It all started with helping out a friend. He was looking into MINI John Cooper Works models and I was helping out with research and pricing. My wife was a MINI Genius at the local dealership for a few years and we've had a couple MINIs ourselves. And while I was looking, I ran across a '13 JCW Roadster for a really good price. But it was listed as a shiftable automatic. Pictures showed, however, a manual trans. Hmmm. This was a car I've wanted since we had our first MINI. I've missed the ZHP convertible (never should have sold it) for weekend romps and tours with the top down. And with the Bolt, the Volt has become redundant (I've put 300 miles on it since March). I tried to make it more personal and desirable, but the Bolt is just more fun to drive.
So I called the dealership it was at (4.5 hours away in Virginia Beach). We crunched the numbers and talked about trading the Volt in. The numbers looked good and the salesguy confirmed it was indeed a manual trans. I checked the carfax on it. 52k miles, one owner car, service records on carfax (including a water pump replacement at 36k miles). Drove down there yesterday in the Volt and drove the MINI. Everything seemed to work like it was supposed to and man, put it in Sport and the exhaust valves open up with the most wonderful little growl and burbles and pops on the overrun (not obnoxious like some burble tunes, but a sweet factory rortyness). Took a moment to get in the groove of how to drive manual (to much time in EVs lately lol), but it was easy. Made sure it drove good, no clunks or rattles. Brembo brakes stop nicely. Steering was perfect.
Paperwork took very little time, and I left Virginia beach at 2 pm. And just before the tunnel on I64 (the only way out of Virginia beach heading north, really) traffic started backing up. Learned how stiff the clutch was on the JCW. But traffic cleared after the tunnel until we got to I95 north. From that point on, I averaged 20 mph back to Baltimore. Ugh. Got home at 8:30pm, wondering if going back to a manual was the right thing to do. lol.
Too bad it's raining today as my wife wants to drive around with the top down. She loves it. Meet Rowdy the Roadster:
(https://rbp.f0e.net/attachments/jcw001.jpg)
(https://rbp.f0e.net/attachments/jcw002.jpg)
(https://rbp.f0e.net/attachments/jcw003.jpg)
(https://rbp.f0e.net/attachments/jcw004.jpg)
Nice! Love these roadster type vehicles.
Nice, great colour combo as well.
Do they still call it British Racing Green?
Wow. Really rare car. They made very few of the Mini Cooper Coupe. I think the roadster even more rare? And a JCW version of that, with manual, and in the best color combo? Total unicorn.
Congrats on the buy.
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 24, 2020, 10:27:39 AM
Nice, great colour combo as well.
Do they still call it British Racing Green?
This is called British Racing Green II. British Raging Green I was a non-metallic version.
Quote from: MrH on December 24, 2020, 10:42:51 AM
Wow. Really rare car. They made very few of the Mini Cooper Coupe. I think the roadster even more rare? And a JCW version of that, with manual, and in the best color combo? Total unicorn.
Congrats on the buy.
Yeah, I think there are like 300 JCW roadsters in the US. BRG over tan with a manual is decidedly rare. There were only 4 JCW roadsters for sale in the US when I started looking and 3 had automatics. Two were red, one was white and this one. There was on in this color combo in the showroom when my wife was working at MINI not long after we got our first Cooper. I was drooling on it then, but at $40k+ it wasn't going to happen.
I have this feeling that this one's going to stick around. It's exactly the kind of car I truly love.
I have to ask, how much was it? I have no idea how these things depreciate.
Quote from: MrH on December 24, 2020, 11:00:05 AM
I have to ask, how much was it? I have no idea how these things depreciate.
$14,500. Actually a really good price for one and they wouldn't budge on it at all. But up to 3 grand less than the couple others that were for sale nationally.
(https://www.vwvortex.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down/https://www.vwvortex.com/attachments/1608826765395-png.57851/)
Oh man sweet, and the perfect color combo as well. I feel it needs a small Union Jack somewhere.
Nice! Not a fan of the fixed-roof Roadsters at all, but this looks good. How's the trunk, is it sized large enough to be useful? Does the folded top use it up, or does it stash on top?
Quote from: Laconian on December 24, 2020, 12:14:13 PM
Nice! Not a fan of the fixed-roof Roadsters at all, but this looks good. How's the trunk, is it sized large enough to be useful? Does the folded top use it up, or does it stash on top?
Looks like it folds away in front of the trunk, within the chromed area, a la Miata style. Something GM couldn't figure out with the Solstice/Sky.
What is that little section on top of the truck that looks like it opens?
Quote from: Laconian on December 24, 2020, 12:14:13 PM
Nice! Not a fan of the fixed-roof Roadsters at all, but this looks good. How's the trunk, is it sized large enough to be useful? Does the folded top use it up, or does it stash on top?
