I made the big wheel and tire swap last week. Since the BMW is almost done, I’m returning the MINI to normal–well closer to normal. I swapped out the R-comps on the MINI race wheels for a street tire. I took out the rear strutbar and removed the splitter. I also sold the MINI 15 …
It’s easy to forget what a long road it’s been, but if you click through this set of photos, it’s really amazing how far this car has come in the last 13 months. I put the badges back on and hooked up the spray nozzles on the hood tonight. Once I knocked the dust off, …
Like so many things with this car, you never really know what’s wrong until you get out the grinder. After I finished painting the roof, I found a bubble in the paint on the hood. At some point in it’s tortured existence, something very heavy landed on the hood of this BMW. The hood is …
I finally finished my rattle-can respray in black. Well almost. I have a rust bubble I have to finish on the hood, but otherwise it’s finally done. My goal of a more or less uniform satin black finish is almost realized. The last bit of major painting was the trunk and deck-spoiler. That actually turned …
I’m pretty sure that there steering rack belongs somewhere under the car… Day 1 of the steering rack adventure is complete. Without making too much of a mess, I managed to get all of the hoses off, fluid drained, and the old rack removed. The tie-rod links proved to be a pain, but after much …
I was hoping I’d be able to make it to the May NCC HPDE at Summit Point at the end of the month without having to replace my steering rack, but no luck. The boots are full of fluid. There’s also a vibration in the drive-line which probably indicates the U-joints are shot. Of course, …
I’ve been having some problems with the MINI’s suspension lately. First was a thumping sound in the right rear, and the left front seemed to bottom out on even the slightest bump in the road. That and the fact that my family won’t ride in the car anymore because of the harshness of the ride, …
With more than 24 hours to spare, I finally finished the F-22 for the first track outing of the year. Since I was running out of time, I had Dan Martin’s shop finish the front suspension and fix the cam gear seal. I’m really impressed with the Bavauto springs. The ride height is aggressive but …
Thanks to the break in weather, I was able to start the suspension work this past weekend. The photo above shows the difference in size between the stock rear spring and the Bavauto spring. Shorter springs require shorter shocks. This photo shows a comparison of the Bilstein HD shock with the Sport Shock. This photo …
I had some time on my hands the other night, went out to the garage, and much to my surprise, there’s nothing left on my punch-list to do on the BMW. Sure there’s plenty left to do — just not much I can do myself. The new suspension components have started to arrive. Once the …