Hello all! I'm not quite sure why but I haven't checked the forum for ages. I was offered an early retirement shortly after COVID blew up so I have lots of time on my hands these days so I have no excuse for my absence. 🤷‍♂️ 
I don't have much news about the Mini lately, (translation.... Nothing has broken lately) but it did pop a fuse the other day so that will require a little sleuthing.
Sadly, I missed ABCD this past year and I just realized I'm going to miss out again this year. 😠 I have become a bit of a cruise junkie and in both cases, we've had a cruise planned that conflicted with the show. Between travel, COVID and time spent with KIP, I'm not sure when I had Matchbox at ABCD; it's been quite a few years I'm afraid.
I hope you are all doing well and I hope to see you again before too long. Take care!

Paul W.

Back on here (the Rover's back up and going, 18 months later)!  I've seen your Mini up and happily rolling about recently.  What'd it turn out to be?

Bearings hubs, C/V joints and boots.. a total rebuild. 🤷‍♂️

Paul

Yes, welcome back!
What a crazy few years it's been. Hopefully the end it in sight but... Had Matchbox out today for a quick spin around the neighborhood and as usual, it put a smile on my face. I hope you all are doing well.

Paul

Kips motors has done quite a bit of work for me over the years. They may not be the least expensive shop but they know what they are doing.

Paul

I just ran down to Kroger for a few items. When I pulled back out onto the street what do I see in front of me but a Mini body shell on a small trailer. After a quick wave the driver pulled over and we exchanged information. Jim is moving from So. Calif. and it sounds like he has a few Minis he's bringing along.

Welcome, Jim!!

Paul

Hey, nice to see a few folks are still here. 

John you can be sure the car won't be going anywhere under it's own power until what ever is wrong gets resolved. It sounds terrible. It went from barely noticeable to 'oh my god!' in about a mile and a half.

Jim if you'd like to take a look I sure would appreciate your opinion. Let me know what works for you and we'll find a time. Thanks for your offer!

Paul 

First off, it's been awfully quiet around here lately. Anybody else here?

I had the Mini out this past Saturday and I thought I head 'something' coming from the front suspension when I pulled into the parking lot at Kroger. By the time I was halfway home I KNEW there were some bad noises, a grinding noise that varied with the rotation of the front wheels. I'm not sure if it's bearings, CV joints or ? but something is eating itself up. Guess i'll be headed back to Kip Motors, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Paul

Congrats. You beat us by about 13 years so we still have a lot to learn.

Paul

I saw the ad in the morning when the bid was around $95K and i thought it was nuts. When I checked later and saw the sale price I KNEW it was nuts. 

Paul

Very nice!  Yes the folks at Kip do good work and Debra does a nice job of keeping people updated on their project. I caught them at a bad time, they were swamped with work when I called about servicing my car. I probably had to wait three months just to get in the door. They definitely aren't the cheapest place in town but they know their stuff and do very nice work.
When things slow down you'll have to bring the 'new' car to a MM meeting so everyone can check it out.

Have fun in the Ozarks!
Paul 

Scott, have I been sleeping or did you just recently pick up the Mini? Details, man... details!

Paul W

Hi Scott,
For those of us who are mechanically challenged there are a few more challenges to owning a classic Mini compared to a new MINI. For someone who can maintain the car themselves it's probably not such a big deal. The parts bill for Matchbox's repair was very reasonable. The labor bill at $105/hour is what got my attention. 

Paul

Sounds very nice. Good luck with the sale.

Paul

I'm sorry I missed the official date. At least I can still celebrate Mini's birthweek. Cheers!

Paul

I got the Mini back last Thursday (8/15) after a couple of months at Kip Motors. They confirmed a bad valve and a blown head gasket both of which account for the lack of power and the coolant loss. They sent the head out to be machined and continued to look for other issues. The low oil pressure suggested the bearings might be shot but they discovered a stuck oil pressure relief valve. After fixing that the oil pressure is back to 60psi and the bearings, pistons and rings checked out just fine. Whew! The shop found the ball joints were very loose so those were replaced and then a lot of other little stuff with tweaked and adjusted. 

The final bill was more than I had hoped but I can't find any fault with the work they did. The motor, while still no power house, runs MUCH better and keeping up with traffic is a lot easier. The front end feels a lot tighter with the new ball joints. The adjustments to the Weber and the timing make the car idle smoother and the car no longer smells like a rolling refinery. FInally they did a great job tightening up things in the dash which cut way down on squeaks and rattles in the interior. All in all I'm happy with the results.

Jane didn't toss me out when the final bill arrived to I'd call that a win too. Now I just need some cooler weather so I can get out and enjoy the little car again.

Paul