20 replies to this topic

[Trail of Dead]

I recently went to Beck Row Car Spares to see if they had any Minis around. They had one, a 1989 Mini in decent shape. It had a few parts that I was interested in so I asked one of the guys there how much for the parts. He told me that his boss wasn't around to help me and he promptly got on the horn and called him. I stood around for 30 minutes until the boss showed up. I saw him pull up by the office and he gestured for me to wait another minute (which ended up being five!). Finally he came over to where I was (standing by the Mini) and asked me what I needed. I told him I needed the Drivers side door, the door cards and possibly the front disc brake setup. He thought about my request for a couple minutes and finally gave me a price on the door and the cards. I agreed with the prices and then asked how much for the front brakes. He said "Do you only need the Calipers?" I said "No, I need the Calipers/Rotors/Hubs as my Mini has Drums in the front. So I'll need the entire front brake setup in order to bolt them up". He said "Ok" then he gave me a price....150 quid for the front brake setup. I thought about it for a couple seconds and then said "Wait, I'm doing an engine swap on my Mini....I'm swapping to a C20XE" He said "What's that?". I responded that it is a "Redtop.....you know from a Vauxhall/Opel?" He gave me a blank look and then I asked this: "Do you think these brakes will work properly with that swap.....can they handle that kind of change?" He responded with "Sounds like you have your head up your arse mate.....you haven't done your homework!"

At this point my jaw was on the ground and I just wanted to stomp him a new one! I remained calm and said "Yes, I have done my homework....I just want to know if they can handle the horsepower/added weight of the Vauxhall engine." He then got sarcastic with me and asked "Are you going to put a Vauxhall front end on it to?" I said "No, I am going to use a Clubman front clip" he rolled his eyes and then walked away telling to to think about whether I wanted the brakes or not.

Is it stupid to ask if a set of stock front brakes can handle a heavier engine/tranny that puts out WAY more horsepower? I don't think it was a dumb question. I tell ya, his comment has bothered me for the last two nights. I sit and think what an A$%$# why would he say that? Then I think maybe to a British person it might mean something different than to an American....like maybe somehow it isn't something bad like in the states. If I told someone (a stranger) back home that they had their head up their a$$ then I'd probably get my head knocked off cause I basically told them they don't know anything and they are pretty much a waste of air.

It gets better, when I went back the next day to get the door off I opened it up and noticed the screws holding the door to the hinge were severely stripped out and I don't have the proper tools for extraction yet. I walked up to the office to see if they had a pair of Vise-Grips I could use and the guy in the office accused ME of ruining the screws......what a craphole scrapyard! I went back and grabbed the door cards and brought them to the guy (the owner) that I had the pleasure of dealing with the day before and he told me to "put them back in the car mate.....or I'll charge you more for them." Wow, the day before he told me 50 quid for the door, 20 quid for all four cards. I didn't get the door off that day and after I thought about I only really need the front two door cards. So, I figured 10 quid for the front two if all four are 20 right? But somehow he was going to charge me MORE if I bought just the door cards by themselves? What is this guys problem? I sure wish I had a British friend that I could go to the scrapyard with cause it feels like he's singling me out cause I'm American.

Before he told me I had my head up my bum he called a guy that he sold the shell to to make sure it was ok for him to sell me what I wanted off the car. He mentioned "An American man wants to buy some parts off the Mini". I thought to myself, "What difference does it make if I am American? I'm a customer!". This sucks cause those parts are EXACTLY what I need for my Mini! Why does this crap happen to me.....I was really polite to the guy both times I encountered him and so far he has done nothing but walk all over me. This kind of stuff makes me feel like I'll never get this Mini done!

Edited by Trail of Dead, 26 September 2009 - 10:15 PM.

[Shifty]

Hmmm, sounds like "Spank the Yank day" at your local breakers!!!!!

[Trail of Dead]

Hmmm, sounds like "Spank the Yank day" at your local breakers!!!!!

That is exactly what I thought Shifty......I wish you could see these door cards and the door.....there are just about the only parts on the car that look nearly new. Pretty nice for being 20 years old! Yet I can't seem to get them cause these guys want to act like tools. I am going to be looking for other breakers nearby to deal with...hopefully I won't have this issue elsewhere!

[Dan]

Unfortunately this is what many scrap yards are like here. Sorry. As for why he responded like that to your question, it's a bit of an odd question to ask in a scrap yard. He won't know about the technical details of different parts of different cars. He isn't a Mini specialist and so can be forgiven for not knowing you can put a Vauxhall motor in a Mini fairly simply. He won't know how good the brakes are and how they will handle any extra weight. I'm not suggesting that he was in the right in any way, there is no need to deal with you like that. If he didn't know he could have just said that he didn't know. Sadly, as I said that's just what many scrap yards are like here. It's quite common for them not to want to split up groups of parts like that. Complete interiors will sell for a higher premium than odd parts. Sorry that you've had this trouble but don't dwell on it, there are a lot of terrible people around.

