Mike's R56 Cooper S

[MiniMike20]

Thought I would share some photos and stories - Very long Read for those interested.

My history with MINI has been up and down - Some of my MINI's in order of ownership.

1982 1275E Clubman:
Bought from an Afrikaans okie in the ville, very nicely restored and solid as anything. Except for the brakes which periodically would just just lose all pressure. It never gave me a days issue otherwise, I miss chucking in R30 and bombing from Durbanville to Century City at speeds that I would now consider stupidly dangerous. There is quite an element of regret in selling this car mostly because its disappeared since (and trust me I look for it all the time) and because these little cars are starting to gain quite a bit of value in the last 2 years.

I mostly miss it because it reminds me of a time in my youth where I didnt quite give a shit for anything, it was me, my Mini and whatever I wanted to do. The character it had, like how water used to flood the drivers door on a cold morning from the roof, or how you had to position the light switch juuuuussssttt perfect to get both headlights to come on etc. Really a wonderful little car that I just really fell in love with.

2009 MINI Cooper Convertible:
This car was an unintended purchase. When I worked for MINI in 2010 we bought this car from MINI SA. It was what MINI SA called a DEA Launch Car. So essentially when there are motor shows (JHB Motor show for example) or the brand launches a new model BMW takes its upon themselves to spec up ridiculous cars that are then used at shows, for Journalists etc. This was one of those cars where literally every single option was ticked.

I spotted the car on Gumtree on evening and screenshot the ad to Mbali who I worked with at MINI with the comment "No ways is this the car I think it is". Very quickly I climbed on the phone and viewed the car the same day, belonged to some gay trust fund kid who "just wants a Vespa now" so I took the car with 60 000km on the clock for R115k the next morning happier than a pig in shit with buying a top spec car for an absolute bargain.

This car gave no issues except for two rubber inserts that tension the roof which tore, this caused the inside of the car to flood one evening and took some time to get the leather and foam redone, and stripping everything out to dry etc. The repair itself was R25.00 at BMW. I liked this car because of its incredible spec. The upgraded sound was amazing, I did replace the speakers though as one was blown. The convertible life was also fantastic but compromised beyond what I was prepared to live with. The rear seats were unusable, the boot was a laugh but the way the roof creaked and groaned and rattled and how that translated to a rather unusual ride quality that I couldnt quite get the hang of.

2008 MINI Clubman Cooper:
Since working for MINI I always liked the Clubman Concept. Stupid suicide door on the wrong side, barn doors on the back, the estate-ish look (or better yet hearse) styling. I also knew it had an extra 2 inches of wheel base and that of the entire group of cars, it handled the best and was the most practical. The convertible charm was wearing off on me so I gave the vert to a dealer to sell and they happened to have this Clubbie on their floor which I resisted for some time.

We decided to change up our lifestyle a bit and move to Sea Point / Bantry Bay and the risk of owning a convertible was too high, in that the roof could be sliced open etc so I gave in and made a deal to swap out my full spec Convertible with a poverty spec Clubman - The dealer agreed I could take parts between the two cars so I took the wheels and some trim and we ended up with the Clubman. This car again, didnt give me any issues but I didnt connect with it the way I did with the convertible, perhaps a bit of arrogance or materialistic bias was involved but without the S badge on the boot and without all the nice finishes and toys the Clubman felt like a boring car.

Our driveway in Sea Point was also hectic and the tight chassis meant that most days taking a gap onto Kloof Road resulted in suspension articulation and wheel spin to get out, it just was not working for me and when I noted a driveshaft seal was leaking (I assume from the stupid driveway) I called it a day and bought an Audi A3 with much more pliable suspension.

​

 

[MiniMike20]

2003 MINI R53 Cooper S:
I have a problem where I get bored with cars quite easily and at the time this car came around I had been cashing out paid for vehicles to support my business in a period where the property market in Cape Town was tanking. We had moved to a town house in Fresnaye with a garage and I had no intention to buy a MINI at all. I had a found a stunning Audi A4 Avant 1.8T and at the last minute the car was sold out under my feet. I had already sold our current car and needed wheels urgently - Que a little yellow Cooper S.

