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 …
Busy weekend for autocross. After a month off — back in with both feet. Yesterday it was a sweltering event with the CDC, and today it’s back to FEDEX Field for the SCCA event. The GeorgeCo MINI powered by Beano ran well yesterday. All four runs were within .sec of each other. We had the …
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 …
It was a beautiful morning for an autocross. The National Capital Chapter of the BMW CCA held another points event at the MD State Police Training Facility in Sykesville. I was eager to get the BMW back on the road, so I gave it a try, even though the U-joint beats the drive-line like a …
It was a beautiful weekend to be at the track. (Actually, there are no bad weekends to be at the track. Except maybe when it snows — been there, done that.) Except for a brief deluge, it was sunny and warm all three days. I really appreciate the Friday IA days. I get more track …
Since the BMW is still on jack-stands in the garage, I decided to take out the MINI for the Capital Driving Club autocross at Bowie Stadium this weekend. It was sunny and hot, but fortunately, not yet so humid. I was competitive with the other MINIs that were running, but I wasn’t up there with …
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, …