So I picked up an r50 mini for my 13 year old son for nothing and I need 914world quality information to get it all perfect. I am used to very small communities... There are so many mini groups... Anyone know of a group that's as useful as 914world? Tall order, I know.

It is a very tall order.

914World seems to be unique, in that it has a large population of informed members that are strongly motivated to help and document, with a significantly high signal-to-noise ratio. It truly is a standout.

For example, I've tried to find a similar support group for the 968; there's several forums out there (Pelican, Rennlist, a cople others) but not a lot of quality support. I bought a poorly-maintained 968 and looking on how to fix things and it seems in a lot of ways I'm Googling a lot of forums and social media and YouTube (I hate 15 minute YouTubes for a problem that can be explained in two sentences) and putting together varying bits of info to get my own answer, and then posting it in one of those forums as the answer.

I "blame" a couple of things for this. First, 914World precedes social media so this forum became THE place for support on our older cars. As social media gained significance answers got scattered about yet 914World was already firmly established and became The Center of the 914 Universe.

Secondly, our cars are older, and came around in popularity some time ago. Given the older-ness there has been a much longer time for the cars to lose popularity, get cheap and basically get forgotten about, then ressurected in popularity and owners looking for answers. Not yet the Mini, and only now are we seeing the 968 come about. I'm still amazed on, for example, the knowledge and support on this board about the Bosch D- and L-Jetronic systems.

A tertiary reason is that not as many people are that interested in working on their own cars...

914World is a unique piece of history. Let's enjoy it and not get frustrated by harboring expectations that it will be done again.

But if you find a good solid board for the 968, do let me know? - GA

well said, its rare to find a forum for a single model of car that has as much activity and information as 914world. Good luck i hope you are able to find help. those are fun little cars but thats one reason i didnt get one for my daughter this year when shopping for her first car, we looked but too many issues it seemed to take the chance

As the owner of a 2003 Mini Cooper R50 since 2005, I can attest that Mini owners on the whole (excluding me of course ), are the most unsavvy of all car owners. Most are Gen Y and Z air heads that couldn't replace a wiper blade or a tail lamp at gunpoint, let alone do an oil change, God forbid.

The typical string on a Mini forum goes like this:

Question - My car's making this funny noise, what could it be?
Comment - Hey, mines doing that too.
Answer - Better take it to the dealer.

So, my boy, you are on your own, Sorry.

Osnabruck914

`You have hit the nail on the head! There are no good Mini Cooper forums on the web or on Facebook on on YouTube. It's calculation by BMW and MiniCooper to keep tight control on the information needed to repair the Mini Cooper anywhere else but at the authorized stealerships. You can't even get accurate torque wrench values for rebuilding the various types of Mini Cooper engines.

I was just up in Silverton, CO for the Hardrock 100 and there must have been 300 mini coopers driving around. It must have been a local club "drive" or something. I personally don't like the model but as a car guy I could appreciate seeing all the different mods/colors.

Sigh. That explains why I haven't been finding anything useful. Well, at least I won't care so much when I screw something up.

I've BANNED Mini Coopers from the shop...

My Dad had an 08 Clubman Turbo 6 speed.

Water pump is driven by a rubber wheel that rides against the serpentine belt.

Clutch job required subframe and engine package removal leaving a car stuck on your lift that CANNOT be moved.

Parts are a PIA to get. Hung that clutch job for a week...

NEVER EVER release torque on the harmonic balancer bolt. The lower gear is NOT indexed to the crank, no key at all and IS the last bolt you torque when you are replacing timing chain.

I believe the engine was Renault based and looked like it.

PCV valve built into expensive valve cover.

Rear door would UNLOCK and OPEN all by itself over night. This would drain the battery. It did this shit INSIDE a locked garage...

Every time I turned around there was some other JACKED up design failure.

I breathed a sigh of relief when he got rid of it.

Yeah, BMW really blew it with the Mini. We'll see what they do to Rolls Royce. Even the new Steinways are pieces of junk.

chicks car (by and large)?
at least in australia.
not being sexist. just what it is.


mini coopers from last century.
different matter.
= 914 world scenario.

good luck.
i hear the engines are ticking time bombs.
might be hearsay and doom talk.

Dealer!?!

Osnabruck914
[/quote]
Dealer!?!
[/quote]

Never mind. I thought we were talking about an old British car, rather than the BMW. I once saw some folks fit an accurate cardboard model of the original version entirely within the interior space of the newer version. With the newer version I would imagine one is trapped in the mire of elongated and prolongated you tube videos.