[Trail of Dead]

Unfortunately this is what many scrap yards are like here. Sorry. As for why he responded like that to your question, it's a bit of an odd question to ask in a scrap yard. He won't know about the technical details of different parts of different cars. He isn't a Mini specialist and so can be forgiven for not knowing you can put a Vauxhall motor in a Mini fairly simply. He won't know how good the brakes are and how they will handle any extra weight. I'm not suggesting that he was in the right in any way, there is no need to deal with you like that. If he didn't know he could have just said that he didn't know. Sadly, as I said that's just what many scrap yards are like here. It's quite common for them not to want to split up groups of parts like that. Complete interiors will sell for a higher premium than odd parts. Sorry that you've had this trouble but don't dwell on it, there are a lot of terrible people around.

Point taken Dan. See, if he would just responded to my question the way you did then I probably would've just bought the brakes along with everything else....you catch more flies with honey then with vinegar! I am a former Mechanic, and I also worked in sales for many years. I know how things work but I figured I'd ask him cause well....I was hoping he'd have an answer or maybe to point to someone that did. As for sales...at the end of the day he's a business and when I was in sales we were taught ABC, Always Be Closing. Always try to end the sale, constantly try to finalize it. Don't give the prospective customer the option to back out of the sale. If I was selling parts off a Mini and a customer asked me if the Brakes would work for his application I would say "I would guess that they would be well within spec to handle that kind of application and if not you could always sell them off later or keep them as spares......so you ready to buy them?" I wouldn't say "Here's the price now go home and think about it" cause I want the customers money! Anyhow, that sucks to hear that alot of the breakers are like that. My Dad told me to go there with some serious power tools and rip, tear, drill, destroy whatever I have to in order to get the door off. Lol!

Edited by Trail of Dead, 26 September 2009 - 10:36 PM.

[Shifty]

In an effort to rescue anglo-american relations!!!

These are what you need to remove the door!!

http://shop.ebay.co....4=228459_228460

[Trail of Dead]

In an effort to rescue anglo-american relations!!!

These are what you need to remove the door!!

http://shop.ebay.co....4=228459_228460

Shifty, I thought about these....I only hope the door is still there by the first (payday) of October so I can get some of these and get it off. I might be able to do this on Monday if I can find a place that stocks these locally!

Edited by Trail of Dead, 26 September 2009 - 10:56 PM.

[Dan]

Releasing the nuts that are under the wing is the correct way to remove a door anyway. In a Mini you leave the hinges on the door when you remove it. You usually have to use an impact driver to get the screws out of the hinges and there's no way to get one in there with the door on the car.

[Shifty]

In an effort to rescue anglo-american relations!!!

These are what you need to remove the door!!

http://shop.ebay.co....4=228459_228460

Shifty, I thought about these....I only hope the door is still there by the first (payday) of October so I can get some of these and get it off. I might be able to do this on Monday if I can find a place that stocks these locally!

Screwfix sell them.

[Trail of Dead]

Releasing the nuts that are under the wing is the correct way to remove a door anyway. In a Mini you leave the hinges on the door when you remove it. You usually have to use an impact driver to get the screws out of the hinges and there's no way to get one in there with the door on the car.

The one guy at the scrapyard that accused me of ruining the screws told me to use an impact driver. All the while I thought "Dude, that will never work with the door on the hinges as you can't reach the third screw on the top hinge. I tried removing one of the screws just to see how difficult it was but when it wouldn't budge I stopped. Do Minis use Philips head or Torx fasteners as the stock fasteners for the door hinges where they bolt to the door? I would think Torx bolts would be more appropriate than Philips heads......I have never seen a messed up Torx bolt, they are just really good fasteners. On this Mini at the scrapyard it has Torx bolts on the passenger side door and Philips heads on the drivers. Which is factory? I thought it would be the Torx cause they were covered in matching red paint and the Philips were silver and obviously much newer then the rest of the car.

[Trail of Dead]

In an effort to rescue anglo-american relations!!!

These are what you need to remove the door!!

http://shop.ebay.co....4=228459_228460

Shifty, I thought about these....I only hope the door is still there by the first (payday) of October so I can get some of these and get it off. I might be able to do this on Monday if I can find a place that stocks these locally!

Screwfix sell them.

Thanks Shifty....I hadn't heard of them before. I looked them up and there is a branch in Bury St Edmunds.....only 8 miles from our new house. I'll pop down there this Monday and see if they have them. Thanks amigo!

PS: Sorry for the double post!

Edited by Trail of Dead, 26 September 2009 - 11:17 PM.

[Shifty]

They do have them!!

http://www.screwfix....Nut-Remover-Set

[minivanman]

I'd try to buy the parts you need from somewhere else - b***ocks to the scrappy!

[Dan]

I would think Torx bolts would be more appropriate than Philips heads

Torx? You know these doors were first fitted in 1969 don't you?

Early cars have Philips heads screws fitted (actually I think they're Pozi-drive but it's a while since I saw one). Later cars have Torx. I don't know when they changed but I think it will have been around the same time as the twin point was introduced.

[roofless]

dont worry - the guy at the breakers is a prick.