A dad and lad Mini Adventure - R53 MCS

[Brett748]

A little back story to start this thread. My two year old son has been obsessed with Minis for ages, he has about six model Minis, spots them everywhere and it was the first car type he could recognised aged about 14 months!

I fancied a bit of a winter beater and truth be told I wanted to get a Mini purely to please him. So I decided I’d get an old Mini and it obviously had to be the supercharged R53.

I looked around half heartedly and found this one on Autotrader. It was cheap and the seller was a straight talking bloke so a deal was done.

The most important picture is below, my son “having a cuddle” with our Mini.



Spec wise it is a 2005, 110,000 mile example. It has panoramic roof, heated front screen, cruise and leather.

I haven’t driven it hard but I think it has the LSD because it was finding a lot of traction on wet roads coming home but I will confirm this by jacking it up next weekend.

The good -

The engine, gearbox, clutch, suspension etc all feel solid.

It has an aftermarket back box which adds plenty of pops and bangs and noise under acceleration but doesn’t drone.

I’m impressed with the flexibility of the engine and the SC whine is really addictive. It is a very unusual (albeit they sold well) little package with the SC engine. I can’t think of many other SC hot hatches bar the G40/60 VWs.

The bad -

The heater isn’t very warm, it needs a top mount, the pano roof is broken and there is rust on the boot lid.

Plans next weekend are to do a full DIY service inc coolant and replace the top mount.

I will keep the thread updated to see how it goes.

More pics below.









Thanks for looking.

[1979Andrew]

Cool, cant wait for my lad (9months) to get a bit older and hopefully get him into old vw beetles. Then hopfully i can get the green light from the other half and get another one.

[Brett748]

1979Andrew said:

Cool, cant wait for my lad (9months) to get a bit older and hopefully get him into old vw beetles. Then hopfully i can get the green light from the other half and get another one.

Definitely do it, it’s such a nice way to bond.

My son loves Beetles too, for some inexplicable reason he calls them a taxi which he also calls a Fiat 500, I can see the resemblance between the Beetle and 500 in a toddlers eyes.

[Mr Tidy]

Whatever it cost you was money well spent just for that first photo!

I've only driven Ones and Coopers but even they were great fun to rag around. Your Cooper S should be even better.

[si_xsi]

Pretty sure it will have the LSD, IIRC all 2005 cars onwards came with it. If you boot it around a greasy rounderbout they just grip and go!

Keep an eye on oil consumption, can be known to consume a bit and the dip stick is a swine.

Fun cars, enjoy.

[s m]

si_xsi said:

Pretty sure it will have the LSD, IIRC all 2005 cars onwards came with it. If you boot it around a greasy rounderbout they just grip and go!

Keep an eye on oil consumption, can be known to consume a bit and the dip stick is a swine.

Fun cars, enjoy.

I had a 55 plate from new - I didn’t order the Chilli Pack but ordered the LSD ( about £110 option ) as I found it made a noticeable difference when I drove demos with and without.

OP - great purchase - owned one from new for 8 years - brilliant fun. My son loved it too

[SFTWend]

I might get one of these. Still good value.

Love that photo. As a petrolhead since birth its disappointing that my 8 year old has never taken an interest in cars. He'd even rather go on a train than have a ride in my shortly departing Griff.

[ballans]

Fantastic!
The mini must be the car of choice for big and little boys alike. My 4 year old loves ours and I like it too.
Would great if you can get him into a beetle.

Yours is a nice spec. Heated seats, sunroof and cruise are something I would really like on mine.
Looks like the basis of a good project. Hopefully something you and your son can enjoy.
Following with interest as it looks like we now have a mini community on here.

[Triumph Man]

What a nice idea for a project with your son

My wife’s old mini r50 had a heater that wasn’t very warm - in fact it eventually went cold. It turned out that the matrix was blocked. Not a horrendous job - you can remove with the dashboard in situ (it came out from the passenger footwell) although not sure if that differs on the supercharged cars.

