962 replies to this topic

[JamesC]

Yep, but you need a proper GP vin number, asked on MiniTorque forum and they were more than happy to help. The bumper, skirts and rear trim all genuine, but the wing was a carbon Orranje one.

I really want another R50, but I'd want the kit again and I cannot afford to do that. So rare to find them for sale privately too

Ah, very cool. I have a 2006 R50 in hyper blue and love it. Although I want to replace it with a 05-06 S next summer.

[jamesmpi]

Popped over to the Goodwood Breakfast Hot Hatch meet with a few friends from work and had a mini / MINI meet before hand

Edited by jamesmpi, 06 November 2016 - 03:40 PM.

[PetePinnington]

What time did you get there? Can't say I saw any of those! Saw one classic which was a grey clubman but that's it.

[jamesmpi]

What time did you get there? Can't say I saw any of those! Saw one classic which was a grey clubman but that's it.

We didn't display any. Hiding in the car park

[mab01uk]

AROnline: Our cars : Getting to know Keith’s R50 MINI

"Although they were trumpeted as quality cars when new back in 2001, early MINIs are now suffering from the onset of old age like any other car. So, the ads are now littered with early cars that have led a hard life, and are now showing the signs. Broken gearboxes, warning lights and random faults are now the norm.
Still, that gives one plenty to talk about when buying a ‘project’.

In the times I have driven the MINI, it’s been a great deal of fun – cementing my belief that these are fabulous modern classics. They’s cheap, fun to drive, have a great specialist support network, and still look fresh and modern."

http://www.aronline....ow-keiths-mini/

Edited by mab01uk, 29 November 2016 - 12:06 AM.

[mab01uk]

 

MINI’s Oxford Plant Celebrates its 3 Millionth MINI

Official Release: Plant Oxford today (Dec 2nd 2016) celebrates the three millionth MINI to roll off the assembly line since production began back in 2001. The three millionth Oxford-built MINI is a John Cooper Works Clubman – the first model to combine the latest John Cooper Works performance enhancements and a new ALL4 all-wheel drive system.

From around 300 cars a day in 2001 to around 1,000 built to order cars today, the 4,500 strong workforce at Oxford produce one new MINI almost every minute. 80 per cent of MINIs built here are exported to more than 110 markets across the world. Since we began building MINIs back in 2001 the car has proven hugely popular with customers right around the world. The passion and commitment that everyone here at the plant has for building a high-quality product is central to that success. The 3 millionth Oxford-built MINI is a remarkable achievement.
Sales of MINI, both in the UK and internationally, have gone from strength to strength over the last 15 years. In its first year nearly 40,000 MINIs were sold worldwide. By 2015 this number had risen to nearly 340,000.Three UK plants have a part to play in its production – Hams Hall near Birmingham makes engines, Swindon produces body pressings and sub-assemblies for MINI, and this all comes together at Oxford with body shell production, paint and final assembly. Together these plants have helped to generate and sustain employment for thousands of people directly and indirectly though the wider supply chain and retailers.

Since 2000 £1.75 billion has been invested by BMW Group at the three plants and at Oxford this has included a state-of-the-art paintshop, a high-technology body building facility, a new final assembly area, a new logistics centre, Quality and Engineering Centre and the MINIcademy, where the plant’s apprentices are trained.
Oxford, the heart and home of MINI production, has a rich motor manufacturing history. It has been building cars since 1913 when the great designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist William Morris (later Lord Nuffield), produced its first car, a “Bullnose” Morris, near today’s present state-of-the-art MINI production facility.
The classic Mini, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and launched in 1959, revolutionised the automotive world and was produced at Oxford until 1968 with a peak output of 94,889 cars during 1966-7.
Models built at Oxford today include three and five door MINIs, the MINI Clubman and its first all-wheel drive All4 model – and the high-performance MINI John Cooper Works.
http://www.motoringf...millionth-mini/

Edited by mab01uk, 05 December 2016 - 11:06 PM.

[mini_mad69]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had a few now meself, the black R53 was by far my favourite, wish I never sold it.

[mab01uk]

From Austin Rover Online:-

AROnline - Our cars : Keith’s MINI Cooper – lighting up the way

The MINI hasn’t been seeing much action recently. Blame the slew of cars crossing my path over the past few months, and the fact that I’ve needed a jump pack to get it going. Which is a shame, because when it is running, it’s an absolute delight.

Well, I say delight, what I actually mean is that it’s one of those cars that you end up totting up a growing list of things to do in your head every time you drive it. Notwithstanding the intermittent warning lights on the dashboard that continue to glower at me, a real bugbear when driving it are the shockingly poor headlamps.