Anyone who has driven an R53 knows that it remains arguably the best of the "new" MINI's in terms of capturing the essence of the classic car. That small body, tight chassis, retro styling and supercharger whine combined a unique package of nostlagia, performance and of course coolness. I found the car on Gumtree, viewed it and bought it on the spot. Being a MINI fanatic I knew it was an old car and that it would need work so I went to BMW and spent R20k on OEM parts. Seals, bottles, pipes, sensors, oils and more and set about getting the car mechanically perfect. I also bought a set of JCW shocks and H&R Springs, Idler Pulley, vibration dampener and suspension bushes which I had lined up for a workshop to fit.

Then came the problems. I had to book a client out at 3am on a Sunday morning in Hout Bay and of course I took liberty on the drive there and back arriving home to a definitive clucking noise from the motor. I noticed the vibration dampener had seperated and was hitting the block so with all my parts lined up I booked it the following day for another R20k worth of preventative work and maintenance. Part of this work is a triangular gasket on the oil filter housing, the only gasket I couldnt get to but had put on the job card for the workshop.

Later that Monday afternoon I got a call to say they had replaced everything and that the motor was still knocking.... Off came the sump to find 3 spun bearings. From the moment I bought the car I was prepared to spend money to make sure it was perfect and this threw a massive spanner in the works. We decided a used motor would be best and I bought a motor in JHB and had it sent down, and then started two weeks in my little single garage in Fresnaye stripping the old motor and stripping the new motor and determining which parts to keep and which parts to replace as the new motor had half the mileage of the existing motor but I had of course already spent a small fortune on the old motor.

The cause of failure? The oil filter gasket had failed and she dropped oil. The one gasket I couldn't do, murphy.

I did all the work on the engine myself, learnt some lessons but she started on the first swing and besides two teething issues (a leaking fuel pressure regulator) and a coolant hose I forgot to tighten the clamp on the car ran beautifully. At this point I was about R60k into the car mechanically (having paid R60k for the car) and about R10k cosmetically as I replaced interior parts and did colour coding etc. In March 2020 we saw some hectic fires in Clifton and a neighbor alerted me that one of our clients houses was on fire.... Inside the garage was a Lexus LFA and a C63 Legacy AMG (Number 1 of 10) so I took the MINI and flew through to Clifton where I was forced to park it on the side of the road and run a km up the road to rescue the two cars.

Sadly, I saved a Lexus LFA and an AMG but my MINI didnt make it. Whilst parked someone hit my car in the chaos leaving no note or info and the car was deemed uneconomical to repair, what ensued was a train smash of an insurance claim and 4 months in lockdown without payout with the car on my driveway. I was incredibly sad to see it go, besides the total loss I made on the car it re-ignited my passion and interest in MINI and cars in general.

2011 MINI Cooper S R56:
Prince Motors. Arguably the downfall of half of MINI, Citroen and Peugeots resale value and mostly to blame for their reputation as rubbish french cars. The prince motor is actually an astonishing engine, way ahead of its time - Even Porsche played a role (albeit small) in the development of the engine that won engine of the year 3 times in a row.

A decade later we all know that these engines diabolically shit, diabolically expensive to maintain and mostly unreliable and this is the dialogue I have had with every and any person that waves a MINI with an S badge in my face - Run. Dont do it. My own love of this brand and its cars saw me own two non turbo Cooper version because even with my penchant for wasting money on cars I simply could not find the balls to own one.

Early December 2020 I was getting a bit (understatement) irate with the Renault 20th Edition RS we had. It had KONI suspension and while it was kitted out with great toys they didnt do anything particularly well. It had Bluetooth streaming but a 80w sound system. It had Projectors but no light source including putting the sun in them could light up a tree 5m in front of the car. It was hard and harsh and with the suspension set to soft it handled like rubbish and overall it was just such a outrageously compromised ownership experience, I hated it and after a particularly harsh melt down about how rubbish it was I set out to find another MINI Clubman and listed the Renault with the 3rd tier showroom my fiances DP owns.

Keep in mind this was entirely speculative but along comes the used car manager and shows my fiance a Cooper S parked on the roof that they forgot to send to auction. 2011, two owners, 69 000km, 7 years of motorplan and the balance documented at his dealership.... Hmmm. The car was in good shape and we had the workshop inspect the car with no faults found. I compiled the history and found the car had stood for nearly 2 years. That every service was done on time, that it had a lot of preventative work on it and then came the best part, I could have it at cost - R95k when the closest similar spec 2011 was for sale for R160-180k. Done Deal.