Folds up ahead of the trunk, and the trunk is HUGE for such a small car. Bigger than the storage space of the regular convertible. plus the passthrough and space behind the seats. The top doesn't encroach on the space at all, unlike the ZHP convertible we had.
Man I can't wait for the rain to stop! I want to get some to down driving in, plus some good shots of it.
Nice!
Perfect colour combo, too.
Looks great, congrats!
Quote from: ChrisV on December 24, 2020, 12:38:54 PM
Folds up ahead of the trunk, and the trunk is HUGE for such a small car. Bigger than the storage space of the regular convertible. plus the passthrough and space behind the seats. The top doesn't encroach on the space at all, unlike the ZHP convertible we had.
Man I can't wait for the rain to stop! I want to get some to down driving in, plus some good shots of it.
I bought my ND after a spell of nice weather in the middle of the winter. It snowed the night I took delivery and I didn't see sun for at least two months afterward. :lol:
:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:
Congrats! Looks super fun!
Better pics from today, since it's sunny!
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW006.jpg)
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW007.jpg)
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW008.jpg)
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW009.jpg)
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW010.jpg)
(http://www.chrisv-design.com/images/JCW011.jpg)
That is awesome. Big fan, and I don't even like these Mini Roadsters much. Congratulations.
I agree, you should've kept the ZHP
It looks much better with the top down. I like the dash as well, very funky.
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 24, 2020, 12:36:09 PM
What is that little section on top of the truck that looks like it opens?
It's a motorized spoiler that comes up at 50mph.
Added some wrap to the interior dash panels. Didn't like the piano black.
Also took it down to Baltimore downtown to Graffiti Alley with some other MINIs for a photo shoot:
Looks good. :ohyeah: I don't mind the piano black trim in most cars, but the (faux) wood grain suits that car.
Yeah ChrisV does simple little cosmetic changes to all his cars which all look great!
With that interior and exterior color scheme, I think the wood grain look works better than piano black.
Yes, it looks good. Blends nicely with the other tan coloured highlights plus seats.
Kinda interesting that they put piano black trim right next to the tan leather in the first place.
Quote from: veeman on May 19, 2021, 08:36:00 AM
Yeah ChrisV does simple little cosmetic changes to all his cars which all look great!
Thanks! The only other mod I want to do to it is also going to be subtle. I'm removing the black vinyl strips on the hood and decklid and replacing them with ghosted gold pearl versions under the clear that will only be visible in certain lights and from certain angles. The vinyl stripes tend to get etched, cracked, and peel, and tend to look tatty (and catch the wax on the edges, too).
The black stripes are subtle, too. I just don't like them as much (you can barely see them in the first pics, and in this one):
A couple subtle tweaks...
(https://i.postimg.cc/G45PLk3F/JCW037.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/G45PLk3F)
(https://i.postimg.cc/fSCX6dg0/doorlight.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/fSCX6dg0)
I got the pearl to do the stripes, now I just have to find time to get it done.
Sharp looking car. Hope you're having lots of fun with it.
Two weeks ago I drove it up to my son's house in CT, top down the entire way. Drove around up there for a few days before coming home. Much fun.
(https://i.postimg.cc/pyJpzXdt/JCW038.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/pyJpzXdt)
Then last weekend I took it to Brits by the Bay, a local all-British car show (mostly MGs and Triumphs, but a smattering of Rovers, Jags, and even a couple Astons were there). Sat with a few other MINIs and had a blast. For an occasional use car, I'm finding a lot of uses for it!
(https://i.postimg.cc/yWMvgjWG/JCW041.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/yWMvgjWG)
(https://i.postimg.cc/BP9H6hNc/Minishow01.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/BP9H6hNc)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qNS8SMn5/MGTD.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/qNS8SMn5)
(https://i.postimg.cc/LJYPtK7B/DB4.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/LJYPtK7B)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9zmqxqKf/IMG-4402.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9zmqxqKf)
nice!!!
I'm in Miata anytime it's not raining and I make excuses to go for drives even. :thumbsup:
Yup. Drove it out to Camp David in the Catoctin mountains yesterday. Beautiful weather for top down driving.
No turning back now...
I honestly can't tell. Are you taking the stripes off? Or putting them on...?
Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.
Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:26:06 AM
Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.
You can do that yourself?
Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:26:06 AM
Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.
Ok, gotcha. I thought that is what you were doing but I can't see any stripes on your old pictures. Maybe I am just a little color blind (or they are that faded). :lol:
Quote from: SJ_GTI on July 12, 2021, 07:42:38 AM
Ok, gotcha. I thought that is what you were doing but I can't see any stripes on your old pictures. Maybe I am just a little color blind (or they are that faded). :lol:
They were pretty subtle against the BRG. You can see them in a few of the earlier pics (mostly the rear pics), but they were getting faded, scratched, and aged a bit. Plus they held wax on the edges. I want something a bit more subtle yet, but more custom at the same time. The hood stripes will also have a subtle ghosted union jack in them.
Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:56:23 AM
They were pretty subtle against the BRG. You can see them in a few of the earlier pics (mostly the rear pics), but they were getting faded, scratched, and aged a bit. Plus they held wax on the edges. I want something a bit more subtle yet, but more custom at the same time. The hood stripes will also have a subtle ghosted union jack in them.
Nice!
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 12, 2021, 07:33:27 AM
You can do that yourself?
Yup. Got all the tools and materials (been doing custom painting for decades). Using House of Kolor show clear to top it off. Should be so nice.
Got the basic layout done for the Union Jack. Today I'll be masking it in layers and spraying the 3 pearl coats... So hard to think of the graphics layout backwards, essentially spraying the background last.
That's awesome
Quote from: ChrisV on July 15, 2021, 07:33:32 AM
Got the basic layout done for the Union Jack. Today I'll be masking it in layers and spraying the 3 pearl coats... So hard to think of the graphics layout backwards, essentially spraying the background last.
I know you had mentioned ghosting but is there any colour involved? Can you ghost subtle colours into the flag?
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 15, 2021, 09:27:55 AM
I know you had mentioned ghosting but is there any colour involved? Can you ghost subtle colours into the flag?
Just the faint gold pearl. The different thicknesses will give it the different shading to replicate the three colors of the flag, but done much like the MINI Black Jack or Night Jack is done:
(https://www.shopminiusa.com/Assets/Images/detail2X/whiteblackjack_1419.jpg)
Only much more subtle. Doing gentle pearl colors over green would have been unsuccessful as a thin layer of white pearl might look decent but the blue would have turned aqua and the red would have turned brown.
layers got done yesterday and final clear
and next is colorsanding and polishing
Looking good so far. :ohyeah:
Great design. Looks perfect.
So sweet! Great work!
(can you come to SC and paint/ decorate my car???) :lol:
took it out in the sunshine...
Looks great, very subtle.
I'm driving it way too often. I've got 5000 miles on it since I got it, and I told the insurance company it's only see about 5000 miles a YEAR. lol! Gonna have to adjust that upward. And I don't use it for commuting or errand running... but besides the MINI events I do around her, and the just for fun driving on the weekends or other nice days, it's been to SC, TN, and CT as well...
Quote from: ChrisV on July 28, 2021, 10:55:39 AM
took it out in the sunshine...
That is really slick! Looks great!
Ok, style question. The wheels have little chips in the paint all around the edges, not really curb rash, per say, just chipped paint. I'd love to get new Enkeis for it, but don't really feel like spending over a grand on wheels right now. And I'd need to know that any new wheels will clear the larger Brembo brake calipers the JCW came with, which really limits the wheels that can be fitted, unlike a normal MINI. But for less than half that I can have these powder coated.
So should I redo them in say, hyper silver, or gold to match the stripes and the tan interior? Like this pchop I did:
Gold to match the stripes would fit nicely.
When they (or you?) powder coat the wheels do they remove the current paint/coat first?
Gold.
Quote from: SJ_GTI on August 12, 2021, 12:36:35 PM
Gold to match the stripes would fit nicely.
When they (or you?) powder coat the wheels do they remove the current paint/coat first?
Yeah, they strip the current paint off them. $129 per wheel to completely refinish them.
I'd either leave them be or refinish them
Personally I prefer silver to gold but I'm not against gold on the wheels.
Some people have this weird aversion to two tone watches (gold and silver accents). Personally I think they look better than an all gold watch.
What I'm trying to say is that having gold colored accents on the body paint and silver wheels will look fine.
Factory wheels in gold looks sharp.
Looks like you're an expert on painting/finishes, but FWIW on the previous car (Infiniti), I had the wheels refinished multiple times. Even at $225-$250/ea it was subpar IMO - or in the least didn't match the quality and durability of the factory finish, esp. matching the factory color. Couldn't crack the code on who to use. Lots of local places with websites showing amazing work but none met expectations. After a few tries I was getting almost as good results using O'Reilly's wheel spray paint kit, and it wasn't costing me $1,000 or my car at the shop all day. My research (dealer, etc.) said the automaker has an extensive prep, finishing and QC process that is impossible to replicate outside the factory. Anyway, my experience, with zero answers. Perhaps powder coating is a more predictable process...
