris072620070520.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/8665/20070616touri10422.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/4889/dnq8s9283.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/4760/img0776j.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/6506/img4338.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/4002/pict1106.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.**/img242/5332/324g.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.**/img242/7366/glp1s.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.**/img242/2535/glp2.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.**/img408/2865/img1443.jpg

Over the years my Mini obviously had a few things done to it, mostly by myself, in order to make it more ringworthy and generally more fun, here?s a rough summary:
-standard MTH/Hartge ECU remap
from quite a while ago, when MTH still made proper stuff
-Hartge coilovers
nice, but not really made for the track, the only bad investment I made on this car, soon to be replaced by KW V3 coilovers when I finally have time
-Recaro Pole Position seats
-rear interior stuff completely removed
-sway bars and rear axle from the Cooper S
-OZ Superturismo GT 7x17 on 205/40 Potenza RE050
-shiftlight from the R56
-brakes: ATE powerdiscs with Ferodo DS pads, along with better brake fluids (still experimenting), and brake lines from Dickhaut Specials.
-Cooper transmission (ie lower gear ratios)
-powerflex bushings on the front wishbones

Hope I didn?t completely bore everyone to death :mrgreen:

cheers,
Alex
 
Alex, next time I am in Munich, I'll give you a shout :)
 
I like our car a lot. You should make some videos!
I haven't seen a Mini in person until recently, and I am in love ever since.
Congrats!
 
The title should be changed from My Mini to my awesome. Great work on that, looks great. I like the look of the car with the full 1 tone paint job.
 
About time you posted it! :p

Fantastic car - unbelievable how much fun they are to drive.
 
Awesome! Now.... next time you go to the ring.... keep that passenger seat empty :p
 
glad you guys like it :D

@Alok: sounds great! I think in the picture at the ring gate you were in the passenger seat :mrgreen:

I have actually been meaning to do a ring video, mainly to be able to get a look at my driving from a different perspective, but also haven?t been able to get my hands on the proper equipment...

here?s another pic of what the car currently more or less looks like at the moment, with it?s winter tires.
http://img100.imageshack.**/img100/5721/xlite.jpg
 
So, the guy with the checkered mirrors calls the flames on my car, and i quote, "silly"? Apart from that, very beautiful for a car made in the last 15 years ^^
 
So, the guy with the checkered mirrors calls the flames on my car, and i quote, "silly"? Apart from that, very beautiful for a car made in the last 15 years ^^

yep, silly! :mrgreen:

I got the mirrorcaps as a gift and have actually been thinking about putting the old ones back on, to make it all black again. But they?ve become a sort of trademark to make the car stand out just a little, and they also make life a lot easier when you?re in a big parking lot and can?t quite remember where exactly you parked...
 
Dude! It's a mini! Nice ride I been wanting one lately with traffic and parking in this city it's perfect :)
 
I?m not big on timing myself during the terrorist tourist-sessions. And the only closed events I did were GLP, where you?re not allowed to go under 10mins (for the whole thing though). But last time I did have the stopwatch with me I managed a 9:36 btg despite the usual sunday traffic. The engine is still quite a limiting factor...

As far as investment goes it?s quite hard to keep track of a project that goes on as long as this, I?ve been doing things as I go along, and I?m pretty much always putting money aside for the next parts. The only "expensive" things were the rims, suspension and seats. But it?s all the little stuff that makes it work. Lots of the improved parts were mainly put in because their predecessors had given up on me, which distorts thing further. All the brake-bits for example work waay better than their stock counterparts, while actually being less expensive in total if you ignore the one time cost of the braided brake lines.

Another thing is that my car is still a compromise between track-blasting on one side and all your average everyday stuff including winter driving on the other. If you don?t have to compromise, and are able to do most things yourself then from my experience you can build yourself a really decent track car for around 5-6k ?, that includes everything, even the base car...
 
Very very nice car. Love the "OneS" logo at the rear :)
 
Ford, do you know about the Speed Industries Trackday at the Nordschleife on the 31 March? I know 450 euros a day might be a lot, but its just 30 cars for the whole track, closed down, and you can do flying laps :p I'll be there doing a montage for a guy trying to get under 8 mins.
 
I don't know if this was intentional, or you just didn't have the money, but I like how you left the engine alone and concentrated on the vehicles suspension, the MINI's hallmark. smart choices, I would have done the same.

And I will be eventually doing the same with my own car. While the engine is superb, the suspension is overwhelmed.
 
I heard there was something going on on the tuesday, but didn?t really look into it. Don?t think I?ll be going anyway, I?m already doing a full trackday the day before, and driving the tourist sessions on the day before that. It?s a bit much, not just moneywise. I also don?t know if I?ll have the new suspension by then... I might just drop in and have a look though...:D
 
a bog standard MINI, which you've only upgraded the chassis/handling? WIN.
You understand what MINIs are about.

Every asshat could slap a turbo on/upgrade the chip and make it go faster.
 
I managed to completely overlook jayhawks post :?

Anyway, the engine staying more or less standard was intentional, because I believe that power isn?t as essential to having fun on a track as all the other stuff is. And the learning effect is much greater when you drive a car which can?t compensate the drivers incompetence in the corners on the straights. And besides, the ECU remap did make a bigger difference than it usually does, since the One and Cooper engine are identical as far as hardware goes.

The whole engine thing is a financial issue as well though, I?m slowly starting to get to the point where I?d like to go back to the engine. But if I go with the standard stuff which is available for N/A Minis, then I?m looking at a couple thousand ? for a relatively small gain in power, and I think that any leftover money will be best spent in improving the weakest link in the chain, which (as always) is the driver...

Thing is, I don?t even know how much power it has, as it?s never been on a dyno (hoping to change that soon though).

Either way, overtaking Porsches is a lot more fun when you know they?ve got about 4 times as much power :mrgreen:
 
I'm the same way, I could spend 4 grand easy on a supercharger, exhaust, intercooler, etc. Or for that same 4 grand I could buy, coilovers, tires, rims, better brakes, etc. Or even better I could get a 3 day race school at Laguna Seca.
 
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