So. I am in a turbo prince, I am indeed a hypocrite and I absolutely adore the car. It feels like the Demo cars I drove in 2011 still, its a brilliant compromise between the outright comfort of my Audi A3 and the sportiness of the Clio RS without being too much of either. We had the union Jacks fitted and the sunroof decal and de-chrome and exhaust back box delete. I am going to have a custom stage 1 (that I developed a while ago) mapped to it to pull back timing and ensure that as it ages its not eating its pistons or its turbo.

Conclusion:

I still do not advocate the ownership of a turbo prince motor. I feel I have found a gem that rarely comes along but in my conscience I know that this car will cost me a bit to own moving forward and I am okay with that given I bought it knowing that. The R53 Cooper S really caught me off guard especially given my good intentions to do so much preventative work on it from the onset.

I would like to get another classic Mini but the price point for a semi decent bullnose etc is just too far out there given I could have an R53 for similar money these day and I would rather listen to a supercharge scream than my ears bleed doing 80 in a tin can. The F56 does absolutely nothing for me and I dont think I will ever buy one, its as complacent as a Golf GTI and if you are going to buy a car like that you may as well just buy a GTI, or an S3 because besides the gimmicky MINI interior and retro looks the current crop of cars are designed to be good, to sell, to compete and no MINI before that has bothered to try tick all the boxes like the new ones do.

 

[AlexYannoulatos]

Great write up and awesome to see you back on the forum. Did you get a new number? Sent you a watsapp now

 

[MiniMike20]

No whatsapp - 0606845150, might has changed since we last spoke. How is your Clubbie treating you? Missus good? Hows the doggie?

 

[FILV]

Awesome write up!
It such a pity with those prince motors. Those S's are so appealing, but talk to any knowledgeable mechanic, and they say the same thing.... run!

Love the journey you've had with each one

 

[MiniMike20]

Sooooo, busy getting the plates done - Have applied for SMRTARS WP (the plate I had on my X1) for the MINI.

Plans are to go Pepper White on the Wheels for a retro cool look, speaker channel swap, stage 1 with mild pops (that I worked with a Local Tuner to create for the MINI guys / gals), headlight refurbish and Stek Wrap and then some detailing. Also need to swap out a brake warning sensor thats faulty.

Managed to get it to average 6.6L/100km (with some restraint) and overall I am dead happy with my purchase.

 

[MiniMike20]

Update on Charlie.

Managed to strip back the headlights and refurbish them beautifully - Ceramic Coated them for good measure.
Swapped out the Front Pad Wear Sensor.
Gave the Leather a strip-down clean and some moisturizer, bought some Ceramic Coat for them once I have a chance.

Really happy with the car. Done 10 000km in it since getting it in the 2nd week of December though.

And MINI SA featured the last photo set on their Social Media too.

Need to try drive it less, but its giving me far too much joy.

 

[MiniMike20]

Since I am talking to myself I may as well continue if this might be helpful or informative to others MINI owners.

When I swapped out the front pad sensor I noted the pads and discs would be due soon (but not 10 000km ago like the car said). I have a spreadsheet of the full history of the car and saw:

Last Disc Change: 25/04/13 & 39 281km
Last Pad Change: 12/01/17 & 54 107km

Fairly decent mileage for a set of Discs and Pads. I saw on the BMW Catalogue they have a set of Solid Vented Discs and Vented Perforated Discs and interestingly enough after checking the part numbers with the guys at Goldwagen found that GW had a stock number for the perforated discs - Excellent, a nice upgrade. Except they will only have stock in 4 months again.....

I called BMW who were eager to quote R4k for the two discs but also confirmed they were back order ex Germany with no date set for arrival.

Then I mailed Powerbrake and asked if they had a kit for the car to be told it was discontinued but I could have Mintex pads for R1400 for the set.

After some more reading, and wanting to get the brakes done asap I settled on Febi Dront Solid Vented Discs and Febi Pads for the total of R2740.00 excluding fitment. I think that is good value over-all, I did not bother asking BMW for a price for brakes as I would still like to do a track day or two in it and will probably end up throwing the discs away regardless of who the manufacturer is.

Rear Discs still claim a large range on the trip computer but I see they were also done around the time the fronts were done so will have a look there on Friday when it goes in for the front.

 

[PsyCLown]

Need to try drive it less, but its giving me far too much joy.

Cars are there to be driven! Drive it and enjoy dammit.

 

[Twinz]

Love the write up & pix and are following the thread...Charlie looks stunning in the pix. Well done and may you have lots of happy ks. The joy we experiencing in driving these machines make up for all the money we threw at them.