Sourcing the Car
A plan was hatched, to find a facelifted R53 MINI. The R53 means 2001-2006 Cooper S, it's an internal body code that MINI fans use to identify their exact car, similar to e46 for a 1999-2005 3 Series. Why the facelifted version? Well, it had upgraded headlights, taillights (Which I actually changed back to the pre-facelifted version as you'll see later), revised front and rear bumpers, a new gearbox for faster acceleration and smoother gearchanges, a second sunvisor above my head for the drivers door glass, a new center console, but most importantly, the 3 piece dash instead of the 5 piece dashboard, which meant I could plan the interior and use some of the new accessories designed only for the 3 piece dashboard.

So, the search began, on eBay, on Autotrader, on Carzone, on mobile.de, and eventually, I came up with a shortlisted car on Pistonheads located in Scotland. The plan was to have a car, when finished, which included the full list of all factory fitted optional equipment, and all John Cooper Works (JCW) extras too. I knew this would be impossible, so I tried to find a car with as much as possible fitted. The Scottish MINI had quite a few toys fitted to it, and it turned out to be a great canvas to work on. Unfortunately, I couldn't agree on price, and didn't buy it there and then. A few weeks later, I was in Poland when the owner eMailed me to ask if I was still interested, and if my previous offer still stood. I said it did, and that I'd collect the car, but I was in Poland, and not returning to Ireland until Friday. I made arrangements to go to Aberdeen on Saturday, and drive the car home on the Sunday, but unfortunately it all went against me. I was supposed to fly from Cork to Leeds, Leeds to Aberdeen and catch the midnight ferry from Stranraer to Belfast. BMI Baby phoned me at 7am on the Saturday (I was to be leaving Cork at 12) to tell me my Leeds - Aberdeen flight was cancelled due to a recall issued on that type of aircraft worldwide. Panic set in, and I tried to find alternative flights, even trying to route from London, or Belfast to anywhere in Scotland, or drive to Shannon/Dublin and arrange something from there. No luck. Last ditch resort, was to try the trains. I managed to book 4 trains, leaving Leeds at 3, and arriving in Aberdeen in midnight - I'd miss my Ferry, but that was the least of my worries. The only other problem I had was that my flight from Cork was landing in Leeds at 2, which gave me an hour to get off the plane, and get across the city to the train station.

Long story short, I eventually got there late at night, met the owner, handed over the cash and drove like a man possessed to the ferry. The next ferry was to be at 3am, and the Satnav told me if I left at 12.30 which I did, it would be 3.45 when I got there. Plenty of throttle, and a dab of left foot braking got me to the ferry on time and ready for a cabin!

Interior Styling
After getting to Cork, the stripdown began. I already had a large list of accessories ready in boxes to be installed, but the list kept growing. I made contact with Si of Essential MINI UK who took on the task of modifying my dashboard illumination, but I had to ship every part of my dash which had a backlight over to him. That meant switches and speedos, tachos and toggles were all removed, bubble wrapped, and sent to him. At the same stage, I had custom gauge faces being created for me by Outmotoring in the States, and shipped directly to Si. These faces had all of the warning lights hidden, and the speed/tach numbers realigned so the were easier on the eyes. Unfortunately, the ones they sent were for the American market, and they had to custom fabricate European ones - the difference was that when the hidden warning lights did illuminate, you could find it telling you to check your engine when turning left. Not good. Eventually, Outmotoring, and Essential MINI came though for me, and I ended up with yet more boxes to fit to my MINI.

Next up was a JCW Leather Dashboard, which very few cars have fitted. I'd already chosen black with red trimmings as the overall theme of this car, so when I ordered up the Dashboard, and downtubes, I asked MINI to have the stitching in the leather changed to Chili Red. I also ordered up a JCW Steering Wheel, and had the bottom spoke of the wheel changed to Chili Red to match the rest of the dash. To match the leather dashboard, I had custom handbrake and gearstick gaitors handmade in Italy, and shipped to me. I also ordered a Chili Red Gearknob to match the steering wheel, and exchanged the plastic cup holder and gearstick trim rings for the JCW Leather items.

I exchanged the plastic rings surrounding the centre speedo, centre air vents, hazard lights, and dashboard illumination level switch for OEM chrome ones.

I also fitted the original Sparco Milano JCW Leather Sport Seats which took some doing. The subframes from the existing seats had to be transferred to the JCWs, and as the original seats had airbags, the car had to be told now that it had 2 additional seats without airbags fitted. A quick trip to a MINI GT1 Diagnostic Terminal sorted that out. I should point out the MINI has many more airbags than a standard MINI - the previous owner had opted for Head and Curtain Airbags, along with the Dashboard/Steering Wheel ones already, so this was no compromise on safety. I also fitted a CG Lock to the driver's seatbelt, which provides 80% of the function of a proper 4 point harness belt. Ideal for trackdays. Lastly, I bought a rear seat delete kit, which gives me the option of removing the rear leather seats and having a larger interior area. I can swap the configuration of the car from 4 seat tourer, to 2 seat track car in about 15 minutes.

This was truly a one off dashboard no other MINI would have, and I was thrilled to have no screws left over!


Audio and Electrical Interior
The audio system fitted to the car was the already excellent Harman/Kardon system, but it had the stock head unit with no iPod connection fitted. The original MINI iPod connection was very limited even if chose to buy it, so I opted to replace the head unit with one from Alpine which would work transparently with the iPod. I chose the Alpine IDA-X001, which doesn't have a CD player at all, just a direct link to the iPod, and a complete recreation of the iPod GUI on it's screen. This raised two problems, the first being where to locate the iPod for storage, and because the Harman/Kardon system was fully digital and incompatible with aftermarket head units, how to connect them up.

I decided to retrofit the OEM armrest from MINI, which is no small task. The entire centre console under the handbrake had to be replaced, and a complicated jigsaw of parts also had to be assembled. Once the armrest had indeed been fitted, I ran the iPod interface cable from the headunit, underneath the carpet, up through the armrest, and into the storage compartment inside the armest itself. It proved to be a very elegant solution.

To connect the headunit to the digital HK amplifier, I sourced an interface designed by Ian Cull which would take the analogue output of the Alpine, and convert it into signals the amplifier could understand. Ian's circuit also replicates commands from the original headunit to change surround sound settings, and to adjust the timing of the speakers if the driver is in the car alone and wants stereo to feel as if it's coming from in front of him. To that end, there's an additional button which requires fitting, and I chose to put that under my instrument stack in the centre of the dashboard.

Security of the vehicle was also to the fore of my mind while building this car, it already had a Thatcham approved Alarm & Immobiliser and was destined to spend most of its time under a fleecy fitted cover in a garage, but perhaps that wasn't enough? I installed the Trackstar vehicle tracking system - if anyone stole my car, it could be located within 15 seconds using satellites, gps, and sms messaging.

After that, I ordered and fitted a JCW Gear Shift Indicator which you can see over the Speedo, this lights up from green, to orange, to red, before flashing all of the LEDs at once to remind you to change gear when on track. I needed to install SatNav at this stage, so I fabricated a bracket for my Garmin Nuvi 360 Satnav, and built a power supply linked to the ignition sense. Not only does it look like the OEM MINI item, but it switches on when the car is started, and powers down when the car does. It also provides Bluetooth Telephone functionality.

Finally, I installed red LED lighting into the door bin ellipse on each side, which is linked to the headlamps - they fade in and out when the lights are turned on and off, and exchanged all the festoon bulbs inside from white to red also.


Exterior Styling
Because I'm convinced chrome is what gives MINI a somewhat feminine appearance, I decided to dechrome as much of the exterior as possible. I dechromed the beltline of the car, and the headlamps, which immediately gave it a purposeful stance. I also removed the chrome grills, and replaced them with the black honeycomb grills from the OEM Aerodynamic Kit. I feel the entire kit is a bit too aggressive, but the grills worked well with the standard bumpers. There was a bit of modifying necessary to get the grills to fit, but it was worth it in the end.

I also removed the stock spoiler, and in it's place installed the JCW Carbon Fibre Wing - probably the most expensive part you can buy for a MINI when compared to its size. At the same time, I ordered a Palo Uber Bonnet Scoop from the States, painted it, and installed it which was no easy task. It's not a perfect design, and as a result, the air ducting around the intercooler needed to be relieved with a dremel.

The car came with 18" JCW Alloys as standard, but the ride quality was abysmal, and the image didn't suit the look I was trying to attain. I replaced these with very lightweight 17" multispoke Team Dynamics Monza Rs in Matt Black, with a Redline Rim. The difference 1" and the lower unsprung kerb weight made to the handling, and performance of the MINI was well worth it.

The rear Boot Handle was replaced with the JCW Carbon Fibre version. The car was also debadged, and an R53 Badge fitted in its place.

Black bonnet stripes with white piping were fitted, along with a very very limited edition set of MINI United 2005 Festival Mirror Caps to suit the vintage of the car, and a GoMINIGo front numberplate bracket.


Exterior Electrical
I installed Hella Comet additional spot lamps, for nighttime visiblity, and to hark to the styling of the 1960's Monte Carlo winning Minis. I also installed red puddle lighting into the door handles - when the car is locked, a soft red glow slowly fades in filling the dish behind the door handles, and when the car is locked, they fade back out again.

I fitted rear Parking Sensors, with a display and audio readout in the dashboard. Because I keep this car in a very confined garage with other vehicles close to it, it's a boon when trying to maximise space.

I also fitted Lexus style rear lamps from the 2001-2004 MINI product line. This was a bit of a nightmare, and involved relocating the reverse light, and foglights, and of course replacing all the necessary wiring. The entire rear of the car had to be stripped to achieve this.

Finally, just for the hell of it, I fitted a second horn in addition to the standard one, a 1930's style Klaxon - Arooogah - horn which is great fun at Motor Shows.


Safety and Performance
The car is fitted with the full JCW engine kit, which includes a larger supercharger, larger injectors, exhaust system, computer controller air intake, revised ECU, and Intercooler Cover - allowing the engine to develop an incredible 210Bhp from a small 1.6 litre 4 cylinder engine.

To improve the handling of the MINI in tight corners, I added a OMP Strutbrace (In red of course!) under the bonnet. In the boot, I also fitted a fire extinguisher just in case.

Because the standard JCW brakes are in essence just basic BMW 3 Series calipers and discs, I wanted to upgrade to serious stopping power. Enter the JCW 316x22mm Drilled and Slotteed Discs which are similar to the size of brakes you get on a 911/M3/Aston Martin. These looked incredible when fitted to the car, but now I needed a set of calipers which could work in tandem with these. As a result I sourced a set of Wilwood 6 Piston Calipers, Pads and Stainless Steel Brakelines from the States. These when installed in conjunction with the JCW rotors provided absolutely incredible stopping power.


What's next?
Well, I want to upgrade the engine power from the engine by fitting a high flow manifold, and then remapping the ECU to suit. This should see the car reach approximately 245 Bhp.

I'll also fit the Wilwood Rear Calipers and Discs to the MINI in the future, they provide little in the way of stopping power, but I think from an asthetics point of view, it would be superb.


Full Specification

R53 MINI Cooper S
John Cooper Works

Engine
1.6 Litre 215 Bhp supercharged petrol engine
JCW Cylinder head
JCW Uprated supercharger
JCW Exhaust system
JCW Uprated injectors
JCW Electronically controlled Airbox
JCW Engine remap

Suspension, Brakes and Wheels
316x22mm JCW Drilled and Slotted Brake Rotors
Wilwood Dynapro 6 Piston Calipers
Braided Brake Hoses.
MINI Sport Suspension Plus
OMP Upper strut brace
17” Team Dynamics Monza R matt black, with redline rim
Custom made MINI wheel centre caps
Dynamic Stability Control

Exterior
Aero grills grafted into standard front bumper
Hella comet spot lamps, colour coded to body
Go MINI Go no holes numberplate bracket
Blackened front indicators
MINI black bonnet stripes
Palo Uber bonnet scoop
JCW side repeaters, with Ultra black crystal lenses
Red illuminated door cups
Xenon headlamps with headlamp washers
Electric Panoramic Glass Roof
JCW High level carbon fibre spoiler
Ultra black projector rear lighting clusters, relocated reverse lamp
PDC
Dechromed waistline
Dechromed headlamps
Folding and heated exterior mirrors, with MINI United Misano 2005 mirror caps
OEM darkened privacy glass
Cherished registration number 05C888

Interior & ICE
Visibility package (Heated front windscreen, auto dimming mirror, auto wipers)
Anthracite headlining
Chili Pack (Front fogs, storage pack, trip computer, manual aircon, interior lighting pack, 3 spoke steering wheel)
JCW steering wheel, colour coded chilli red
JCW leather dashboard, and downtubes, colour coded chilli red stitching
JCW gearshift indicator
JCW leather sparco milano seats
JCW leather cupholder and gearshift trim rings
Custom made handbrake and gearshift gaiter, colour coded chilli red stitching
Colour coded chili red gearknob
Custom speedo and tacho dial faces, colour coded to JCW leather dashboard
Custom lighting on all switches and displays, by Essential MINI, colour coded with white/red theme
Harman/Kardon profession HiFi system
Alpine XDA001 Digital iPod headunit, with Harman/Kardon enabler
Armrest with integral iPod interface
iPhone holder
Door bins illuminated with 24 red LEDs, linked to headlamp switch
Alarm, immobiliser, tracker.
Climate control
Heated seats
Multifunction steering wheel (Audio and cruise control)
Head airbags
Chrome trim rings on dashboard centre console
Custom made satnav mount and power supply, fitted Garmin Nuvi 360, connected to ignition sense
Bluetooth Handsfree Kit
Fire extinguisher
CG seatbelt lock
Interior canopy and courtesy bulbs changed to red LEDs
Velour MINI floor mats
Timer circuit fitted to Sunroof, Windows – single button lock rolls all glass shut.
Additional Klaxon horn fitted.
Rear seat delete kit fitted