Let's Hear About Your R53's

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by Ducbird, Feb 3, 2023.

  1. My little mini had had to have new headlights as it failed MOT it's passed now
    Had a new aux belt and tensioner as well.
    Got new side indicators to put on
    The number plate light wasn't working so new bulbs and cleaned lenses
    New bulbs in front indicators as orange was peeling off one of the bulbs.

    She has got a slight leak in power steering hose/hoses so thats the next job
     
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  2. T
    hanks. The whole work was carried out by Farnells BMW and Mini specialists who are local to me. Chris Farmell himself will readily admit it was a bit of challenge and not normally a project they would take on. Once we started we just kept coming across more and more work that needed doing which just kept adding to the expense! We originally didn’t know whether to bother but after a conversation with Kevin Bird from Birds Garages where he offered to buy the car in its former state I knew that if he wanted to restore it then we should be doing it.

    https://farnellsclitheroe.co.uk/
     
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  3. Good to see updates on the thread, I’d still like to try and find a proper JCW r53 just to keep hold of, aside from some issues with my VIN numbers, the main reason I got rid of mine was that my missus hated it, but it was really bad because it was on winter tyres which just made it feel frightening tbh! For any others on here don’t run them on winters, the car moves around like it’s on ice
     
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  4. I have always run mine with falkens all year and they have been great in the snow and saved me a couple of times from idiots on the road
     
  5. What is the Hartge conversion and do they still do the same one? I looked on their site but all the info is disconcertingly vague, plus it claims 210BHP rather than 230BHP and doesn't seem to involve any engine work (bore and stroke stay the same). Is it the package of 15% smaller pulley, bigger injectors, colder plugs etc or something more than that?
     
  6. I really need to get some decent tyres as I've got a mix of all sorts of cheap Chinese ditchfinders on mine. I keep intending to change the wheels to 18s but never get round to it and so keep making do with the rubber I've got. As an aside, they recently resurfaced the two NSL roundabouts at either end of my village and now the tyres shriek like buggery when even only slightly pushing on - it's great fun as it sounds like I'm in an episode of Starsky and Hutch.
     
  7. AWD FTW!
     
  8. Yes it is all a bit vague. The car had been converted from new by the previous owner who apparently was a premier football player (not sure who as it couldn’t be disclosed and the car was originally registered to a third party) When we first contacted Birds they wouldn’t divulge any information on the car before seeing the V5 for proof of ownership and even then it was a bit sketchy because the work was done over 20 years ago. The Hartge conversion does include engine modifications and mapping,but to be honest I don’t know the specifics. I found a few details online (see pictures below) There’s also full quad exhaust system, suspension and bodywork. I think birds were the only UK workshop approved by Hartge to carry out the conversions. I’m not sure if they still do it as Hartge went out of business about 5 years ago.

    IMG_0996.jpeg IMG_0997.jpeg
     
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  9. Thanks for that. It looks as if the conversion is a bit more than the usual but more geared towards making sure the engine can handle the increased power rather than increasing the power itself. Hence, I’m still curious as to where the extra 20BHP comes from as I wouldn’t mind some of that.

    IMG_7822.jpeg

    The quad exhaust looks awesome btw.
     
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  10. How is the car when booting it from a standing start? Are you getting huge wheel spin / torque steer or is the ECU remapped to make that less of an issue?

    My Mini is 230 also but the AWD stops any of those issues. Flip side is that its heavier than yours so less performance...
     
  11. It can have problems at times getting the power down especially on damp or loose surface roads. The traction control can become quite intrusive to the point where it’s best switched off. Then it becomes like the good old days where you drove by the skin of your teeth!
     
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  12. Yes, I think a lot of the work is making sure the car can handle the power. On the scale of things 230bhp doesn’t sound a lot these days but given the size and weight of the car it’s quite a potent mixture.
     
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