Turning to the dark side, Show car build

[ryangreen1]

Once you go full bore on the engine bay eliminating those shitty looking plastic coolant reservoir and windshield wiper fluid tanks for some nice metal painted ones would be a good thing to do. Those along with an intake and a big 'ol turbo would have it looking nice in there.

[Scott]

 and my only mode of transportation.

I was fully on board until this, don't stance boi your daily.

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 For sure top priority when I get a daily since the mini over heats easily.

Then it got worse....


You might want to fix this before doing anything to your car, a Mini should not over heat at all.  Prioritize where you spend money and making it driveable should be #1, not sweet rims and ride height

[Rupertfl]

Stephen I never said I wanted just wheels in suspension, in that case I'd be done lol. I just dont want my car to look like Evan's. I don't like over the top stuff.

Scott other than the clutch and valve cover everything has been updated. Bushings, everything coolant wise, gaskets, all that. If mini wouldnt have integrated the pcv valve into the valve cover and made it $600 it would be done already.

Everything on the car works perfect just have a bit of a leak and the pcv is messed up which makes pressure in the motor so that causes the slight heat issue.

Also I'm used to having a low daily it's been this height for a year.

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[Eco_Boi_Stephen]

Stephen I never said I wanted just wheels in suspension, in that case I'd be done lol. I just dont want my car to look like Evan's. I don't like over the top stuff.

Scott other than the clutch and valve cover everything has been updated. Bushings, everything coolant wise, gaskets, all that. If mini wouldnt have integrated the pcv valve into the valve cover and made it $600 it would be done already.

Everything on the car works perfect just have a bit of a leak and the pcv is messed up which makes pressure in the motor so that causes the slight heat issue.

Also I'm used to having a low daily it's been this height for a year.

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I'm just giving you a hard time [emoji6]

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[Rupertfl]

[emoji8][emoji8][emoji8]

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[ViPER1313]

Show cars are all about the details. For example, on Blair’s old MK3 he replaced both front fenders to a different style fender just so the side marker light by the door was square instead of round. A very small detail that looked factory, no one outside of the community would even notice, but a very large amount of work. The whole car was like that. Rare parts, full engine swap etc, and that was one of his more “mild” builds.

I really like the look of this car, and I am glad you like it, but (and please don’t take this the wrong way) it is currently not on the path to becoming a show car. For me, show cars are supposed to be a demonstration of the owner’s fabrication skill and attention to detail as demonstrated by their build. Bolting on parts will never get you to a show winner IMO. You will end up with a very nice / fun : clean car that looks great, but it won’t be unique or interesting from a build perspective.

[Rupertfl]

This was my vw, the details on it were amazing. Unfortunately, minis dont have a crazy surplus of parts or rare items. Which I guess I have one bc my car has 40th anniversary monte carlo mats. But I guess I should refer it to more of stance shows are not the same as when I had the vw. All anyone cares about is how good looking and different you car is.

An example is that CRZ, if my fitment was better on the front we would be basically in the same category. Not that I want to be because I'd rather delete all my side markers when I paint my fenders, or completely Alcantara my interior. All in due time. I am still a college student after all, slow and steady whens the race.

This is the beginning folks not the end. This build thread is to keep going from here on out. I'm starting off I smaller less competitive shows, then I'll progress up to the big guns.

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[davej]

I like that you're doing something you enjoy and are having fun doing it. There are so many facets of the car world and and this is an arena I rarely have exposure to so I'm subscribed to learn a bit. =)

[Jake]

I totally don't understand the car show world and that's okay. The car looks pretty good as it sits though.

Please don't put a cage/seats/harnesses in it unless you plan to actually make it into a usable track toy.

[Rupertfl]

As much as I as hate to say it, it'll make me interior complete.

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[Jake]

As much as I as hate to say it, it'll make me interior complete.

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I'd disagree, given there are a lot of ways to make your interior unique/custom without compromising your safety given you drive it on the street with no helmet.

[Rupertfl]

You sound like the leader of an AA meeting and I'm not a quitter lol. But I get it I'm getting a fixed back and hardness for myself and leaving Madison the normal seat with the airbag.

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[WRXtranceformed]

Agreed, I don't know the car show world that well either but having been a former Global Ambassador of MIHS (Madison Icey Hot Stunnaz) and known expert on ricer modifications, I would not recommend making your interior uncomfortable AF or dangerous for the sake of looks. There is a lot you can do to customize an interior without doing full on track mods. I mean the suspension is already ruined so there's no sense in beating your body up even more

[Senor_Taylor]

No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars. No Harnesses on the street. No cages on street cars.

Hell, even riding in a Miata with a roll bar and no helmet makes me uncomfortable. Easiest way to make a slow fender bender into brain damage.

[Rupertfl]

I really like the pimp my ride quilted leather look too, with Alcantara everywhere

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[Goodspeed]

Interested to see where this goes - so far I'm liking the wheel choice (suits the car really well IMO) and ride height - I wouldn't go any lower, really.  I think it looks great and sounds like its still functional.

