Blue MINI Cooper

Category: Detroit Tuned

  • Final Paint Prep

    Stopped by the body shop [Lafata Auto Body] this morning to confirm the final paint color choice. There are parts of my car all over the shop. Both doors are off, the bumpers are in the corner recovering from their shaving.
    I’ve been having dreams about the color, and seeing the book and color options again has confirmed that the color I picked months ago is still the best one. Painting begins tomorrow, the 13th!

  • Bumper Fitting

    Fitting the Hamann bumper and getting prepped for paint! What what! So excited, just talked to Chad at Detroit Tuned regarding the final paint choices.

    And now its off to paint. This is going to be awesome!

    Seems like its been forever waiting on that damn bumper. Hmm looks like my image alignments are screwy. Nice job wordpress.

  • Hamann bumper is in!

    After 3 months of impatiently waiting, the Hamann front bumper has finally arrived at Detroit Tuned!
    Start the clock!

  • Front end tear down

    Looks like Matt and the Detroit Tuned gang have been busy, the front end is torn down and getting cleaned and ready for fresh paint and powder coated goodness. I’m not sure if I’m more excited for the exterior paint, or to see the engine components finally match.

  • Piles of Parts

    Stopped in at Detroit Tuned today to see what progress they were making on Chakik 2.0.
    Its getting torn down, and there are piles of parts, sorted out for which will be painted, and what is getting powder coated.
    Thankfully Chad knows what he’s doing, and reminded me that the interior would not match unless it gets repainted as well, so those pieces are added to the paint pile.

    Doing the A-pillars and front roof in a matte black finish as well, either paint or possibly vinyl.
    So many little decisions that I didn’t even consider.

  • And it begins!

    Detroit Tuned has started tearing bits off to prep the car! The bumper has been created, and is somewhere between Germany and here.

  • Chakik 2.0

    We will rebuild him, making better, stronger, faster.
    Sometimes things turn out better than expected, I believe this is one of those times. Since the MINI is going to be at Detroit Tuned for a while as we wait for the Hamann bumper to be built, I decided now is the time to do the rest of the tweaks I’ve wanted to do.
    This series will track the progress of the car as the boys at Detroit Tuned work diligently to put it back together.

  • Black Chrome

    For years I’ve wanted to get all the shiny bits under the hood to match. Dark/Black chrome like the M7 strut brace.
    With the car in the shop I finally have that opportunity!
    Hoping I can get the following plated:
    CAI, strut cover, strut tower brace, catch can, back panels, oil cap, coolant tank, steering tank, air diverter, dip stick, spark plug covers, wiper fluid covers, and anything else that isnt a contact surface that is plate-able!

  • The new blue has been selected

    E5! This will be the new blue color for the MINI. Cannot wait to see it on the actual car.

  • MINIs on the Dragon 10

    We survived! (Barely this year…)
    Connie, Amy and I had a fantastic time (dare I say EPIC?) at MINIs on the Dragon 10! It was amazing to see everyone again and make some new friends as well. We were somewhat anti-social this year (surprise, I know 😉 but still really enjoyed the entire time.

    For some reason the crappy free 3D image software I have inverts the images when it saves them. For the best 3D viewing, flip your glasses upside down (red on your right eye). No idea why it does this.