Month: January 2016

Permanent plate finally arrived…

When it comes to GPness…. Go big, or go home.

Indeed, I did.

I’ve had a converted fridge for about 10 years… but it’s on its last legs. Took a couple of days off from working on the Mini this week, to build a new one…

Had an old compact chest freezer that was full of old food that we’ll never eat…
So cleaned it out and gave it an extreme makeover.

Swapped the hinges so the lid opens to the side, sanded and treated rust.

Repainted it satin black…

Rewired the compressor, added a digital temperature controller.

Upgraded my existing 2-way picnic faucet 10 pound CO2 system with new 4-way manifold, and additional couplers for a third keg (either Sankey or Cornelius ball lock).

Installed new air cooled tap tower, with three Perlick flow control faucets, and drip tray.

Have some stainless rails I’m going to add around the top tomorrow. Then will be done.

I kinda get carried away, sometimes. 

It’s hella nice. Have Carolina Brewing Company Oktoberfest, and Fortnight Brewing Company English Ale on tap now. Started a batch of Wellzy Compound cider and will have that on tap in a couple of weeks. Will empty out the old fridge and it will go bye-bye. More space for garage gear!

In classic “me” form, I told the wife on Saturday that I would do it over a couple of months.

Monday, it was operational.

Wednesday, it was pretty much complete.

Friday, it was done.

Haz Railz.

So drunken glassware won’t fall off.

Summer sandals came! Because, January.
Complete with idiot stickers.

Kosei K4R in dark gray, 16×7.5, shod in Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Specs, 225/45R16

I like how they look in person, even more than how they looked in pics. More aggressive than I expected. And tons of clearance for brakes and struts, when used with 10mm spacers up front. Could probably get away with 7mm.

Ride height isn’t set for them here, and I didn’t settle the suspension. Just dropped the lift a bit to get an idea of how they will look.

And, light.

So here’s the full collection of wheels for the GP Roadster: GP 18″ wheels w/ 225/18R40 Michelin Pilot Sports for winter, the K4R / Star Specs for Summer, and 949 Racing 6UL 15×8 with Nitto NT01 225/45R15 for the track.

The GP wheel / tire combo is 6 pounds per corner heavier than the summers:

And the track combo is 4 pounds per corner lighter!

And the rest of my Mini Fini hitch arrived. This is nice stuff. My old car had a MiniDoMore hitch. I never really paid attention to how the Mini Fini stuff attached. It’s really well thought out. I cut down and re-drilled the drawbar from my old hitch, to minimize extension.

For those with the patience to watch 100+ hours of labor, over 6 weeks, compressed into 15 minutes, I bring you the GPR build time lapse! This begins after the shell was stripped, caged, painted. I missed shooting video of a few things (like the clutch swap), and I spared you a lot of the fiddly stuff, but it’s complete enough to be interesting. Many times, you will say “WTF is he doing?” or “why is he taking the suspension apart for the fourth time, now?” or something like that. But it’s a pretty honest view of the process. Lots of trial and error is required.

Enjoy.

Had a glorious drive today…

50 degrees, seat heater works. 🙂
Drove about 50 spirited miles. Clutch didn’t slip, axles didn’t pop out, no parts got pulled off the car, and I didn’t take flight.

The car handles great with the added caster. Steering feel is fantastic, turn-in is even more direct.

And the car is crazy fast. I can’t adequately describe it, because that would incriminate me. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when the TVS and Vipec are on… I kinda love it. 

I’ve spent the last couple of days organizing the garage, getting it ready to actually be a place where two cars can park. First complete garage clean out and re-org in 15 years. Still have 2-3 days of work to do, it’s a big job. And then have to do my workshop, probably a few more days in there. But, eventually, the Mini will park in there like it did before all this foolishness started.

Just a sample of the wonders that were in there… 10 years worth of brake rotors for several Minis, BMWs, Chryslers, Hyundais…