Mattallics Mini Overhaul
It’s been a few months since our last update around the Mattallics Mini track project. In the UK, the tracks were shut for the first quarter of the year and we’ve been in a 'lockdown situation' for the start of 2021. Not a great time for the automotive entertainment sector, but a great time to get stuck into some dirty modifications for our beloved Mini Cooper S.
For those of us who modify our cars, keep them looking pristine and generally take pride in their possession, probably know that it’s not a cheap gig to have a passion revolving around cars. This in mind, we’ve been thinking about the best and most cost effective way to increase performance, handling, braking and overall stability on track / fast road use… without breaking the bank. After all, we are a detailing company with racing roots, so we can’t be too going overboard. The conclusion Matt came up with was to keep our eyes peeled for another, straight Mini Cooper S which had been extensively modified to within an inch of its life, remove the parts we want, swap them with ours and sell it on as a tastefully modified (and very clean) car.
After mooching around the internet and forums for a few weeks, nothing really struck a chord until we came across a delightful little Cooper S which, incidentally, would have been fairly close to ours pulling off the production line back in the day. The car in question was a 55 plate FL Mini cooper S with 119k on the clock, abundance of paper work and most importantly… a shed load of modifications that we fancied swapping over onto ours. It’s even the same Dark Silver colour! (well known for being the most agile of all Mini's)
The Mini2 (as we’re calling it for the time being) has had some serious money spent on it over the years and carries a very appealing set of modifications which will bolt straight onto the Mattallics Mini (easier said than done). So we put the kettle on, polished the socket set and commenced to swapping the various parts over... which were as follows, deep breath:
- BcBr Racing Coilovers with adjustable top mounts
- Team Dynamics 17 x 7” et 38 lightweight wheels
- Full stud conversion
- Fully adjustable rear control arms
- JCW Aero kit (bumper and side skirts)
- Adjustable GP wing
- Leap Omicron larger bonnet scoop
- Airtec Intercooler
- M87 Thermostat
- DW65v High pressure fuel pump
- 1320 Bypass Valve
- Silicon hard boost / intake pipes
- Front mount oil cooler
- AEM Interior A/F Ratio dial
- Scorpion 4-2-1 manifold
- 550cc Fuel injectors
- PH3/4 Cam
So, yeah. That’s what we’ve been up to throughout the 2021 lockdown months. We’re not quite finished yet, some of the bigger jobs are still on the to-do list. And, incidentally the cars decided to throw a wobbly, so we haven't been with it for the best part of 6 weeks... it's poorly sick bad at Mini hospital. Shock. Should have bought a Civic EP3 "rolls eyes"
‘Why don’t you just keep the Mini2 and sell your original Mattallics Mini?’ I hear you ask. Well, there’s a few good reasons for that. Number one; Thats cheating. Secondly, our beloved Mattallics Mini has undergone a top end re-build within the last 12 months and during the process, we added a JCW head for a laugh. Something we trust will last the test of time along with giving more flow and some additional galloping, gallant ponies. To go with this, our Mini has also only covered 87k miles. Which, for a 16 year old hatch back is pretty good going in our opinion. Though, how tough the last few thousand have been is another question all together. And finally, with it being in our gracious possession for the past 14 months, we know the car, inside and out (literally), where it's been and it's recent history. Which brings us onto our final point as to why we've chosen to go down this route and not just swap it out for the Mini2... we've made a bond, between man and machine. Simple as that.
That's a wrap for this Meticulous Blog. Thank you for taking the time to read and as usual, we wish you good health, all green lights on your commute and remember to remove bird sh*t as soon as possible with Grime Reaper
Mattallics Team
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