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Post by Horney on Jan 6, 2020 11:23:58 GMT
I've got quite attached to Modern Minis of late and I fancied an R50 Cooper to join my R55 Clubman Daily and R53 Sprint/Hill/Track cars in the fleet. I wanted to do this without taking too much of a bath should I need to thin the fleet down quickly, so there hunt began for a Y reg car. Why a Y? Because they are the earliest of the early cars as almost of all them were dealer cars, customers cars being delivered post August 2001 and on a 51 Reg. They have a few things that are different to the cars built after Aug/Sep and therefore are deemed a little collectable. If you want to dig into the nerdy fact you can find them all on the Y Register site. Here's a good part of that site to get you started: miniyregister.co.uk/blog/history/yobl/ So I found one and it's number 387 off the line, built 18th May 2001. Two months before you could order one. Here's the pics from the advert:  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.43 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.49 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.38.56 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.04 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.11 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 09.39.24 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr It was up for £550 and I haggled off £50. So what's wrong with it? Well: It's done 138,000 miles None of the LCD panels work It has a mark on nearly every panel The plastic arches are badly scuffed The filler flap is loose It has 4 odd tyres The airbag light is on It feels tired and baggy It has a not so slow puncture On the upside: It was cheap It runs It has MOT The AC works The sunroof works My plan with this car is to simply tidy it up without spending lots of money and enjoy driving it for what it is. I got it up on a ramp for a nosey and I swapped the wheels for some S spoke my mate had that had 4 reasonable tyres on. £100 for the wheels was a bargain. I took some pics which make out look a lot better than it does:  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Total costs so far - £600. |
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Post by wannabe on Jan 6, 2020 18:23:49 GMT
Nice. Kudos for the rarity value!
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Post by Horney on Jan 7, 2020 11:11:14 GMT
Thanks! Hopefully it means that when I come to sell it'll be cost neutral in the end. I always kicked myself for not keeping an early MK2 Golf when prices were on the floor, same goes for MK1 MX5 as well. This time I might have done OK! lol.
The ordering and delivery/collection of parts has commenced.
Oil
Oil Filter
Spark Plug
Leads
Fuel Filter
Sump Plug
Used Rev Counter to fix LCD not working
Used Central Speedo to fix LCD not working
Free replacement exhaust from a mate because the current one is falling apart
Exhaust hangers
Exhaust gasket
Total spend: £720
List of things I want to do/fix in the short term.
Service
Fix LCDs not working
Fix heater panel illumination not working
Fix rear wiper not working (Motor makes a noise though!)
Replace crappy looking exhaust that is falling off
Replace black plastic wheel arch trim that is scuffed
investigate vibration only apparent at motorway speeds (suspect worn CV)
Wheel alignment
New speakers in doors (current ones blown)
Fix loose filler flap
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jan 7, 2020 13:30:38 GMT
Wow, that's crazy cheap and looks decent as well ... hopefully a good investment. Is it worth more in original state, or does that not matter so much?
Russell
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Post by Horney on Jan 14, 2020 9:55:26 GMT
I've been using this car more than any of my others over the last week, it's slow but so much fun! A small update as I tackled a few jobs over the weekend, only got one pic though. I changed the oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs and leads and the car now runs much smoother and feels more responsive. I may also have drilled the airbag for a bit more induction bark because I'm 41 but wish I was 18. I also swapped out the speedo cluster so I have a working LCD display. I need to find someone who can code the mileage to match what it should be. Clocks read 111,000 but the car has done 139,000.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I've also managed to find some replacement used front struts which I'm going to try and see if that cures the front suspension knock/clunk on slow speed cornering.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I'm waiting on the replacement rev counter to arrive still and I have bought a replacement heater switch panel as the lighting is broken on the current one. |
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Post by Horney on Feb 11, 2020 8:42:54 GMT
Time for a little update. I ordered some replacement number plates in the earlier pre 2001 font and spacing. I also got the supplying dealer name and number printed on them.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Next up, the sounds. The front speakers sounded like a fart in a bath and I knew they were past their best. Turns out they were properly FUBAR.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr £25 for some speakers and adaptors off amazon and the tunes are now pumping as the should!  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr On Thursday I'm going to fit a replacement exhaust and the front struts I picked up the other week. Total Spend: £825 |
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Post by wannabe on Feb 11, 2020 9:49:52 GMT
That reminds me - I need to look at the missus' driver's door speaker that's gone decidedly mute recently!
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Post by Horney on Feb 14, 2020 8:29:43 GMT
Next up was sorting the front suspension and replacing the exhaust for a newer one with a chrome tip.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Ever since I bought it in January it's had a really bad clunking and banging on the front when using a bit of lock. It felt like a spring binding. Turns out whoever replaced the top mount re assembled it all wrong and the spring is not seated and has smashing into the top mount.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr As mentioned earlier in the thread I picked up a set of used front dampers with springs, top mounts and drop links still fitted for the princely sum of £55. Swapped these on and problem solved, clunk free steering! The exhaust on the car was tatty, missing the chrome tail piece and wonky. I was given a free, barely used, standard exhaust by a friend who'd upgraded. It's only a cheap after market one, but it's a vast improvement. The old one had knackered mounts so this one was fitted with all new rubbers and gaskets.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Very happy with that for a couple of hours work. Here endeth the update. |
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Post by Horney on May 16, 2020 16:00:34 GMT
The Y Reg is 19 today, having rolled off the line on May 16th 2001. Gave it a wash, took it for a hoon and took some snaps.  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr I actually had a reason to go out, needed some shopping. Practicing good social distancing:  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr |
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Post by Horney on May 27, 2020 21:18:52 GMT
Ray at Minitopia sorted me out with some replacement bits to tidy the car up. I got: 2 x bare doors 1 x bare bootlid 2 x rear arch plastics 1 x drivers side headlight  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr  Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr Bootlid and arch spats done today and I've ordered genuine Cooper letter badges to go on it as if I reuse the old ones it will 100% end up with all the letters wonky. Tomorrow the doors and the headlight! Total Spend: £875 |
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Post by Vindi (Russell) on Jun 3, 2020 17:22:11 GMT
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Post by Horney on Jun 18, 2020 14:43:13 GMT
yeah the OBL reg cars go for bonkers money!
I've replaced the doors and the bottled now and the replacement doors are not quite the right shade of silver. I have friend with a bodyshop who is going to fix this for me while sorting out the terrible previous repair it had to the NS rear quarter.
I also went and fitted a sports exhaust. It was £150 delivered brand new. Too cheap not to!
Total Spend: £1025
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le sigh