September 5, 2006:

GP observations at MINI of Peabody

I took GPMINI in to MINI of Peabody today so they could see their first GP, and to get an oil change and other work done.

While there, it was pointed out that the back edge of the intercooler cover is being rubbed away by the protective plastic panels on the underside of the hood - it’s clear the hood panels have been trimmed for the bigger intercooler, but apparently not enough!

Also, I was told that the rear hatch / trunk hinges are of the “old” type which have now been re-designed apparently to resolve a (hopefully rare) issue of the hinges rusting and failing! GPMINIs hinge looks like this (I checked - it’s the same as on GBMINI#3):

(for comparison, here is the hinge of a brand new ‘06 MINI)

Finally, Gary had a peek behind the rubber end caps of the luggage restraint bar, trying (but mostly failing) to see how the bar ties in with the bodywork hidden under the red panels - someone will have to remove the panels to get a better view …

(see a couple more pics in my GBMINI Gallery)

Posted by GPMINI at 09:56 pm | Uncategorized
Comments: 6

  1. jwardell (2006/09/06 @ 9:07 am)

    Looks like the works logo on your intercooler cover is turning brown like mine often did in the first year or so. After several experiments and lots of elbow grease with the wrong products, I found it came clean with a little scrubbing with WD40 and a rag, about once a month.

  2. RB (2006/09/06 @ 10:08 am)

    The ‘06 hinge is kinda ugly. I hadn’t heard about this hinge issue. Mine seem fine.

    Is it turning brown or is it suppose to be gold?

  3. Ian C. (2006/09/06 @ 1:36 pm)

    The JCW logo gets dirty because it is rubbed by the gasket around the hood scoop. On GBMINI#3 I sprayed the whole intercooler cover with outdoor clear lacquer and never had the dirty logo issue. Maybe I need to do the same to GPMINI …

    Gary told me that the hinge issue is not common and I think related to people that don’t keep their car clean - maybe water collects in the hinge mount area (the techs commented on the “old” design of hinge seating area).

  4. mdsbrain (2006/09/06 @ 9:25 pm)

    I see you swapped for the red toggle switches already :-)

  5. Ian C. (2006/09/07 @ 11:11 am)

    The toggle switch panel was swapped almost as soon as they gave me the keys in Monterey (same time as fitting the essential auto-up circuit!)

  6. DD (2006/09/08 @ 8:36 am)

    So it looks like the bar can easily be remove by taking out the two socket head screws? That could be handy when added cargo space is needed.

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