How would you spend $300? (AKA "Let's build a MINI")

The car... a 2004 MINI Cooper S JCW.  Purchase price...$1700.  We stole it.  Pictures will follow.

It's a real JCW, so its already a hot hatch.  Everything works.  It's gonna need a lot of spit and polish, but that's free.  Definitely a car that fits the category of "bought well".

We have 2 possible approaches:

-  Enter it as a Gastropod.  If that's the case, we will buy 250 TW tires, and have almost no recoup.

- Go for broke in the AutoX.  No Gastropod.  If that's the case, we will buy great AutoX tires, and may have full recoup (because we can  recoup interior bits, etc.).  We could remove things for lightening/ performance, but everything will be returned after the Challenge.  I could play with tricks that might not be SCCA legal (because "Challenge")

In either case, the car will be a fully street driven daily driver.  Not interested in radical mods.  My 16 year old daughter will be driving it.

The plan will be to get all the basic maintenance up to date, detail the crap out of the entire car (inside, out, and under the hood), tires, and brakes.  I'd also like to swap the wheels for a lighter set (the stock Mini Lites and run-flats are 52 lbs per corner).   Drive it for a while to dial it in, bring it to the Challenge to play, toss my daughter the keys to go out for tacos, then head home and drive it.  I want to build a car that ANYONE could build with a little time and minimal skills.

Looking for cheap speed and/or handling ideas...

- Pulley swap seems like a no-brainer, but that will burn about $130.  

- I should be able to source a set of tower reinforcements cheap from a convertible.

- Subframe and tower braces are easy to make from scrap.

What would you do, and how would you spend your $300?  (or $1300 with recoup)

Obligatory pics to prove we "stole it"!

duuuuude. Sweet.

I'd be looking into cheap ways to get the alignment you want. Maybe washers in the right holes or crash bolts or even camber plates. Maybe a system to hold the driver to the car better. 

Maybe drop some weight with a lighter muffler and deleting that giant sunroof.

Are the brakes huge? You could probably 'downgrade' to regular mini brakes and reduce unsprung weight even more. 

Then, spend your $300 on aero. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

All good input. 
 

I'll look at the sunroof delete, but I'm only doing it if it can be reinstalled easily. (And probably not if I run it as a Gpod)

learn to do CF (unless you already know how) and simply use the glass as a mold. Drop headliner and tray, remove glass and motor, place CF piece back in tray, replace tray and headliner. Clean out the drains while you have it apart. 

Not only would it be 100% reversible, it would probably leak less than it does today. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

No leaks!  

Why would we need CF?  What's wrong with an open top car?

I should have added...

ALL mods have to be friendly for a 16 year old girl with NO mechanical experience to do, AND reverse! 

Check the inlet and outlet size of the mufflers. IIRC, you can cut one whole muffler off to save weight and both mufflers have pipes the size of the single exhaust  from the cat , or just throw a Cherry Bomb at it if you want to put the stock exhaust back on it.. Look for some camber plates...almost any can be adapted to the round hole in the tower. Go to 15" wheels if they clear the front rotors...I can run them on a regular "S". They'll be lighter and help the gearing. I don't think I'd bother with a pulley... not enough gain for the budget hit. Look at swapping out springs if you can fit them in budget.....MINIs seem to like a pretty "square" spring rate, very similar front and rear rates.....400 lb if you can find them. The JCW sway bars are probably good enough unless you can fake it by adapting junkyard sway bars to fit from some other vehicle.

Edit: I don't know if I'll be in Gainesville, but if I do go I've got a pair of budget friendly drag slicks...22x8x15 Mickeys.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Hmmm... interesting. 
 

I did the pulley swap on my previous MINI S, and ran it with 15" base wheels. I felt impressive (and it was a monster in the AutoX). 
 

My understanding is the 15% underdrive pulley gives about 4 lbs more boost, raising the HP at the wheels by about 20 HP. The JCW comes with an 11% underdrive pulley, but the aftermarket now offers 19% pulleys. 
 

20 HP seems worth it.  And it certainly felt worth it in my S. 
 

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Nice offer on the drag slicks. We can't use them if We enter as a Gpod, but worth considering if not. 
 

What's  the FMV of them?

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

I bought the slicks for $50. 

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

As for the pulley, you should already be at 200 HP with the pulley, exhaust and ECU upgrade, When I put the 15% pulley on my "S" I could notice it, but it wasn't that big a deal. Not sure you would see a big jump with a 19% pulley alone, but "moar" power never hurts. You'll be making choices between what's best for the Challenge and what's best for post-Challenge use. I'd focus on handling upgrades for the Challenge and then put the pulley on afterwards.

