[11/16/16: Updated for remote mount.] I always felt the MINI was missing two critical gauges: Boost and Oil Pressure. Back in 2005, I fabricated my first gauge pod and I’m still using it 10 years later. I decided that adding the sender for oil pressure was a bridge too far back then, so I installed …
If your 2005-2006 MINI seat bottoms have pulled loose of the cushion, here’s what you need to know about reattaching them. (2002-2004 seats were mostly glued so this may not apply except for certain leather seats.) The process is not complex and can be completed with common hand tools. Start by disconnecting the battery and waiting …
I finally got around to installing the brake ducts and hoses that I bought last summer. For the most part, the switch to Wilwood calipers and ducting into the wheel well solved my brake temperature problems during short track sessions of 25-30 minutes. But for longer sessions of 45-60 minutes or more, especially during hot, humid …
Building out the MINI trackcar, we’ve been trying to balance weight savings, safety, and utility. We removed most of the interior trim, but decided to keep the panel that runs along the bottom of the door jam to the fuse panel (called “trim panel leg room”) to protect the fuse panel as well as the …
One of the easiest weight-saving mods you can make to your MINI is to replace the stock battery with a lighter weight one. Lithium Ion batteries are ridiculously expensive, but Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) are not and they weigh about half of stock. For this application we used the Braille B2618 which an 18 lb., right …
I know the MINI has the aerodynamics of a brick, but we can still try to maximize the brick. In a previous post we showed how to smooth airflow under the car with underbody panels and a belly plate. In this post, we install the Leap Alpha C spoiler. We had been exploring how to …
At the end of production for the first Generation new MINI came the GP. It was the fastest MINI to date at the time and had some interesting aero tweaks including full length under-body panels to smooth the airflow under the car. Those panels run at least $200 each if you can find them, but there …
Since we’re turning the MINI into a dedicated track car, we gutted most of the interior. The Gen 1 MINI has a huge oval opening in the middle of the door once you remove the door panel. It has a rather sharp edge (protected by a piece of weather stripping) and since we were not …
If you’re removing the carpet from your Gen 1 MINI, here are a couple of helpful hints. Besides the fact that the thick backing makes the entire piece of carpet somewhat unwieldy and hard to maneuver, the last sticking point in removing it will likely be the removal of the accelerator pedal. This image shows …
If your HVAC controls are starting to wear or the screens are starting to go bad (as were mine), the replacement is a simple DIY repair with only minimal tools and skills. With the car powered off — I suppose you should actually disconnect the battery — begin by removing the trim around the HVAC …