 

Short days, long nights, rubbish headlights

Given the short days, dark nights and general gloom of driving in the UK, you need good headlamps. This is something that really comes home to roost after any period in a new car – this is one area where technology has made a massive difference.

 

So, with that in mind, I picked up a pair of LED H7 headlamp replacements from my mate Warner Lewis. He basically sells these kits to people who want more light from their cars, without the need for hacking out the old wiring. Truth be told, I was a bit skeptical, and know that there are certain legalities around non-standard headlamps – but in the end, I decided to fit them and see what happened.

After about 10 minutes of faffing around, the bulbs were fitted. You get a little piece of loom to connect between your existing headlamp wiring and the new bulb holder – and other than the fact the new bulbs are a little longer than the originals, they fit straight in. In the MINI, you have separate dipped and main beam bulbs – I simply replaced the dipped ones.

LED headlights certainly brighten your evenings

In terms of how effective they are, I’d say they work very well indeed. They’re brighter within the existing headlamp beam pattern, and don’t seem to annoy other drivers – at least no one’s flashed me yet to tell me I’m blinding them.

They do this weird flickering when you switch on the ignition before starting the car, but they stop when the engine is running – and when you switch them on, they work just fine.

I’ll be interested to see what the views from the AROnline readership – over on Facebook when I mentioned this, there was no real consensus over whether I should be using them or not.

What do you think?

http://www.aronline....–-lighting-way/

 

Edited by mab01uk, 19 February 2017 - 10:20 AM.

[LittleWheels]

Have these been modified??

[mab01uk]

According to Autocar magazine Carspring has done the research and compiled a list of the 13 car brands that depreciate least in Britain.
MINI's rank top, while Toyota comes last of top 13 brands in Britain, with its used models losing an average of 74.59% value after 34,700 miles
http://www.autocar.c...epreciate-least

MINI's suffer from depreciation the least out of the UK’s top 13 car brands. Losing an average of 46.88% from their values after 34,700 miles, they beat Audi models, which lost 47.33% after the same mileage, to the top spot.
Volkswagen, Lexus, Ford and Vauxhall achieved the next best results, with between 47.51% and 54.12% lost respectively. The worst performing brand was Toyota, which has an average of 74.59% value lost from its vehicles after the aforementioned mileage.

Car values: Top 13 car brands that hold their value best
MINI - 46.08%
Audi 47.33%
Volkswagen - 47.51%
Lexus 51.59%
Ford - 53.49%
Vauxhall - 54.12%
Fiat - 54.17%
BMW - 55.82%
Kia - 59.27%
Nissan - 63.23%
Honda - 65.94%
Peugeot - 70.19%
Toyota - 74.59%

[mab01uk]

 

"Italian Jon Team 69 (Jon & Wiz) are proud to announce that we will be inviting Minis back to Dunsfold Park and the TopGear Test Track on 3rd June 2017.
The event will be limited to 100 cars, and the cost to attend is £60 per car, with no extra charge for additional drivers or passengers.
This is higher than the last event we held back in 2009, but track hire costs have risen considerably - it's costing us £4800 to hire the track for the day.
All extra funds raised after costs have been paid will be in aid of Variety, The Children's Charity, which is the charity being supported by The Italian Job in 2017. This is a not for profit event, all funds raised go to charity.

So, more about the day....
This is a fun day for Mini and MINI owners to get to sample the Top Gear Test Track. You will be led round behind a safety car at a fair (but brisk) pace in groups of 8-10 cars, in 5 lap sessions. Each car will have more than one session.
There will be more to do on the day too and Italian Job style special stages to take part in.
We understand there are a fair few ex-MINI owners out there who took part in previous TopGear events, and would like to join us... you are more than welcome. This is as much a community day as anything, and it will be great to get some of the old crowd back together.
Refreshments will be available on the day, but you are welcome to bring your own food and drinks.
Attendance is only by prior registration, so please use the ticket link above. This will take you to a web form where you will submit your details to us.
We will then process registrations and email with further details including how to make payment. Once we receive your payment, your place at the event is confirmed."

Details Here:-

https://www.facebook...41443455946628/

[mab01uk]

Minis at Dunsfold - 3rd June 2017 - Ticket Registration:-

This is a fun day for Mini and MINI owners to get to sample the Top Gear Test Track

https://docs.google....iewform?c=0&w=1

[Northernpower]

The antithesis of a cool Bini?

I wouldn't want to spend a night with two people sleeping in it in high winds. http://shop.autohome...countryman.html

Edited by Northernpower, 14 November 2017 - 10:55 AM.

[r3k1355]

THREE THOUSAND EURO!?!?!

[panky]

And nowhere to put your wellies