Sway bars, maybe springs and some SM7 tires and you'll easily be a top five car on dynamic scoring. Concours, well........

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Right. 
 

Concours is hard to compete in if you don't do something outrageous. Bringing a car back to life with in-depth detailing efforts is nice (and a worthwhile effort), but hard to show off in the Concours

Don't do anything, let daughter enjoy nice car?

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

That is definitely the end goal, so we will not be cutting it up. 
 

That doesn't mean we can't play.

how to spend $300 on a MINI?  pay someone $300 to haul it off.

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

That is definitely the end goal, so we will not be cutting it up. 
 

That doesn't mean we can't play.

FWIW, that's what I did with the supercharged Miata I brought to the Challenge in 2017. It was "well bought", had relatively minor modifications, was the 4th fastest car there on aggregate time and dropped 4 places in the Concours. Yet we had a ball and today it's sitting in the driveway and has brought me a lot of fun for the $1800 I have in it. I sold the previous Miata off and decided to keep the Challenge car because of the supercharger. I undid all the simple suspension modifications I had on it and put it back to stock. If you put $300 into whatever, suspension or power, you'll still have a fun toy afterwards, so pick the mods you and your daughter will enjoy the most afterwards.

Does the car currently have the JCW suspension upgrade or does it just have the power package? If you already have the suspension then go for the pulley and some sticky tires and go have fun .

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

As I understand it, in 2004 the JCW package was strictly an engine kit- no suspension, chassis, or brake changes.  

- Cylinder head ported and polished

- 11% pulley reduction

- More efficient Eaton supercharger- Ceramic coated vanes 

- Colder spark plugs

- Dual exhaust system- increased flow, reduced back pressure

- Remapped ECU

- Decorative badges

Which may make your point... focus on the suspension.

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

No leaks!  

Why would we need CF?  What's wrong with an open top car?

Well you said you want to keep the car for afterward so having a top is real nice in case of rain and keeping the morning dew out of the interior. Also you can still keep your tools and stuff for the event 'locked' inside. 

Plus open top wouldnt be great for aero

p.s WTF was JCW thinking not updating the suspension at all but installing giant heavy wheels? They probably made the car handle worse...

from car and driver 2003 (or 04, hard to tell) jcw:

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15136289/mini-cooper-s-road-test/

from the linked article the mini cooper S from 2002 says the skidpad was 0.85 and braking distance 169 ft. So it does look like JCW actually made it worse. 

0-60 was a full seven seconds though and the 1/4 mile took 15.5 @ 90mph.

Edit - oh btw the non JCW cooper S was heavier at 2767. So the JCW was 90 lb lighter and still handled worse. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

No question. The wheel and tire "upgrade" was ridiculous (although, I think those were the same wheels on the S). 
 

54 lbs per corner. That's 216 lbs JUST on wheels and tires with E36 M3ty performance.  
 

Then to add insult, they called those wheels "Mini Lites"

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

Damn dude, how did that get so cheap?

In reply to Woody :

Honestly, I have no clue.

It's a weird BMWish thing with a 6 speed being sold in suburban SC (where people either love 'Murican, want an SUV, or can't drive a stick).  Owner was too old to drive anymore, and had his mechanic (who only works on 'Murican cars) sell it for him on consignment.  I don't even think the mechanic knew the difference between a MINI, an S, or a JCW.

I thought it was just a Cooper S, stopped and looked, and realized it was a JCW.  They were asking $2K, I offered $1700 cash, and they accepted.

I think it was just that I was in the right place at the right time.

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

Explain to me why I haven't taken a chance on one of these things?

In reply to Woody :

Because maintenance is scary. 
 

I fell in love with the first one I drove. (Base model- test drive at dealer). Then I watched for years until a Challenge priced one came available on the forum. $1500. I agreed to buy it sight unseen within 3 minutes of when it posted. I drove to Michigan to get it (stayed at AngryCorvair's house). Took it to the Challenge, had a blast.  I think we were 2nd on the autocross (and the pro drivers took it for about 20 fun runs afterward).   But it was acting quirky by the end of the event, and I ended up selling it to MrJoshua. I don't think he ever got it running again before he sold it. 
 

I've missed it ever since. 
 

When this one came along, I had to have it. Made an offer within 5 minutes.  (My wife still doesn't know about it) 

I bought it with the FULL expectation that my repair bills may be high. I am prepared for that. 
 

So yes, the struggle is real. Anyone that isn't ready for the repair bills on a high mileage MINI really shouldn't buy one. 
 

But the fun is real too!!