Echoing what others said, a build like this has gotta be about all the little details.  Your old VW looked pretty awesome so I'm sure you already appreciate that - but I'm gonna yell at some clouds for a minute here.  When I was growing up reading every car magazine I could get my hands on, devouring car features online & attending whatever gathering I could, there was an explosion of activity (of course, being post-F&F) and a lot to see.  There was a lot of riff-raff, sure, but there were a lot of extremely well-built, high $$$ cars making the rounds of "tuner" shows back then.  A few of my favorites:

Joe Galante's Supra:

 


Alex Nguyen's RX-7:



Chris Musngi's Top Secret Supra: (tiny pic alert)




Obviously, I was more of a Japanese fan, but I really appreciated the Euro builds of the time too.  They both held a common trait - perfect, minute attention to detail.  Whereas the Japanese cars of the day were often extremely over the top & flashy to draw you in from a distance compared to the (usually) more subdued Euro presentation, what mattered was that once you got close enough to either car, you saw that every little nook & cranny had been poured over.  Rubber hoses replaced with braided lines & AN fittings, ARP hardware everywhere, wire tucks, perfect upholstery & stitching throughout, big brakes (I know, I know) and on and on.

Compare that with today, and from what I've seen, things have really taken a turn for the worse - at least stateside, in the Japanese category.  People are just tossing on eBay parts and calling their cars "showcars" and/or "builds".  They plastidip, sticker up, go for whatever shock-factor they can get from a distance, but once you approach the cars up close, you see that they're just thrown together with almost zero regard for the details.  Case-in-point: there was an Import Expo in DC recently that I was interested in attending, but after seeing the pics, I'm glad I didn't go.  There just seems to be a general pride that is now lost, and many don't seem to want to make the effort any more (or, perhaps more accurately, spend the cubic dollars necessary) to approach the quality that was prevalent 10-15 years ago.  White-lettered tires, bolt-on flares, cursive-text phrase stickers & yellow headlight covers a showcar does not make.

However, I will say that the silver lining to this malaise does seem to be the Euro world.  There's a lot of garbage at the likes of H2O, sure, but the overall quality of car shows seems to be relatively higher in terms of attention-to-detail in especially the air-cooled circles.  In Europe, it appears that things are similarly going strong with a greater percentage of people putting in actual effort across the board.  If you haven't seen this example already, look up anything on Speedhunters having to do with the Players show in the UK, for example, for a ton of inspiration:

Can a Hot Hatch Be a Hot Rod?




In the Name of Pride



Look Closer, There's Always More



Pursuing Perfection





...and so on.  I'm really interested to see where you take this (again, the old VW looked great) and it'd be awesome to see you take the car to near a "Player's" level.  I know it can be tough with parts being hard to source or just unavailable if your car isn't catered to, and going heavy into the custom route can be megabucks.  There's just a lot of pitfalls, I feel, that need to be avoided in going this route (basically, stay off eBay ) and stay on the course of the vision it sounds like you have in your head.  Also, if you want to do seats & a cage (I get it, it's really core to the Euro show scene) - try to stick with something like Schroth ASM harnesses, and a half-cage/rollbar, which you can then cover with dual-durometer SFI padding & alcantara, say.

But above all, enjoy the process and the end result, for yourself first and foremost.  The best showcars ever are those that are built to an exacting vision of the owner, loaded with details that set their brain's afire first - that they then love to explain and share with others.  Seeing that pride & dedication show through is often better than seeing the details and the overall product of the car itself.  The antithesis being the shoddily-built, fad-driven, stickered-up ("No Fat Chicks" next to their IG handle sticker, etc....vomit) cars that are purely attention seeking for their vapid owners that together, have nothing truly unique, passionate or interesting to show & share with onlookers.  It sounds like you're well on the track of the former path, & I'll do whatever I can to encourage you.

Good luck!  Again, can't wait to see what you do with the car 

[Rupertfl]

David thank you so much for taking the time to write that. I love every line, and I'm glad your liking the direction of the build so far. I refuse to put cheap parts on the car that's part of the reason it's taking so long. Being in the euro scene and having help from paul has done me well with styling, quality, and ideas I think. I totally agree with the cars at import expo I almost went but decided not to. The only stickers on my car right now are, a lowered lifestyle banner (I know the owners of the company super cool people always friendly to me when I had the rabbit), MM, and my SM075 sticker for stance minis. I'm really not trying to go over the top looking, just detail oriented. I'm glad you brought up that euro people love roll bars and harnesses for some reason. I'm not trying to follow euro stereotypes too much, thays why I got works instead of bbs. But I do want some classic euro things.

When I first wrote up the car show build thing i was super nervous that everyone would kinda poop on the idea, that's why i didnt when i was an officer. But I'm happy everyone is supporting the idea. Thanks everyone!

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[rherold9]

I refuse to put cheap parts on the car that's part of the reason it's taking so long.

Except for the tires

[Rupertfl]

O

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[*insertusernamehere*]

Yaaaassss Chase, finally! Took ya long enough!