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.

Watching My Carbs

Well. I won't have the Mini by this weekend as I hoped. So let's not talk about the Mini.

I've been driving my Pop-pop's van for the last 2 weeks or so with all the snow we've been getting. On Thursday, I decided to take the Midget out for a short spin to make sure all was good in preparation for taking it to work the next day. It was supposed to be a (relatively) nice day.

I stupidly took off sans cell phone and in my sweat pants for a short bop around the block. When I was out, I decided to head up to Walgreens which is about 5 minutes up the road. But as luck would have it, the car began to sputter to a stop. I pulled off to the side of the road and a few attempts at starting it up failed. I checked the electrical connection from the fuel pump first, since that was the cause of similar symptoms twice in the past. It was fine. Then I noticed the fuel filter was quite full. I took it off, emptied, and reinstalled. Upon trying to start it, my battery died. I had my AAA card, but like I said, no phone. So the plan was to walk the mile or so home and come back with the van to jump it. (Unfortunately, I also didn't bring my battery jumper box.)

As I was pushing it off the road into the snow, a van pulled up behind me. A gentleman in a full business suit got out and eventually I agreed to let him jump my car. This was successful. We talked a bit and he followed me home to make sure I got home alright.

So this morning I decided I should replace this fuel filter. I bought and installed one and took it for a spin. This time I stayed within the immediate surrounding roads from my house. After a few minutes, it started to sputter. And just as my house came into view, the car went wild. The RPMs started to rise rapidly. I semi-blew a stop sign in order to get the car into my driveway and turn it off before (as far as I know) the thing blew up. I gave things a good lookover under the hood and saw nothing askew. I went ahead and swapped in the old fuel filter and that didn't fix the situation.

I called my Dad, who called a friend/client, who said it is most likely the carbs. The carbs were just tuned and the timing adjusted. So I knew it couldn't be the adjustments. Dad suggested I take a look at the butterfly discs inside each carb to make sure they weren't stuck in an open position. Now, as you may recall from Work Completed Part II, these carbs were purchased NEW in early 2007. And as you may also recall, one of these butterfly discs were incorrectly affixed when I received them. So I took off the air cleaners, but I couldn't see well enough inside of them. So before pulling them, Dad suggested I start the car and cover each carb opening one at a time. When I covered the front one, the engine settled to a more reasonable idle. Meaning the rear carb was fine (since the car operated normally with it working on its own). When I covered the rear carb, there was no change and the car still ran like nuts. So something was off with the front setup.

I removed it, looked inside, and there sat a loose spring. Upon closer examination, the two pieces used to keep the spring affixed to the disc were missing. Below is a shot of the new, broken carb next to my old carb. Quality item I got there for $300.

So now I'm in the process of finding someone who can fix this thing. But my main concern is where those missing pieces went. I dread that they went into the engine. I don't even want to think about that right now.

So as of now, I am both Midget-less and Mini-less. Things can only get better, right?

Good News will Work its Way to All Them Plans

Finally.

I just got word that my Mini has been painted and that the last part needed for the LHD conversion has been received. The seller will have the car back at his shop for reassembly by mid-week.

After that, we're just waiting for the corrected title and for the seller to perform the conversion. I'm mentally preparing myself to be able to pick up a completed car by next weekend, the 23rd.

No Progress

As of my last post, I've been waiting on three things: paint, LHD conversion, and title.

Painted? It still isn't. If it isn't painted by Monday, the seller is going to have someone else paint it.

Converted? The seller is still waiting on the last part to arrive (ordered weeks before Christmas). He's going to have a conversation with the part supplier tomorrow and will give me a call afterwards.

Titled? The seller received it from the state, but it's in the wrong name. This, obviously, has to be corrected before any transfer takes place between me and the seller. He estimates he'll have the corrected title by the end of next week. He sent me a digital copy of the incorrect title.

So basically, I'm still waiting on the same three things. BEST case scenario (as I see it): the car is painted and titled by next weekend. In which case I'd like to go down and see it. The seller seems to be giving me the option of taking the car as a right-hand driver until the last part comes in. But I think I'd rather stick it out so when I drive it home for the first time, I can enjoy it to the fullest in a completed state.