For those interested in "Modern Classic" Cars

[big jim]

1 hour ago, MJI said:

 

 

Just out of curiosity how much has it cost for this amount of power?

 

My tuning comes down to a 100cc bike, a Diesel, a V6 and a pushrod 4.

I dread to think If I added it up exactly, including having a new gearbox and servicing I should imagine £4k worth of work and parts, and most of the parts were cheap off eBay too

 

i only paid £1000 for the car but as my mechanic said I could have paid 3 times that for one from a dealer and had the same issues he found when he had it in needing lots of work 

 

I probably could have bought a newer ready tuned JCW cooper S for what I’ve spent but I’ve got the satisfaction of having it the way I want it 

 

if I had the money I’d have this.....

https://www.coastalcarcentre.co.uk/used-mini-hatch-john-cooper-works-lancaster-lancashire-2477915
 

saying that if I was going to spend that much on a car it would be a phaeton and keep the cooper S as a toy 

[SouthernBlue80s]

9 hours ago, big jim said:

I may look at getting some adjustable camber plates for the front struts one day and maybe some adjustable rear control arms but as it’s my every day commute car I don’t want to go too mad with it

 

I fitted some eibach springs to my convertible, totally ruined the drive so I took them back off after a few weeks And put the originals back on

The ECU on the mini one is the same as a cooper but it’s limited by only opening the throttle to 70%, the superchip opens the throttle to 100% giving it 130bhp, the scorpion exhaust and 57i induction kit should give me an extra 10bhp, I’ve not had that car dyno’d yet 

 

the cooper s superchip only gives it an extra 8bhp if you you have no mods but once you change the pulley for a smaller one, put a bigger intercooler on, induction kit and exhaust you can upgrade for free to a stage 2 which I did and it gave me an extra 40bhp, I then changed some components for better quality items and had a new cam fitted only for it to lose 2bhp, Superchips then supplied me with the chip I’m running now which is a ‘stage 2 with cam’ chip which bought it back up to 218bhp 

 

as I say I’ve done a bit more since, the pulley is Now a 15% having changed from an 11% and the cheap toyosport budget stainless exhaust has been swapped for a milltek, I resisted doing the manifold too but that’s not a huge task for later in the year, my mechanic has a spare one that needs a new flexi welding on, possibly do that before the major remap and injector swap

 

I’ll hopefully pick it up later today on my way to work and see how it goes with the new bits on compared to before 

 

Jim. I have just put a message out to the guys in my gang that know minis, run track minis and one of the best race suspension set up guys in the UK https://www.stringtheorygarage.com/

 

I have told them it is a fast road car and not a track car. If they comeback with any tips/quick wins handling wise I will let you know.

[big jim]

Cheers for that, ohlens do some good too camber adjusters, lots of places do rear control arms, not had a look at any other braces or anti roll bars etc, as you say you can throw thousands at the suspension!

 

When I got the bilsteins off eBay, at the same time a set of AP coilivers came up for £500 or best offer, I was watching both but the APs went first, they came with the adjustable camber plates and adjustable rear arms but I couldn’t afford them at the time, had they stayed on sale a couple of weeks longer I could have afforded them after payday! 

[boxbrownie]

Jim’s not going to stop tuning the Mini until it matches the output of a Class 66 

[big jim]

As long as it doesn’t sound like one! 

[big jim]

And she’s back, lowered and new exhaust, rides surprisingly well, not crashy at all over bumps as I was expecting it to be 

 

the exhaust is spot on too, slightly quieter in the cabin than the last one so you hear the supercharger whine more (which also had a smaller pulley fitted 

 

I’ve come away with a Stainless steel performance manifold too, needs a new flexi welding in but once done my mechanic will fit that for me as well as a couple of outstanding jobs before it’s trip to 1320 mini 

 

 

[boxbrownie]

I’ve never been a fan of black wheels but with everything else on the car that actually looks really nice, and you have something under the hood to back it all up also.....nice.

[Coldgunner]

Not my taste, each to their own though. Never been a fan of the new mini I'm sorry to say. Think its mainly the size as they're as big as any other hatchback now, where the original mini, truly was a small car. Like I say, each to their own and whatever floats your boat. You've done a nice job though and its very tastefully done.

 

I drive a Golf Mk5 Estate TDI 2.0, 2009 late pre-facelift (mk6) model. Only made the estate for 2 years and I'm wondering if they'll be a future curiosity. Seems to be 608 left on the road. I intend to look after it and run it as long as possible.

 

Its not the latest and greatest car by a long shot, but its mine. It handles well and its never let me down. Had some big jobs done on it in the last year. The DMF needed replacing, timing belt, water pump etc done a couple of months ago at great expense too. Its also a great load lugger. Such a fun drive.

 

When i bought it the interior was ok but was missing a few bits which I've replaced. Fitted some Team Heko wind deflectors which has slightly improved the look and driving experience. 0-60 is <10 seconds which is ok. Like a lot of diesels the power is at the bottom and I've mistakenly shifted into 3rd to pull away, and its still does it. Pre-DPF engine too so nothing to worry about there.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Coldgunner

[big jim]

3 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

Not my taste, each to their own though. Never been a fan of the new mini I'm sorry to say. Think its mainly the size as they're as big as any other hatchback now, where the original mini, truly was a small car.

if you compare mine to an original mini yes it looks huge but compare the latest mini to mine and mine looks tiny

 

i had a clubman 4 wheel drive as a hire car last year and that was as big as my wife’s murano!