In my case, it was clogged with radweld! The cooling systems aren’t the most fun to work on and I suspect someone dumped a load in rather than disassembling to fix the problem properly.

Bleeding them is also a pain. Good luck

[Brett748]

Thanks for the replies all.

I’ve used a vin decoder and it has got the LSD. Having driven it today it is fairly obvious, the front end is fantastic!

Looks like I may have a bit of a job on with the heater but if it’s too big of a job I will just use my other car when it’s really cold…

[Court_S]

Big fan of the R53; I loved mine. 2004 car, Indi blue metallic with white roof and mirrors, full leather, chilli pack, cruise, heated windscreen, wooden dash, six disc changer etc. I was pleased it had the AUC warranty though. It always felt like an event to drive; the noise of the supercharger, the chunky gear change and even the noise of the steering.

Op, yours looks well in grey.

My little boy was obsessed with MINI’s for a while after we bought an F56 Cooper. He’s eight now and he’s more interested in Minecraft now.

[Brett748]

Picked up a top mount, oil, oil filter, air filter and coolant today ready for a service and good look over on Sunday.

[Triumph Man]

Brett748 said:

...Looks like I may have a bit of a job on with the heater...

As I say I'm not sure of the differences of Supercharged vs N/A when it comes to the heating system, but I see not having to take the dash out to do the heater matrix as a plus Just a little fiddly.

[Craikeybaby]

Great stuff, I remember messing about with Minis with my dad in the '80's.

[Brett748]

Triumph Man said:

As I say I'm not sure of the differences of Supercharged vs N/A when it comes to the heating system, but I see not having to take the dash out to do the heater matrix as a plus Just a little fiddly.

That is very true! I'll tackle the heater matrix over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I will just use the Mini when its not baltic. The heated screen still works which is good!

[ballans]

Brett748 said:

Triumph Man said:

As I say I'm not sure of the differences of Supercharged vs N/A when it comes to the heating system, but I see not having to take the dash out to do the heater matrix as a plus Just a little fiddly.

That is very true! I'll tackle the heater matrix over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I will just use the Mini when its not baltic. The heated screen still works which is good!

I know how to get the HVAC controls and toggle switches out. Quite easy when you know what type of connectors are in there. Unfortunately they are all different, some are impressively intricate and some just need brute force. Through trial and error I found out which.
Drop me a PM if you need help.

[Brett748]

After Christmas and I’ve done enough miles to fully trust the Mini I am going to buy some brand new PS4 for it.

The grip it generates from the LSD with battered crap Toyos is amazing so on decent rubber it will be a hoot.

I am struggling to admit this to myself but the Mini is more fun than my C63 day to day. It has got under my skin so much and I’d forgotten how much fun hot hatches are, albeit the LSD amplifies it ten fold.

[Brett748]

Another Mini update, and it’s not all plane sailing.

My mate and I went to tackle the top mount on Sunday and found that some idiot has welded the strut into the top mount rather than using the pinch bolt, so I need a new hub and shock.



Next up we went to change the oil and you guessed it, some idiot has rounded the sump plug.



So, fed up with dealing with the aftermath of idiots working on it I have sent it to GSR53 Mini specialists in Manchester for a once over and to fix it up, including the heating!

My son is devastated that Mini is at the “Mini Hospital” but took some comfort it is with his “Mini friends”.



Fingers crossed it’s back next week and fixed up. It is generally a good little car it just needs a little TLC which it will get.

[IlPapaMobile]

Ah what a heartwarming picture with your lad! I’ve always had a soft spot for the BMW minis too, they sound like a hoot to drive and look tidy with a few subtle mods.

[Nath911t]

Awesome 1st picture.

I have been looking at these. Cars, not your lad and keep thinking I need one in my life but wouldn't be to happy getting something that needs my wallet throwing at it. Currently have 2 SC cars. A CLS55 and FF RR. I guess there are nice ones about.