My new R53

[Coopman]

I only really got into minis when i purchased an R56 there about 2 years back. I'm still learning all the mechanical bits as i'm better at polishing cars than fixing them, but i bought an R53 to add to the collection there about 4 weeks back.

It's a lovely example with full Aero Kit, updated Kenwood stereo system and built in phone kit. So far i have replaced the rusty spots at the front with four new ones, had some leather covers made and got some nice cooper racing logos onto them. I also refinished the trim around the grill in black (will be replacing with a JCW Grill eventually) and well given it a good solid clean up as it was filthy and hadnt been cleaned inside or out in a long long time.

The car so far is in great nick mechanically but needed freshening up and well now its pretty much done. I got a great deal on it so all in all i'm happy. I'm not really into mods so this is about all i will be doing to the car bar updating the grill, adding some black stripes and getting the wheels refinished eventually.

I'm very happy with the car anyway, it drives completely differently to the R56 and feels a lot more like a little racing car. Its fantastic that both models are so different from eachother with the R56 being more torquey and the R53 being an all round nicer car to drive on a daily basis as it sticks to the ground better. Hope to speak to more R53 owners on here to see what they will be doing with their cars as it definately feels like a classic to me and is the perfect car to have a tinker with and ad a bit of personality to.

[MiniMpi]

Welcome to R53 ownership

Lovely looking example and nice extras. Great work too on the spotlamp covers!!

There are a few of us on here now with R53's

Check out my thread in project cars called Ferg's R53 Cooper S - Yorkie

[Coopman]

Just had a look at your car FERG. Lovely example. I'll be picking your brain on a lot of things no doubt. Question number 1. how did you get your driving light brackets to go through that JCW grill? Did you buy the grill like that or did you have to cut through it? I'm looking to replace my grill with something similar. Is that grill plastic?

[MiniMpi]

Thanks

I bought my JCW aero grill second hand with the slits already cut in it.
But you do have to cut the slits into the grill to accommodate the brackets.
It is much easier to have the brackets off the car while you fit the grill
It is plastic.

[Masterbiker]

That's a real pretty R53. The spots look really cool too, I like the set of 4 that the sets with 2. Its making me want to get some for mine now.

[Jonknight]

Very nice R53. I only recently bought one almost identical to yours and enjoying every moment of it

[Coopman]

Thanks guys. Yeah there were 4 lamps on it when i bought it which i hadnt seen before on a bmw mini! They were destroyed with rust but i wanted to keep them on so i replaced them and went for a set of leather covers after i seen and austin mini with the same lamp configeration and four leather lucas covers on it. I had a little think and decided to go for black ones and then got some logos on there! Im very happy with how they turned out. The grey r53 seems to be quite popular alright! A lot of similar ones out there. Why im reluctant to change too much on it is because it has the potential to look a bit boy racer with the aero kit and tinted windows already on there. Ill get pics up of it with the r56 soon.

[Ace of Spades]

Nice looking bus (I have an R53 dark grey black roof - best combo).
4 driving lamps and aero look mint.

Had an R50 Cooper in 2006 for a year an a half but only got the R53 last October - absolutly love it.

Enjoy,
JK

[Coopman]

Throw up some pictures here of your R53's. I would like to see some.

[Derfinn]

Beautiful looking R53.

Dark Silver was exclusive to the S, until the Graphite special edition of the pre-facelift R56. It's a great colour.

Enjoy it!

[Jonknight]

I agree Dark Silver is one of the nicest colours , but then I'm slightly biased there! I think if you keep the exterior mods subtle or else go with a theme, like Ferg has done with his, it's fine and I don't think an R53 could ever be classed as boy racerish to be honest, especially compared to the stuff alot of them drive about in!!

Mine has the Aero Kit as well and the only thing I am going to do externally now on mine is change/refurbish the wheels. Everything else will be mechanical upgrades: Brakes, Remap etc

Interesting to hear your opinion of R53 vs R56, always a greatly contested debate and it does seem to favour the R53. Probably opening up a can of worms now saying that

[Coopman]

They are two completely different cars. I'm not going to lie, about 4 weeks ago i didnt even know there was a difference between my 2007 and the 2004 i decided to go and look at because i fancied a second mini. It was only when i jumped in for a test drive that i noticed all the differences. Once i got home with it i learnt so much about the difference between the two cars i couldnt believe it. I never knew my R56 had a turbocharger rather than a supercharger up until then, thus explaining the difference in the engines.

I bought the R56 by accident really about 2 years ago. I already owned a Gti at the time and my sister wanted to buy any aul mini and asked me would i chip in to help her pay for it. I knew nothing about them but thought it would be a fun second car. I handed her the cash and long story short she arrived home with a black mini with full cream leather interior and every single add on in the book. I brought it for a drive and was shocked at how fast it was. I went home and googled the car and discovered she had bought a car with 170bhp and the love affair with minis started there. Shes away now and the car is purely mine at this point but i wanted to buy a second one i could use all the time without having to share it with her.

What i will say about the R56 is that is that the r53 will never beat it on styling (exterior only), torque and the sound of the turbocharger when accelerating (I still not convinced by the R53 Supercharger whine), but i prefer the r53 in almost every other way. I love how once you sit into it you feel like your in a classic sports car and the purr off the engine while cruising in 6th gear beats the r56 any day. Its a far more sporty feeling car, with the gear change feeling that bit more responsive and you dont get that horrible torque steer you find on the r56. I have had so many near crashs in the r56 due to that top end jumping out but i dont know, i still dont have a favourite as they are both just such great cars in completely different ways.

[Derfinn]

Great comparison.

It's interesting that you prefer the sound of the turbocharger to the supercharger.

I've only ever driven a R53 twice, and only very short trips each time, but I love the whine.

My own view would be the R56S is much more sensible compared to the R53. I think the R53 is very raw in its power delivery. While the R56 can be aggressively fast, it can also be quite sedate, if driven carefully.

I enjoyed every km in my R56 S, and even had a smile on my face up until I said goodbye. Those pops and bangs were really enjoyable.

Your R56 sounds amazing. I don't know how you'd choose what car to use on any given day. You are some lucky lucky guy!!!

[Coopman]

I do a lot of driving as my girlfriend and I are required to live between two homes as we both run businesses, one in Wexford and the other in Kildare so i'm always up and down the N11 on long drives a few times a week. The R53 is the perfect car for those drives as i have the Kenwood Stereo in it and its a much nicer car to drive slow. I use the R56 when i'm going to the shops and zooming about the place. Its impossible to drive an R56 slow in my opinion. Its always eager to jump off the mark. You can never have too many minis anyway. I'd love a red one simply to have a red one haha. What are you driving now since you got rid of the R56?

[Derfinn]

I'm now in a Countryman SD.
I'm enjoying it, diesel taking a bit of getting used to, but it's a fun drive. So much torque.