Lovely video and as always a very professional explanation of history and background. And, yes MINI is still using cosmoline! It’s weeping down the side of my 2024 1 to 6…uggh.
It the closest a 2nd Gen. model ever came to an R53... It had all the attributes while lacking the pitfalls of 1st Gen. ❤The WC50. One I looked at was #409.
I see you have the HK stereo. What speakers did you put in when you replaced the OEM speakers? OEM or aftermarket? From what I understand it's hard to find aftermarket speakers that are compatible with the HK system. Thanks
Lovely story sir and thanks for sharing the history. I am a newbie with mini . I just bought one Mini R52 2005 Convertible with only 30404 miles and Im loving it
Very nice and clean! I love driving, working on and improving my '05 R50, which I've owned from new. It currently makes ~130 whp, but it works very hard for that power and revs out at ~110mph. Still, it feels plenty fast. My goal is a built engine (1.8 or even 2.0) hopefully sometime this year if the finances cooperate. While keeping the car looking tasteful, I've made a ton of improvements over the years, most of them myself: R56 aluminum trailing arms, R53 throttle body w/ CAI, R52 strut tower braces, adjustable sway bar, cam, tune, full exhaust w/ header, Koni FSDs, purple Powerflex bushings everywhere, super-light OZ wheels, Wilwood big brakes front and rear, Vorschlag camber plates, carbon fiber R53 hood... removed the rear seats... and on and on! These are great cars if you look after them. I also switched from Michelin Pilot Super Sports to the Continental Extreme Contacts like you have, which I find much more comfortable and quieter.
I just bought the exact same car same color. But mine has more options on the interior. 12000 miles mine has. I don't know why they let you put that in the museum because it doesn't have the original Wheels that's not how it came. Mine has lower miles and all original. You're lucky they didn't know about mine at the time because they would have never considered yours then...js
Great videos! Do you have a username on any of the forums? Would love to follow your posts or build threads. Just bought a 06 hyper blue cooper s and would love to tap into some of your wisdom lol
I have the same 005 car and I would like to know if the stripes on the bonnet were unlacquered, I want to replace mine and they have a layer of lacquer on top, in my case I have to sand to remove them...the OEM stripes have simply been glued ? The original car was not lacquered, but if that is the case, I am not going to lacquer them since I thought they were originally lacquered as a protection measure... what do you think? thank you so much!
@@MINIstryOfSpeed01 will do great thanks. Not many monochromatic grey Minis in the UK by the looks of things either. Completely standard at the moment and needs some bodywork doing on one rear quarter but nothing too bad, picking it up tomorrow, got an R58 cooper at the moment
The seats were £1400 which is normal for a clean set. With shipping and all of the logistics to get them properly packed, crated, through customs, and door-to-door delivery to US was around £1200. Convert that to USD and you’ll get the idea. The process took several months to complete and required help from a friend living in the UK.
I have owned an R53 '05 for the past 7 years now, and mine feels, sounds and looks so much rougher than this haha. This is in immaculate condition inside and out, bravo. Love this car
A gorgeous car. And it's my fave color and I was just traveling through PA a couple of days ago. Sigh. I hope you sell it to someone who knows it and appreciates it!
What a clean R53. Cannot say enough good, as I know the owner has taken every liberty to make this as good as new and keeps care of this like a museum curator. Hate to see it for sale, but someone will get a beautiful machine.
Such a gem. It’s not often you see such a long maintenance list that contains only the most sensible wear items and upgrades. As opposed to a lot of silly aftermarket mods that only decrease the value and reliability. Absolutely love the stripes. This is how you set a MINI up for the long haul. GLWTS.
Hey! Just found your channel and loved the videos, if anytime in the future you sell your checkmate, would you be so kind and try to remember me and tell me about it? I wouldn't mind going from Mexico City to Pennsylvania, in fact it would be an awesome trip driving it to here to be honest haha, back in 2006 a Checkmate was my first car I bought and I had an accident on it :( now 17 years later im looking for a Checkmate. Anyway, congratulations on all your Minis, it's great to see the love you put on them. Greetings from México
Hi Sebastian, thank you for taking the time to leave a message. Unfortunately the Checkmate was sold last year and is now with a new owner in Ohio. Wish I could keep them all but sometimes need to make room for new adventures.
@@MINIstryOfSpeed01 Thanks for you prompt reply! is there any chance you could help me contact the new owner? is it too much to ask how much was it sold for? I'm really looking for a Checkmate in this conditions, and here in México its almost imposible, I've found some checkmates, but in terrible conditions. That's why I came up with the idea, when I saw your video, that I could buy it in USA and drive it all the way down to Mexico City, haha my wife is going to k1ll me when I tell her my plans
where did you get those front and rear bumpers? both of mine need to be replaced and ive been looking at alternative options besides stock and love the look of these
Those bumpers are optional from MINI, but are no longer available so it gets complicated. Front bumper is a reproduction, purchased from ECS Tuning. It also requires the 3 front grills and mounting hardware (I had those in storage). The rear bumper was used, and all parts were repainted. If you are in the US, search Allmagautoparts.com as they usually get some of these each year. It will take a while, but you can eventually piece a set together.