[eBrit]

Thanks MiNiGuy!...& sorry ..PM Box is now near empty.

The coloured discs actually hang from the interior mirror. Mine had a white disc when unloaded at Snow's of Portsmouth, but Huey's was a red disc and on the same transporter. Cars for Japan at Southampton sportered green one's and others yellow ones. I've seen blue ones as well!

Thanks for any "clues" that can solve the mystery. Here's a photo of my MCS, Huey's MCS, and also one at the docks.

Also notice my serial number is a "TC" and is most definitely a Cooper S. This was also true on the docks for a minority of cars going to USA. About 80% followed the "C=Cooper ~ D= S ~ E= CVT" rule.

Cheers
eBrit

[eBrit]

....hmmm...

[eBrit]

...and Huey's...

[QQQ]

Picked this up from the roadfly forum. Me like a lot

Official picture of new MINI Cabrio

(Also notice the new gas cap and that the trunk is hinged like a tailgate)

From autoexpress.co.uk:

MINI Opens For Business

MINI's secret is out in the Open. At last we can bring you pictures of the official factory convertible version of Britain's most desirable small car after our sources managed to smuggle classified images out of a BMW internal presentation.

Stylists came up with a series of computer-aided design (CAD) images and it has been left to British engineers to try and get the finished car as close as possible to their ideal. The bright yellow Cooper you see on these pages is the first finished prototype.

So far, the car has had a busy life. The first task was to gain final approval of the styling from BMW top brass, so the tin-top was crudely removed and a dummy section added above the boot to show how the folded roof will look. As well as the chop, the Open has several other modifications which were being shown for the first time, including a wild new interior. The standard silver finish of the facia has been substituted with paint which matches the exterior's shade, while door and seat trims have also been colour co-ordinated.

With the project rubber-stamped by MINI's German masters, the car was then shipped to the UK, where it was stripped down to have the essential strengthening added to the bodyshell and the roof fitted. Extra metal has been included in the floorpan, door hinge panels and bulkhead to ensure the standard car's acclaimed handling is retained and safety is not compromised. All versions of the MINI, including the Cooper S shown in the CAD image in the magazine, will be available in Open form, and the picture reveals how the production car will have fixed roll hoops behind the rear seats rather than the prototype's central bar.

Another neat feature is the bootlid, which opens downwards as the classic Mini's did. Production versions will even have exaggerated dummy brackets to mimic the external hinges of the old model, and a third brake light will be incorporated over the rear number plate, as on BMW's drop-top 3-Series. Luggage space won't be too greatly affected by the loss of roof either, and the base of the fabric hood frame can be released and lifted up, allowing larger objects to be loaded easily.

Interior room has hardly been compromised by the conversion, as the hood stacks on to the rear shelf rather than folding underneath a flush cover.

Despite the finished appearance of the prototype, we will have to wait until March 2004 to see the car officially when it's set to be unveiled at that year's Geneva Motor Show. Tom Barnard

[AidenL]

Hey, thats not bad at all.......yellow leather too, that means RED can't be far away !

[eBrit]

Quote:

Originally posted by AidenL
Hey, thats not bad at all.......yellow leather too, that means RED can't be far away !

Would it..Does it ...look better in red? (sorry about poor Photoshop ...haven't mastered recolouring yet!)

eBrit

[MiNiGuY]

So much for my 'spy shots around nov/dec' then!!

Aiden - there they are!!
See, knew you trusted me. Remember what I said about yellow and red though!!

[AidenL]

Quote:

Originally posted by MiNiGuY
So much for my 'spy shots around nov/dec' then!!

Aiden - there they are!!
See, knew you trusted me. Remember what I said about yellow and red though!!

I do indeed MiNiGuY, everything comes to he who waits.......

My wish has been granted, just have to wait for it to appear on the options list now I guess !

[here2help]

the coloured discs inside all minis and bmw's are to allow the people that are working on these cars/doing prep work at thorne or oxford plant what the condition the battery is in...
red= flat, needs charging
yellow =okay but reqs a charge
white=battery okay..
not sure about blue but i will find out tommorow
and green.cheers guys

[eBrit]

What a hero...I would never, in a million years, have deduced or guessed that! Thanks

eBrit

[MiNiGuY]

ok - ebrit, I looked into this yesterday for you.

Here2help is correct in that the discs are to do with the battery, but the colours have nothing to do with whether or not a car has a flat battery or not.
They are there to indicate whether a battery needs checking or not, although it's possible that people like here2help still use the disks but in a different way.

At the factory it works like this:-

There are six colours used at any one time in the disk system.

Currently they are Red,Blue,Green,Yellow,Brown and Grey.

White is currently not used.

For each full week of production, every car made is given one of these colours. For example, all MINI's built this week have had a Red disk placed onto the rear view mirror.
Next week it will be a different colour and so on for a six week cycle. Then it's back to red again.

Basically it is then possible at a glance to see which week in the last six any particular car was made. From this it is possible to quickly see if that car requires a battery check and subsequently a possible recharge.

That's basically it. Simple really.

[here2help]

Cheers miniguy..you learn something new everyday,i knew after a visit to thorne that they were something to do with battery condition but my assumption is slightly out...cheers mate, and by the way did you get my mail i sent you the other day?

[MiNiGuY]

Quote:

Originally posted by here2help
Cheers miniguy..you learn something new everyday,i knew after a visit to thorne that they were something to do with battery condition but my assumption is slightly out...cheers mate, and by the way did you get my mail i sent you the other day?

No mate, I didn't.
I'd be happy to hear from you.
I sent you a p.m a couple of days ago. I don't know whether you got it.
If you sent me a p.m, try again because I never got one!!

Cheers.

[eBrit]

Thanks MiNiGuY and Here2Help. That is fascinating and finally put my curiosity to rest. I was puzzling how they got the cars started if they had a flat battery! It also accounts why whole rows were of the ame colour at the WW Terminal...made and delivered in the same week.

Thanks again..eBrit

[eBrit]

Quote:

"MINI UK continues to offer more options and accessories and from early 2003 owners will be able to choose a ragtop roof to adorn their MINI. The ragtop roof will be available as a dealer-fit accessory and is made from durable vinyl, folding almost to the back of the roof at the touch of a button." Source: MINI UK

So do we now have a "half cabriolet" on the way?

eBrit