Added another car to the family fleet

[BoxsterSteve]

Added another fun car to the fleet.
Along with my Civic Touring, my wife’s CR-V Touring and my 20 year old Boxster S, I recently found a fully optioned 6 speed 2009 MCS with a dealer installed JCW tuning kit.
It has just over 73,000 miles and was sadly neglected and rarely driven for a couple of years.
It had the usual broken MINI stuff; the battery compartment cover, antenna and hood release.
It got new brakes and tires this week and is at the local garage getting it’s safety inspection tomorrow.
It still needs a thorough paint correction, but that’s just another day of garage labour/playtime for me.
Not a bad little car for $3300.

Sponsored

 

[Two Step Performance]

I hear @kshawn knows something about these.

Have fun!

 

[kshawn]

I hear @kshawn knows something about these.

Have fun!

Mini car. BIG problems lol. Tho I have the R53 with the supercharger. @BoxsterSteve good pick on getting the turbo version, more options and easier to upgrade.

Beware of the plastic coolant overflow tank, get a metal one. Do a compression test if you know it was neglected, the headgasket is durable if you treat it right.

 

[BoxsterSteve]

Mini car. BIG problems lol. Tho I have the R53 with the supercharger. @BoxsterSteve good pick on getting the turbo version, more options and easier to upgrade.

Beware of the plastic coolant overflow tank, get a metal one. Do a compression test if you know it was neglected, the headgasket is durable if you treat it right.

Thanks for the tips!

I had really wanted a supercharged R53 like you have, but anything that was for sale within a 6 or 8 hour drive was either ragged out and had the lips driven off of it or had a billion miles on it.
This one looks as if the overflow tank was fairly recently swapped. That and the LS axle too.
I bought this knowing it had been sitting unloved and undriven for the better part of 2 years and only did a
2 minute run around a parking garage unplated and uninsured for test drive.
Kinda ballsy, I know, but I had a good sense about the car.
The paint is badly swirled and looks really shitty.
I did a deep clean wash, iron-x treatment and clay bar.
After that I pulled out my DA polisher and did a test spot on the hood to see what I could reasonably expect from paint correction.
WAG, I’d say 80% of the swirls came out, and that was only using a medium cut compound to do initial testing.
Driving impressions... holy shit.
An absolute beast with the JCW tuning kit. I’m not sure I need more power... yet.
And much more competent and safer to boot with fresh performance summer tires and new rotors and pads all around.

 

[silverrascal]

That's a lot of potential fun for $3,300. Nice pickup, man. A buddy of mine has a Mini convertible with the supercharger. He added a lightweight pulley, air intake and lighter wheels and his Mini is a little beast of a ride.

 

[kshawn]

Thanks for the tips!

I had really wanted a supercharged R53 like you have, but anything that was for sale within a 6 or 8 hour drive was either ragged out and had the lips driven off of it or had a billion miles on it.
This one looks as if the overflow tank was fairly recently swapped. That and the LS axle too.
I bought this knowing it had been sitting unloved and undriven for the better part of 2 years and only did a
2 minute run around a parking garage unplated and uninsured for test drive.
Kinda ballsy, I know, but I had a good sense about the car.
The paint is badly swirled and looks really shitty.
I did a deep clean wash, iron-x treatment and clay bar.
After that I pulled out my DA polisher and did a test spot on the hood to see what I could reasonably expect from paint correction.
WAG, I’d say 80% of the swirls came out, and that was only using a medium cut compound to do initial testing.
Driving impressions... holy shit.
An absolute beast with the JCW tuning kit. I’m not sure I need more power... yet.
And much more competent and safer to boot with fresh performance summer tires and new rotors and pads all around.

Sounds like you snapped up a good one.

I snapped mine up with only 86k on it, 2003 R53. Though the previous owner thought oil and coolant were optional. Leak in the oil pan gasket caused low oil situations. And the coolant loved to boil out. I fixed the issues but 3 weeks later the headgasket shit itself. So now I'm fixing that haha. Ordered a timing chain kit becuase why not I'm there.

I intend to do a few upgrades. Intake, exhaust, 17% pully reduction, meth injection, upgraded plugs and ign coil, and a tune. All for about $1700. Which should get me 250hp. Thats about the limit for the R53, after that it's big money. Cylinder head needs to be ported and biger valves. Or swap the supercharger for a turbo.

 

[BoxsterSteve]

Sounds like you snapped up a good one.

A decent one.
Still needs the flex joint in the exhaust cut out and replaced and one front strut is hemorrhaging oil.
Going to put on replacement OE Bilsteins on both sides up front. Like brakes, it doesn’t make sense to only do one side.
I had thought of going aftermarket quick struts, but decided that it might affect ride height and handling and that would piss me off more than spending money on quality parts.

Sponsored