PRICE Dropped to $1700!
Still includes a Bentley manual and a MINI car cover
I bought this car from SVRex a few years ago in this thread after being really sad he beat me to it in this thread a couple years earlier. Paul bought it with a possibly bad supercharger and chased down a bad alternator, fixed that, upgraded a few things and made a very successful challenge bid with it. Then something went funky with it under his ownership and I bought it with grand hopes of repeating his success. I failed. I went back to school and ignored it. I made a few half hearted attempts to diagnose it and threw some parts at it and now its a dustier slightly older version of what I bought from Paul. I still don't have time to work on it and the need in our family got filled by another car.
Current issues:
-It makes ugly rocks in a blender noises occasionally when running that come and go. Checking timing guides and possibly the harmonic dampener was next on my list.
-The exhaust manifold glows red after it runs a few minutes. It has some codes that include vac leak and IIRC a tps signal that doesn't change.
-It kills batteries.
Upgrades:
Paul put on the following:
-
It is wearing a pair of Ireland Engineering adjustable camber plates. These should allow for 3* of negative camber. They sell for $275.
-
It is wearing a Dinan tower bar, and tower reinforcing rings. Perhaps a little more bling than sting, but it is there.
-
It has a Craven Speed 17% reduction pulley.
I did:
-Replaced the fuel pump (died) and filter housing (broke).
-Replaced the injectors with one size up (I can find specifics but they match the supercharger pulley well)
You can email me through this forum with questions which should lead to Pee Tee Josh Miller at Gee Mail dot com (without all those silly repeating vowels)
Tow it home with some Cheap AWD supercharged Goodness and I will make you a package deal!
I will not do this. I will not do this. I will not do this. Bad thoughts. Just say no. Red rum. I will not do this. I will not do this. I will not do this. I will not do this. Bad thoughts. Just say no. Red rum. I will not do this. I will not do this. I will not do this. I will not do this. Bad thoughts. Just say no. Red rum. I will not do this.
I think there are a lot of people who are glad you don't have a trailer as part of the package
SVreX
MegaDork
6/6/18 1:42 p.m.
That was one of the most fun cars I've owned!
Ian F
MegaDork
6/7/18 7:37 a.m.
I am so, sooo glad this is 1000 miles away...
Most R53 issues I have fixed before, so none of the "bad" is scary to me.
In reply to Ian F :
1000 miles is only a two day drive, there and back. Don't let that stop you.
I've had the hots for these since the originals have gotten so bloody expensive, but "rocks in a blender" noise isn't too appealing, and coming from MI is less so.
Ian F
MegaDork
6/7/18 9:53 a.m.
DeadSkunk said:
In reply to Ian F :
1000 miles is only a two day drive, there and back. Don't let that stop you.
I'll refer you to my last post in SVreX's "nearly free Europa" thread... Adding another car to my project list would not be good for my already fragile mental state.
DeadSkunk said:
In reply to Ian F :
1000 miles is only a two day drive, there and back. Don't let that stop you.
Pfft. I've done 1000 miles in less than 24 hours.
On a motorcycle.
Go get it, Ian. 
Rocks in a blender? Either the water pump reduction gears in the supercharger or a timing chain tensioner.
I'd check the vacuum tube connecting to the throttle body for that lean condition.
Alternator?
Having just watched the Mini Cooper episode of Wheeler Dealers last night, this is tempting. But then I remember I have my own stalled project already, and that I hate cars, and I get over it quickly enough. 
N7Prime said:
Rocks in a blender? Either the water pump reduction gears in the supercharger or a timing chain tensioner.
I'd check the vacuum tube connecting to the throttle body for that lean condition.
Alternator?
This car pains me because it reminds me over and over again how much my life has changed in the last few years and how unnatural my new normal still feels. I used to have lots of wrenching time and very little money. Now I have almost no wrenching time and a little bit of money. I still get excited when I see an amazing deal that just needs a little bit of work. Heck-I just bought a 4 runner that fits that perfectly because I'm too dumb to accept my new reality. I really really want to head out in the garage and start taking the supercharger off of the Mini and digging into the timing chain guides to see whats going on, but then I have to remind myself that I have work work to do, and daily drivers that need work, and a house that needs prepping for sale, 3 kids and a wife, and considering going back to school, and.......................the MINI needs to go. 
Now comes with Bentley service manual to guide through your repair journey
And a beautiful MINI car cover to keep your neighbors guessing about what cute little surprise you are going to unleash on them.
All at the reduced price of $1,900.
$1,800! Make it your MINI!
Mods-Is there a way to adjust the title the post to reflect the new price?
So how crusty is it underneath?
spitfirebill said:
So how crusty is it underneath?
I will try to poke around under it with a camera tomorrow
If I lived closer I’d buy it. But shipping to
mn is silly from Florida.
Robbie
PowerDork
6/25/18 9:53 p.m.
How is this not sold yet? What a good deal.
SVreX
MegaDork
6/26/18 6:23 a.m.
spitfirebill said:
So how crusty is it underneath?
It does have some rust, but it wasn’t horrible when I owned it. I had it on a lift, and poked around a bit.
I don’t remember any floorpan or structural rust. Might have been a little bit in the running boards (Don’t remember).
I do remember that every fastener on the car was tough to get off.
I definitely wouldn’t use the word “crusty”.
In reply to spitfirebill :
If you are from the South it's an odd sight to see, from the North-it's showroom fresh. 
In a Michigan Craigslist ad that would be "rust free".
Crap. Where is this car? Please don't say it's in MI.
