Mini Photos

Enjoy some photos I took this weekend.

My Mini is Mine

On Monday, the same day I got the Midget towed to the shop, I was given the go ahead to pick up my Mini. I guess that's just my life balancing itself out.

My gracious brother, who was battling a cold, offered to take me down and pick it up. I've been driving it all week and I absolutely love it. The color, the interior, the jaw-dropping handling. Everything. We had some fantastic weather on Wednesday, so I made sure to take a lunch break during work for a cruise with the windows down. Even after a few days, I find myself shaking when I drive it. I don't know if it's the pure elation I experience when driving it or if it's just me being nervous. I'm pretty sure it's the former.

I'm still amazed at just how well this car is designed. The creator (Alec Issigonis) did an unbelievable job maximizing the passenger space while keeping such a small footprint on the macadam. Also, the visibility from the inside out is awesome. I never realized it from pictures, but I do now as I drive it. The seams between the windshield, side, and rear windows are so thin that the whole plane of visibility is nearly unobstructed. I don't think I have to comment on the fantastic handling for which the Mini is most known. And sure, it lacks some of the conveniences and the reliability of modern day cars. But when it's this fun to drive, who cares?

I do, however, have one concern that I'm going to address to the seller this weekend. I'm planning on taking some nice photos this weekend to send to him as well.

In the meantime, here are some shots I snapped throughout the week. Enjoy.

The Keys to Happiness

One thing I'm going to have to sort out is the key situation for this Mini. I try to have a very minimalist approach to everything in my life, including the number of items in my pocket and, therefore, the number of keys on my key ring. And this car comes with a ridiculous number of keys. There's a key for the ignition, the doors, the gas cap, the boot lid, and a special key with which to raise the antenna. Right off the bat, I don't plan on locking the gas cap or lowering the antenna on a regular basis. So I can do without those. I'm thinking I can keep the key to the boot inside the car somewhere. So that will only leave me with two: the doors and the ignition. And that's what I carry around for the Midget. And the two keys probably take up about the same amount of space as one of those huge modern day car keys, so I think I'll be in good shape.

I'm glad I have THAT all figured out. Now where's my car?

Love at First Drive

I went to visit my Mini this afternoon. I took it for a test drive, during at which time it started to smoke from under the bonnet. We got it back to the seller's shop and he believes it's a leaking bypass hose. Hopefully that's all it is.

The plan for this week is as follows: I'll forward my insurance card to the seller, and he's going to see if he can register the car and get it inspected on my behalf. He's also going to finish some loose ends which include addressing the newly discovered overheating issue, fixing a small oil leak, adhering some pinstripes and the bonnet emblem, affixing the MINI lettering on the boot, finishing the dash, and popping a small dent at the right rear quarter. So basically a lot of small, quick jobs. He told me everything will be done this week so I can pick it up on Saturday.

The pedals don't have covers on them yet, and my tractionless Converse shoes were slippin' n slidin' all over the clutch pedal. So with that going on and the smoke emitting from the bonnet, I wish I could've enjoyed my test drive a bit more. Getting into third gear was a bit different as well. Nonetheless, it was quite a thrill driving my Mini for the very first time. Even at 6' 2" I was quite comfortable inside the thing...which boasted much more room than my Midget. The smaller engine was also apparent during the lap (noted mostly when driving uphill).

Although the Moonraker Blue finish wouldn't have been my first color choice, I like that it's unique and I think it does exude a certain bit of class. And after going through this whole ordeal, I'll just be happy if I can pick up the car on Saturday with everything working and completed. While standing there in the shop, with the car overheating and seeing this laundry list of yet-to-dos, I realized how insignificant the color is at this point. Let's just get her home.