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Beginner customisations

850 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  minione2002 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I've had my car for about a year now and I love it! Got a 57 mini one as my first car (after a fair amount of persuasion!) and I couldn't be more pleased. It brilliant for beating my friends 59 Ibiza and for other general teenage driving. :camera:

Anyway, I am looking to customise it a bit. :nerd: Nothing too fancy or too expensive but I am planning to save up a bit, to help out, but nothing above a few hundred pounds! I wanna change the looks (not the inside (inside as in engine not inteiror) because i dont think it's worth it on small cars like this (pluss - insurance :eeksurprise: )) but I don't want to act like I don't have a mini one, I want it to be that I have a cool mini one!

It's currently Red with a black roof :redblack: , both paints are peeling and flaking (mainly the red on the bonnet - someone told me to spray clear lacquer over these points to prevent it getting any worse and although it's not beautiful its worked well for until I get a new bonnet) I am hoping to get it wraped, does anyone have any cool ideas? My current idea is going matte black roof with and orangey/yellowy body :gldblack: and there is at the moment the possibility of de-chroming it (to gloss black) and adding gloss black shelby stripes. What do you guys think of that? too far for a mini one? I see it looking cool but I might be biased.

I have interior lights which I love and were so simple to wire in and look awesome (they flood light the footwells) and were pretty cheap. Is there any other simple changes on the inside I could do? (I got matching floor mats straight away cause it came with rubbish ones) I am tempted to wrap the light grey interior dash trim (only the big grey bits like behind the wheel) in carbon fibre! I know it's tacky but I think it'll look cool.

I need any cool ideas and things I could do! Like, is there a way to change the aerial, cause I never use the radio! (I am tempted to just make a small metal semi-circle almost and screw a threaded bar into it and swap that for the aerial) Should I get new wheels or spray mine!? anything you wanna do to your car let me know. We can get a load of good ideas going.

Thanks for the help! Sorry for the long post, I got a lot of ideas and questions. :big_grin:
 
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#2 ·
Your youth and enthusiasm reminds me of when I was a young fella, best advice I could give you would to keep it stock. Smarten up the paintwork (roof and bonnet), learn how to detail and keep the paintwork in top condition. Refurbish the wheels if they have been curbed. Some of the nicest cars let alone a Mini I have seen are stock standard but in pristine condition. Customising a Mini is an individuals taste but everyone appreciates a stock Mini that's has lots of love and care. If you want to improve the car, slip in a 20 or 22mm rear sway bar to enhance its handling.
 
#3 ·
Thanks so much! I did consider doing a bit of refurb to keep it fresh. At least keeping the Chilli red and freshening this up. My friend's cars are mostly red as well but I do love the slightly deeper cherry red, almost, that's the stock red. I am definitely going to wrap the roof but I might go gloss black to keep it original. Wrapping the roof takes off a few hundred pounds of the (scarily high) respray price I have been quoted in the past as I can do this wrap with a friend. Another mini fan's opinion is what I need and I will definitely reconsider refurbing the stock!

Although I love to think I am, I am not a racing driver! I have heard sway (or anti-roll?) bars being mentioned and roughly understand the basics behind them but other than that I don't know loads. Is this something I will be upgrading or adding? Will it make a difference I will notice when driving down the country roads or will it cut half seconds of someone's lap times?
 
#4 ·
It will make a difference but another big difference to the handling will be poly centre bushes on the control arms as this will sharpen up the steering. Its a Generation 2 Mini so personally I wouldn't spend too much on it to be honest (no offence) If it was a generation 1 Mini then that's a Mini worth investing in ::wink::
 
#5 ·
No, I completely understand, mods on a Cs or a JCW I get but on a one, it's not as good. Which is why I initially thought I would change the colour of it as this makes it much more personal without chucking money into modding a car with little power to play with in the first place! I will probably leave the mods to when I get a better car and either customise or refurb the stock paints/parts.
 
#6 ·
Hi buddy, its not the fact your car is a One, that's irrelevant, it's the generation of car it is. I personally wouldn't waste money on a generation 2 if its a petrol but again that's just my personal preference. Generation 1 cars (in my opinion) are far better cars on so many levels.
 
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