 

since I took the pics I reversed the car and found a big puddle of clean oil under it, showed my mechanic some pics and vid of it dripping and did a FaceTime vid while under the front of the car and it appears one of the seals on the oil cooler we were hoping to save changing until he does the sump gasket has gone, so that’s it back to him tomorrow for fixing again

 

the joys of an old modern car

Edited April 7, 2020 by big jim

[MJI]

5 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

Like a lot of diesels the power is at the bottom and I've mistakenly shifted into 3rd to pull away, and its still does it. Pre-DPF engine too so nothing to worry about there.

 

That is one complaint from many against the engine in my 4x4, too revvy so appears to have no low end torque, but it has a lot of torque but disguises it well. More torque than the previous models lump.

 

It was the last engine designed by the company (Land Rover) and the full range was shrunk to 1 by BMW

[monkeysarefun]

If they never find a vaccine, this could be the future of motorsport,  at least here....  there'll be less talk on this thread about upgrading suspension etc, and more about graphics cards etc....

 

https://wwos.nine.com.au/motorsport/coronavirus-covid-19-supercars-launch-online-eseries-during-shutdown/4ba92958-7d3c-48ad-9981-5d46090b7d35

[great central]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

If they never find a vaccine, this could be the future of motorsport,  at least here....  there'll be less talk on this thread about upgrading suspension etc, and more about graphics cards etc....

 

https://wwos.nine.com.au/motorsport/coronavirus-covid-19-supercars-launch-online-eseries-during-shutdown/4ba92958-7d3c-48ad-9981-5d46090b7d35

 

For fans of oval racing there was an online stock car meeting last week. I forgot all about it having gone shopping when there's few queues.

The full meeting from a virtual Mildenhall stadium is available on YouTube, just search for BSCDA, that's the British Stock Car Drivers Association.

[big jim]

Normal service has been resumed!

 

 

 

[big jim]

Phew, not then cooler but The o ring on the  oil filter had gone in kinked!

 

 

could have proved disastrous had I gone to work in it without stopping off en route as it lost about 1/2 litre of oil in 40 miles

Edited April 8, 2020 by big jim

[boxbrownie]

I’ve seen that happen when overtightened or a dry mounting surface has been mated, saved from disaster there 

[Coldgunner]

20 hours ago, big jim said:

if you compare mine to an original mini yes it looks huge but compare the latest mini to mine and mine looks tiny

 

i had a clubman 4 wheel drive as a hire car last year and that was as big as my wife’s murano!

 

since I took the pics I reversed the car and found a big puddle of clean oil under it, showed my mechanic some pics and vid of it dripping and did a FaceTime vid while under the front of the car and it appears one of the seals on the oil cooler we were hoping to save changing until he does the sump gasket has gone, so that’s it back to him tomorrow for fixing again

 

the joys of an old modern car

 

Which is the one I'm thinking of thats getting on for small people carrier sizes? Clubman or Countryman I think, they are taller than my golf from what I recall. As I say though, each to their own regarding looks, there's no right or wrong, just personal preference. I hope no offence was taken to my comments on the mini.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Coldgunner

[big jim]

It was the countryman not a clubman sorry, and yes it was small suv sized
 

 

i had the above 19 plate cooper as a hire car the other month and inside it was no bigger than my car as the pillars are a lot thicker, more crash protection etc, nice car though but for £20k I’d keep my mini and pay off my mortgage 

 

 

[Hobby]

15 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

 Countryman I think, they are taller than my golf from what I recall.

 

Yes they are, had one parked next to my Golf Estate at a set of lights and I had to look up into it. Interior space is a lot smaller than the Golf, despite the exterior size. The early "One"(?) type (like Jim's blue one?) actually look quite cute in looks (and if you ignore the fact that they have lost the whole point of the original Mini!) but they have made some absolute monstrosities since that are style over substance... Having said that many cars these days fall into that category!

[great central]

Parked my S reg Jeep Cherokee beside one of the newer countryman versions a while back. Ugly brute and near enough the same size!

[steve1]

2 hours ago, great central said:

Parked my S reg Jeep Cherokee beside one of the newer countryman versions a while back. Ugly brute and near enough the same size!

 

Fair enough, but what did you think of the Countryman?

 

steve 

[Coldgunner]

9 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

Yes they are, had one parked next to my Golf Estate at a set of lights and I had to look up into it. Interior space is a lot smaller than the Golf, despite the exterior size. The early "One"(?) type (like Jim's blue one?) actually look quite cute in looks (and if you ignore the fact that they have lost the whole point of the original Mini!) but they have made some absolute monstrosities since that are style over substance... Having said that many cars these days fall into that category!

 

Which version estate have you got? Mines a Mk5 with the 2.0 TDI which is punchy. I'd have an R if I could afford one!

[Hobby]

Mk7 2.0l TDi. Quite fast enough, I'll never use its top speed or acceleration. No point as roads too busy these days even in Germany. I did my racing on short ovals, it's more about economy these days. I'd have had another 1.6 if it had been on the list! 

[Coldgunner]

Cool, I think they're a bit of a hidden gem as they still drive like a hatchback but the space of a sensible car.

[big jim]

Can’t decide whether this is a modern classic or old car, my dads pride and joy back in the mid 80s, ford escort XR3, 40 years old if it was still about today

 

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by big jim

[Phil Mc]

20 years ago it would have just been an old car, now it’s definitely a modern classic !!

 

cheers,

Phil.