Yeah, painting wheels is an issue, as it's really hard to get them sanded properly and have the paint stick for any length of time AND, as you mentioned, they rarely have the look of a factory job. I've done it before on simple wheels, but wouldn't want to do it on anything even as complex as these. Stripping them down and powder coating is a much different process as it's electrically bonded to the metal, which is essentially the factory method of finishing them. It lasts a longtime, and you can get the look of anodizing if you want it.
This would be what I'm going for:
(https://images.nicindustries.com/prismatic/projects/69611/powder-coated-wheels-in-pps-2974-and-ems-0940-thumbnail.jpg?1625841626&size=450)
But any sort of finish is possible.
I'll be curious to see how it looks (up close like that) if you do go for it.
Well, this year it's gone from 52k miles on it when I got it, to 60k on it now, with more to be added before the end of the year with a couple fun runs happening with the MINI club. So far the only things needed to be replaced on it were the tires not long after I got it, and I replaced the original battery (yeah it had a 2012 date code stamped in it). Other than that, (knock on wood) it's been dead nuts reliable.
I bet you'd love to have that Tiger parked beside your Mini. I know I would.
Yeah, it was sweet! But I'm starting to get to the point where cars of that age are more fun to look at than own. I've had a lot of British and Italian sports cars of that era and while they were fun at the time, it is more of a rose colored glasses sort of thing with them now. For driving, I'm having more fun in this MINI than in just about any other car I've owned (the exceptions were my V8 RX7, and the Daytona Spider replica, both of which I had considerable sweat equity in).
Beautiful brisk fall days. Perfect for top down drive in the fall colors with other MINIs... You can almost see my windshield behind the lead blue MINI...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDAPqnBGvns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDAPqnBGvns)
Nice. I do miss a M/T.
Well, finishing out the first year with the car. Absolutely stellar. One of my favorite cars I've ever owned. Needed nothing but the aforementioned tires and battery in the year, and delivered miles of smiles. :) Knock on wood the next year will be the same! Just a few more additions are planned. The gold wheels, AEM ram air intake (that makes the hood scoop functional) a tune, and these taillights: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Red-color-For-Mini-Cooper-Clubman_1600211292360.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.747328f3kb8sy3
ok, got some additional bits on it. A clear plexiglass wind deflector to keep buffeting down in the cabin. Works great on the little bit I've driven with it so far. And got those taillights on it, as well as sequential side markers.
https://youtu.be/2tXTXo3NTFI
Love the sequential tail light signals and side markers. Very classy.
Well, it's first actual repair is needed. Took it in for it's spring oil change (I change it in spring and fall, regardless of mileage) and I like taking it to my local dealer for this as they are always fair and never try to pressure me into things I don't need, but do point out areas of interest (like the battery age when I got the car). I love that they do a video walkaround of the car during the inspection while it's up an the lift so everything is easy to see. This time while it was in, they pointed out a slight coolant leak from the thermostat housing. Not bad, but it should be taken care of soon. They did quote me $900 to change it out, so I got online while sitting there in the dealership and found the part at FCP Euro for $100 with a lifetime warranty. So it looks like I'll be doing that one shortly.
That repair never was needed it turns out. I drove it in 97 degree weather all over eastern MD and it never lost a drop of coolant. Still hasn't, even after most of the year has gone by.
So I added wireless CarPlay to the car...
nice!
I need to get Android Auto into Scrappy- it's a pain right now dealing with phone calls in the car. Does a microphone pick up voice enough with the top down?
Quote from: AutobahnSHO on February 10, 2023, 10:01:39 PM
nice!
I need to get Android Auto into Scrappy- it's a pain right now dealing with phone calls in the car. Does a microphone pick up voice enough with the top down?
Topdown bluetooth phone calls are a lost cause IMO
Quote from: Laconian on February 10, 2023, 10:07:32 PM
Topdown bluetooth phone calls are a lost cause IMO
+1
I had a bluetooth setup in the S2000. Had a tiny mic from the head unit to the steering column. I could bend over and yell into it at high way speeds, but it was basically only good for phone calls like "yeah, on my way home. See you in 20 minutes". I can't imagine having an actual conversation with it.
Maybe Will can smuggle home some military subvocalization tech. :lol:
I think the mic in my ND is OK with the top down around town. The headrest speakers help a ton for me being able to hear the other person.
My louder exhaust isn't helpful though, I'm sure the call quality was better stock.
I was toying with just grabbing a bluetooth speaker (meant for cars), I could hold it right next to mouth??....
Quote from: Laconian on February 11, 2023, 12:50:46 PM
Maybe Will can smuggle home some military subvocalization tech. :lol:
maybe someone else, but I have never been a rule-breaker. :huh:
Speaking of, read this about another Soldier the other day https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga/pr/fort-stewart-soldier-sentenced-prison-prolific-fraud-scheme-targeting-covid-19-relief
:confused: :mask: :nono: :pullover: