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Evolution of my Hartge MCS (pic heavy!)

52K views 76 replies 24 participants last post by  Hartge220 
#1 ·
I've been on here quite a while so I thought I should post up a few :)p) pics of how my 2003 MCS has evovled in the 6 & a half years of ownership :biggrin:

Bought it virtually standard apart from the Hartge tuning kit (200bhp), the Hartge kit includes 15% reduced pulley & a remap, the original owner also had a Milltek exhaust & manifold fitted


No real plans to mod the car any further, then I joined the various MINI forums......the modding started soon after :biggrin:

1st change of wheels, Fox RS multispoke


The modding bug had well truely hit by now, the wheels were changed for a set of rare Dare X4 rims, only 50 sets of these were made for a group buy many years ago here on MINI2. A full JCW Aerokit was fitted as well


A visit to Phil @ Mini-Pirate (sadly not trading any more) saw his 1st Union Jack Zipper roof decal fitted


The interior hasn't been neglected either, leather JCW Sparco seats have been fitted, along with a Carbon dash/trimrings/downtubes etc. 3 spoke steering wheel & some anthracite door cards from a MINI one,



The exterior has had a few mods too :biggrin:, lots of carbon added, bonnet scoop/belt line/ headlight rings (to be fitted)/ mirror caps/side indicators/door handle covers/ washer jet covers/fuel cap cover


Another quite rare addition is a Palo Uber rear wing extention in Carbon fibre (from the USA), haven't seen another one fitted to a car in this country:biggrin:


Another set of rims were bought as well, someone had made a good offer on the Dares, so a set of lightweight Rota Subzeros were fitted


The intention was always to take the car on track, & the power was upped a little more with A Dave F hybrid airbox, larger intercooler from GRS (painted black, along with the intercooler horns), that took power up to 220.8bhp, A Brembo big brake kit from an R56 JCW has added to stopping power along with a set of front brake ducts set into the front bumper. A set of Meister R europa adjustable coilovers were also fitted to help with the handling along with a GTT upper strutbrace.


On track at Brands Hatch, even the pasengers enjoyed the ride despite my driving:p


The car has been round the Top Gear track too, a charity track day, we weren't allowed to go flat out or overtake :angry:, but still had a good day
http://www.youtube.com/user/Hartge210?feature=mhee#p/u/9/rpZs1o0so80

Also done quite a few Run What You Brung days at Santa Pod, best time on the 1/4 mile of 15.02 at 94 mph
http://www.youtube.com/user/Hartge210?feature=mhee#p/f/17/acFnVD2kgig

Latest photos taken last week, car is now running Rota Blitz wheels :p



Sorry it's such a long post guys, 6 years of ownership crammed into 1 thread, absolutely love the car & it still brings a smile to my face after all this time:biggrin:. Been one of the most reliable fun cars I've ever had, & being a 54 year old grandad I 've had a few:p.

Thanks for reading

John
 
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#30 ·
Cheers matey :wink:.

Ha ha. no secret :biggrin:

Autoglym Super Resin Polish, Adams Buttery Wax & Adams Brilliant Spray Glaze.

I'd never heard of Adams before, they used to be a sponsor on here, they ran a competition to win an intro pack, I was lucky enough to win & was very impressed with all their range of products.

They are an American company, but there is a UK distributor Adams Knockout Sale Cheap Prices, Car Cleaning Products, Valeting Supplies & Detailing Supplies, he used to have the whole range but sadly due to lack of customers (I tried my hardest :biggrin:) for it he's not really getting much more in to replace stock:(. some cheap deals at the moment though :wink:.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Further update....

My wheels were in need of a good re-furb & after quite a while of faffing around deciding on a different colour for them the decision was made, Lamborghini Grigio Telesto :biggrin:,pretty sure I haven't seen another MINI with rims that colour. It looks great in the sun, the pearl effect in the paint pops really well :).




Had the mirror caps done too :p


Also had a pic taken at Mini in the Park yesterday at Santa Pod
 
#40 ·
looks superb love the photo against the graffiti, don't know quite what you mean by good deals on your seat and wheel acquisitions but i think you have been splashing the cash!, electric blue does look better with a self coloured roof, and the de chroming is nice, I don't like the zip top, spoils the hard street image, also IMO not keen on the blacked out rear lights.... lights are IMO focal point of the car and it looks like there are two black holes... the same for the front decrome the trim but inside the glass should IMO be bright ....its the eyes of the car and they look dim... have you thought about viper stripes?
 
#41 ·
It has had a couple of ££ spent on it since I've owned it tbh :p,

Bought the original Sparco seats some years back for £650, paid £600 for the re-trimmed one's earier this year & on the same day sold the full leather one's for the same price :biggrin:.

Once I started the de-chroming it all had to go black, the red tail lights would have looked a bit out of place :wink:

The roof zip is definately a bit marmite, I do like to try & find or do mods that are unique or not often seen on MINI's (rear spoiler lip/vented a panels/carbon side repeaters/interior pillers/wheel colour etc.), the zip does get quite a few smiles + the car is very easy to find in car parks :biggrin:

Had the car over 7 years now & still get so much enjoyment from it, still evolving......I don't think the modding will ever finish :D
 
#42 ·
Love the wheels! :cool:

Don't think red lights would go with the blue body colour IMO

I feel it looks a well loved and looked after car and the zip decal means the driver also has a sense of humour! Lol

There is a saying I feel is true here maybe? Boys and their toys? Lol

One thing is for sure , there won't be another mini like it on the road.

If you don't mind Hartge220 can I ask if you are using wheel spacers? If so, what size did you go for and was it just for the look or handling? Or maybe both
 
#43 ·
I feel it looks a well loved and looked after car and the zip decal means the driver also has a sense of humour! Lol
Spot on there matey :wink:

No spacers used with these wheels, they are ET35, which I think give just the right look I was after :)
 
#45 ·
I must admit, it was more by luck than judgement, I don't completely understand the ET mumbo jumbo :biggrin:.

Next major mod in the mix is quite a biggie, pretty sure I haven't seen it on an R53 in this country, hoping to get it sorted soon & then fitted to the car in the middle of next month :p
 
#52 · (Edited)
Had a recent photoshoot with a mate who's quite good with a Kodak :biggrin:, weather started off really nice but then it hammered down with rain :(, quite good for some 'moody' shots though :p

Motion shot

The rig used to get the shot

A few more :eek:






Sorry for the pic overload, but as you can tell, I think they came out quite well :)
 
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