Today was fun. 

"Desu-San-Desu" (Desu-San-Desu) 04/13/2016 at 22:24 • Filed to: None

6

13

Work done:

-New lower control arm bushings (Powerflex). The old ones were already torn and completely separated with a gentle tug. We actually had to burn the remainder of one off the control arm.

-New front sway bar bushings (Powerflex). They were only $20 and the sway bar had to come out anyway, so why not?

-New upper strut top mounts (Ireland Engineering Fixed Camber Plates). Old units were beginning to separate. New ones were only slightly more than OEM and use better rubber, better bearings, reinforced top plates, and are offset to give the Mini some much-needed negative camber in the front.

-New upper engine mount (Way Motor Works in-house aftermarket unit). Old mount was literally doing nothing but rattling inside its own housing.

-Cabin air filter (OEM). A/C no longer whines like a second supercharger!

-Replacement coolant overflow tank. Old one was leaking.

It was an...interesting 9 hours. Drives like a whole new car now, though. :-)

daender > Desu-San-Desu 04/13/2016 at 22:31

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Damnit, he needs to fix the Fireturd already!

Anyway, I’m glad he was able to help you keep at least one other car on the road!

Desu-San-Desu > daender 04/13/2016 at 22:34

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Well, his expertise will come in handy with the Thunderbird, haha.

And I’m pretty sure the Talon just put the Fireturd WAYYYY on the back burner. Rightfully so, too.

Die-Trying > Desu-San-Desu 04/13/2016 at 22:37

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what is the story on the blue thing in the background??

Desu-San-Desu > Die-Trying 04/13/2016 at 22:40

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1977 Corvette Stingray. One of my buddy’s many projects, haha.

96Formula6spd > Die-Trying 04/13/2016 at 22:41

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Its my Dads 77 Corvette. Bought its in 1981. Been off the road since 1998? Needs to be taken down and fully restored. Maybe one day soon it will come apart. Need the garage to be empty so it can be hidden.

jkm7680 > Desu-San-Desu 04/13/2016 at 22:45

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Whoa, almost looks like an 2.7t Audi with all those body panels removed like that ;)

96Formula6spd > daender 04/13/2016 at 22:46

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Fireturd gets love after the Talon. I want a new DD. Plus new projects are more fun.

daender > 96Formula6spd 04/13/2016 at 22:53

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A turbo, AWD, 90s-Chrysler/Mitsubishi coupe sounds like a horrible recipe for reliability. An awesome one, but still lots of things to go wrong.

Die-Trying > 96Formula6spd 04/13/2016 at 22:59

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it’ll make a fun car when you finally get to driving it.

Nobi > Desu-San-Desu 04/14/2016 at 09:22

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Wow, I applaud your tenacity to tackle anything on a Mini. Any car where step 1 is “remove the entire front end” I stay away from.

Desu-San-Desu > Nobi 04/14/2016 at 12:57

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At least they make it easy. It takes maybe 10 minutes to get the front end apart once it’s jacked up, haha.

Nobi > Desu-San-Desu 04/14/2016 at 13:09

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True, but ever since I saw what a co-worker had to go through to replace an A/C compressor, I avoid Minis like the plague.

Desu-San-Desu > Nobi 04/14/2016 at 22:34

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My generation of Mini is probably the easiest of the new Mini’s to work on, but yes, the packaging does result in some elbow-to-ass moments. Most major repairs start with: remove front end and drop subframe.

The thing with these cars, though, is that once you do something 2 or 3 times, you get surprisingly quick at it. At this point? I can have the subframe off the car in about 30 minutes. I can have the supercharger off the car in about 30 minutes.

But yeah, it’s annoying sometimes. But the way they drive and the way they accept bolt-on mods? So worth it, haha.