We has a 2009 Mini Cooper turbo. It ran like crap, the dealer said it needed this special additive to fix the problem and a flush. After many overpriced visits with the special additive, they finally replaced the fuel pump and solved the problem. Then the plastic camshaft belt bushings died and blew the motor up. The stealership didn't want to replace the motor unless we proved we got the oil changes at the specific intervals and of course we use jiffy lube, etc and the receipts were everywhere. After they found out we got it from Car Max with extended warranty they replaced the motor on their dime. We dumped the car after that. I was told the newer mini coopers have BMW motors in them and do not have the reliability issues of the older ones made in England.

You guys are making me feel so good about this. Now it's almost like a challenge, can I keep it running?! To make matters worse, it has a cvt transmission. This is going to be more fun than troubleshooting a d-jet. At least it all currently works. It was refreshing today to look under it and see zero rust. Just nothing. No rust anywhere. 20 year old car from New York and Philadelphia.

Click to view attachment

Ok, so you have three years? Could be fun for you two

https://rptcreations.com/products/rpt-creat...=41800252686514

@emerygt350

That is hilarious. Sadly, that kit plus the engine and transmission is still less than replacing the cvt (dealer).

There is a long distance Mini club drive. They spent a night in Durango and gathered on the Fort Lewis College campus before heading north to drive the million dollar highway. Out local paper claimed that 600 Minis are involved.

If memory serves me right the 1st gen new Mini Coopers has strut tower cracking issues and there was a update that installed reinforcement plates either on top of the strut tower to increase the bracing for that area of the car. I remember working on the S and non S R50/52/53s. I hated where they placed the oil filter on the 1st gen new Minis. The coolant bottles against the firewall always cracked after a short amount of time. The supercharged versions had supercharger issues. The 1st gen new Mini Cooper 1.6L Tritec (Chrysler/Rover partnership (which was a subsidiary of BMW at the time)) engines were plucked from the Chrysler PT Cruisers/Neons hence the Dodge/Plymouth Neon ignition coil pack as BMW did not have a small 4 cylinder at the time. The second generation new Mini's (08 up) ran the Prince engine manufactured by PSA Peugeot/Citroen to verify @technicalninja post.

Service position 1 is really cool..
Basically you remove all the body work on the front of the car.
Oddly it’s not that hard todo.

Then pull up a chair and get to work.

I had one , it was not a great car, sold it, got screwed on that too.

Biggest problem :
Click to view attachment

yeah. different kettle of fish.

but there is a way to drive them but i have never really had the guts to do it the way it should be done. i have been in a car a couple of decades back with a guy who did a lot of rally driving. in his front wheel drive. we were on tarmac, not dirt. windy hill roads.
there is a thing you do where you brake like shit, come off the brakes, settle, and then brake again into the apex. i;ve never been able to do it. its about loading the outside front tyre but in a different way to how you do it with a rear wheel drive car. its something about really loading that outside front tyre.

i do have a iittle RS renault clio and its fast in the twisty bits with delicious steering. its power steering but the last of the hydraulics. its also has a substantial sub frame with the engine package that the standard shopping cart versions didn't have and the front shocks have a thicker strut rod. part of the secret is controlling all the torque and keeping it stiff as.

it still has torque steer but its not unpleasant.

its fast enough driven the standard way but all the rally drivers drove the way i describe above to go even faster. i just don't have the guts to do it. need somewhere to train where i can spin off and hit nothing if you know what i mean. when you get them into that state they usually cock a rear back wheel.

I am not a fwd fan for racing although autocross has shown me many a fwd that can do amazing things. However, as a teenager I delivered pizza in Minnesota blizzards and that little dodge Omni could get through anything...

When Ed was still on Wheeler Dealers, he tackled an oil leak (from some buried bolt on the engine). Nightmare. I once asked a Clubman owner how he liked his. 3 words was all I got. “Don’t buy one”.

A neighbor had a Mini some years ago. He had to have the transmission replaced 6 or 7 times IIRC. Bad news...

They are stupid fun to drive through.

I wanted to buy one last year. But the maintenance horror stories drove me off.

Zach

I got to drive a turbocharged one back in ‘06 on the twisties out behind San Diego. It was fun but I learned why it had a six speed. Seriously short on torque. Spent the whole time stirring the gearbox to keep it in the power band. The roads were sure fun though.

Duplicate

Recent JD Power results for 3 years ownership - model year 2021
Click to view attachment

The US-oriented MINI forum that I know of that is the least-distant from 914world is North American Motoring.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/

It's a far cry from 914world in most ways, but it's the best I've found so far.


The CVT is bad news. AFAIK, they're basically unrepairable. And not overly reliable. They are generally regarded as the worst system on a 1st-generation MINI.

