Have you ever been tempted by a set of leather sport seats you find at the pick-yard? We decided to find out if it was possible to refinish them well enough to that you’d want to put them into your daily driver. Once you find a potential set of seats, be sure to check the …
After destroying two upper motor mounts and two exhaust flex joints in successive track weekends, I decided to try a more robust motor mount to see if I could reduce some engine movement. Vibra Technics makes two versions of this mount for Gen 1 MINI and this is the track (harder) version. My first thought …
Toward the end of my last track session for 2018 I noticed a significant change in exhaust tone. I thought the larger second position OEM cat had finally failed, but it turns out it was the first smaller cat ahead of it. If you see a break like this, you should also check your motor …
One thing I really don’t like on the E90 3 Series cars is the “soft touch” plastic coating used on the interior plastic bits. It should have been called “don’t touch” for how easily it is damaged. I wanted to fix the steering wheel trim which looked like this: So I ordered some 3M vinyl …
Taking advantage of the unusually warm weather over the holidays to take on some of the paint defects on the X5. This post shows how to tackle a deep scratch and bad touch-up paint job. When we got the 2013 X5 in 2017, the dealer had attempted to hide a deep scratch with a thick …
Your MINI motor mounts will fail. It’s a matter of “when” not “if.” The stock rubber bushings age and harden over time especially if you track your car. The stock bushings were designed to reduce vibration not for performance. We already replaced the top motor mount on this car, but ended up sticking with the …
A few years ago, a strong wind blew the telephone line off of our house and into the MINI. Parked six inches to the right it would have missed. Six inches to the left and it would have broken the rear window. I suppose I should have been happy it just dented the fender. The …
Automotive protective coatings have come a long way since your father’s can of Simoniz. (Which for the record is actually a different word than “Simonize” which is a recognized synonym for the transitive verb “to polish.” Who knew….) There is an amazing variety of coating and sealants available today with prices ranging from tens to …
I’m slowly getting ready for winter — not like I really have a say whether it comes or not. Winter wheels are out of the basement and on the car. The hose-mobile is in their place. The faucets are covered. So it’s time to figure out how to keep the cars clean(ish?) without running water. …
Someone backed into my wife’s Audi over Thanksgiving weekend damaging the bumper cover and leaving a small dent and no note. Before taking it to the paint shop to get the entire bumper cover repainted, I thought I’d see how much I could correct with buffing, touch-up paint, and with a commonly available bumper repair …