--DD

Apparently the one I have was rebuilt in 2022 and then the dealer charged 300 dollars to get the computer set with it. So apparently they can be rebuilt, I have no idea how well it works yet though. Tried aluminum brazing the AC today, sealed one hole in a line just to find out the whole condenser is a mass of leaks. Pulling the front off was interesting. And easy. I will check out that forum.
Click to view attachment

Modern condensers are not flushable or repairable.

The aluminum has gotten so thin as to definitely have a finite lifespan.

15 years ago, I didn't see fatigue failures in condensers or lines.

Now, they just flat wear out...

Most aftermarket condensers have 30% fewer cooling tubes.

I try to go OEM if I can, and the cost is not ridiculous.

One benefit to most new condensers is they house the drier package.

Moments after line connection I pull a vacuum.

Don't pull the plugs on the new condenser until you're ready to connect.

The new condenser should be pressurized slightly with nitrogen.

Exposing the new drier to ambient humidity will destroy it in 6 hours.

Exposing the PAG oil in the system to ambient humidity is BAD as well.

For a condenser replacement I wopuld normally add 1.5 ounces of PAG46 oil;.

I sold my Modified Super Charged Mini R53
To Get my 914 that Currently Lives on Jack stands

Site that I used

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/

Starting to think that's a job for a professional...

You're THERE!

The hard part is getting to it.

You MIGHT leave the vacuum and charge to an ac shop but anyone who can rebuild an engine can easily do their own AC.

I'll help!

The cost of a set of gauges and cheap vac pump is about as much as a service and from that point on you can do you own shit.

It is 100% legal for you to DIY!

Up to two lbs. on either R134A OR R1234YF is legal for ANYONE to buy.

R12 was illegal for non-licensed but it's flat ass illegal to sell over the counter as new since 2011 anyway now.

A 5-year-old can purchase the newer refs.

Walmart is the cheapest place to get it. A customer bought 2 cans last Friday. $9 each

I do have a vac pump...

I do not own one of the new Minis. Or one of the originals either, for that matter. What constantly surprises me though, is the number of people on here that dis someone else's car. Jeez, folks, but enough with the criticism. Doesn't it ring a bell with you? There are no end of critics that piss all over 914s.

That why we expect 914 owners have a thick skin and a sick sense of humor.

Emery and those that are posting regularly, know that we are just joking and having fun amongst friends.

Plus, you have to admit it’s funny that Mini came out higher in Model Year 21’ JD Power reliability than Porsche

Point taken.

This is the REASON for a forum!
If everyone was "That's nice, bless your heart" no one would learn at all!





I don't put much weight in JD Powers

I can't stand Minis! I've banned them from my shop!

Even with all of that, I stated "I will help" with his AC problems. I run an automotive AC specialist shop and actually can...

If it wasn't Emery (or a regular) I would NOT have posted.

Hell, Emery has a "Chalon" Gasp!!!
Lots of folks on here DO NOT like plastic cars...
We accept him just fine!

Nor do I.

Having spent my career in the industry I could write you a “how to” manual on what all the OEMs do to manipulate those results for the express benefit of doing better in JD Power results, Consumer Reports results, etc., even if it’s just a short term gain.

It is however a 3rd party data point that gets lots of publicity.

That’s what I miss about the south; the ability to take someone down a peg and sound so kind doing it.

Funny thing... At the northeast gathering, most of the guys had never seen one in person before. Mine can make a pretty good impression even though the kits 40 years old...

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Add me to that list - have never seen one in person to look out over that hood without the turn signal lumps rising out of it.

I desperately wanted a Chalon kit back in the 80s.

Sort of nice that a few have survived intact unlike the big hair girls I used to date that haven’t aged nearly as well (nor have I)

Yeah, aquanet single handedly tanned everyone in Australia for the next 30 years.

The 914 is still smaller than the Mini.
Click to view attachment

And I found a 2005 Cooper s, same color in the local junk yard. Still has the 6 speed.... Tempting...

I'm "Pro-glass" due to my father.

Of all of the 914 "kits" I also liked the Chalon the best.

A good "Chalon" should be cherished and not "modded" IMO.

And I WILL mod a nearly perfect stock 914...

Emery's car LOOKS GREAT!

Definitely from 20 feet though. Those 40 year old seams are starting to show their age. I think of them as wisdom lines...

What is that roof? Is that slate?

Man, so did I. I grew up in Los Angeles so they were a lot easier to spot in the 80's Saw my first in 1982 sitting in my 1.7 powered saturn yellow 914. I was feeling pretty good when I hear a badass V8 rev up, look to my left and it's a Chalon with a conversion. And it was red. I was in love

Yes, I love it but I need to get a slate guy out here to give it a once over.