10 minute read
TICKET TO RIDE
Rebuilt from a bare shell with countless new parts, this 224bhp R53 is now being raffled off to raise funds for the Air Ambulance Service
Words Daniel Bevis Photography Adrian Brannan
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one of the most endearing and heart-warming elements of the first-gen MINI scene is how inclusive and welcoming it is, and the R53 you see here is a very clear representation of that. Built by a bunch of enthusiasts, with countless companies chipping in parts and services, the team at East Mids Minis have created a proper show-stopper that’s richly infused with friendship and camaraderie…and that’s not all: the car is being raff led off for charity, right now, with the draw being held on December 23rd. So if you find yourself clutching the figurative golden ticket, you could be getting a call at Christmas to tell you that this MINI is yours!
The concept is the brainchild of Chris Miller, along with Chris Coopers and Ryan Hayton, who between them run the East Mids Mini group on Facebook, which has been growing in membership and stature. They occasionally get companies kindly donating products for competitions, and the idea began to form that they could corral this enthusiasm into a bigger project build for charity; they ran a poll on the group, and it was decided that the proceeds should go to the Air Ambulance Service. And with these seeds sown, the game was afoot…
“We started putting the word out in lots of different Mini groups, and we received great feedback with people offering to donate parts and one friend offering an R50 rolling shell,”
says Chris. The team started contacting companies across the country and received an overwhelming response. “Originally we had a garage who wanted to do the whole build for us,” he continues, “but after getting lots of parts delivered there, and the R50 shell, they decided they didn’t have enough time to do it. After messaging lots of people, a good friend of mine - Andy Bushell from Andy Bushell Braces - told me he had a complete R53 just sitting doing nothing that he would donate for us to build, along with one of his amazing strut braces and some other bits. Andy even spoke to a local transport company, Bomber County International Transport, and they very kindly moved the car from Boston to Mansfield.”
JIGSAW PUZZLE
The state of the R53 could probably be best described as ‘challenging’, with no brakes, an engine in bits, brake and fuel lines cut off and the fuel tank drilled, so the first job was to fully strip it down and see what they were
These motors make a really great noise with a 17% pulley on the blower Hydro-dipped dash and race seats are a great combo
dealing with. Ten mates congregated at Chris’s house to get busy with the wrenches, and within a day it was a bare shell on axle stands; after assessing a few cosmetics, it was time to crack on with the fresh new parts.
“Febi Bilstein donated all the standard parts for underneath the car which started going on straight away,” says Chris. “Along with the EBC brakes and Raceland coilovers, all new brake lines and everything else, the car was back on its feet before we knew it! The black and red curved JC-Wing spoiler went on a treat, and the Aero bumper, sideskirts and arches were all sent off to Auto Body Tech to be painted. With the car now a rolling shell, we decided to get it off to a friend who cut out the whole rear rusty panel and welded a
new one in place. While there he also straightened the bonnet and modified, welded and fitted the MRC rollcage as this had to be cut down to fit the sunroofoptioned MINI. After this the car went straight over to Inf lo Vinyl in Swadlincote to be wrapped in the amazing Hexis vinyl. As it was getting wrapped we took the engine block over to WS Bates Ltd in Nottingham who stripped it down, honed it, fitted new Mahle piston rings and King Bearings, then painted it ready to go back in.”
GATHERING PACE
The car was really starting to take shape by this point, with the pace of progress accelerating by the day. The customised dash went in, along with the KAD Fibreglass Products carbon fibre seats and TRS harnesses, and then Chris popped the bonnet so that he, Ryan and good friend Danny Kerry could get the Tritec ticking. New MAR Motorsport gaskets were used, and the newly worked head from Gareth Barron at GS R53 MINI, plus the Max Torque clutch to get everything slipped into position. Danny offered to do the final assembly and checkover at his place, Cairo Street Garage, and after a short while the R53 was alive and kicking. Gaining a fresh MOT, it was ready for the final few bits to be buttoned up, including one more trip to Inf lo Vinyl to get the front bumper artfully wrapped.
“We had a little hiccup on the way back,” says Chris. “We were driving along a country road and suddenly I noticed something large f ly up in front of me. We found somewhere to pull over
TECH SPEC
BODY Wrapped in Hexis Matte Grey Silver, Aero bumpers, Maxton Design front splitter, Aero grilles - painted black, Avantgarde Autos 1-of-1 enlarged bonnet scoop - painted gloss black, scuttle scoops painted black, SMPS2012 gloss black headlight rings and door handles, new Auto Windscreens front screen, SMPS2012 Union Jack rear lights, custom East Mids Minis badge, MINI badge and supercharger badges, side repeater units painted gloss black, wing mirrors painted red, sideskirts and arches painted gloss black, red and gloss black curved JC-Wing, rear wiper delete ENGINE 1 .6-litre supercharged Tritec, block honed with Mahle piston rings, King Bearings and painted black, GS reworked head, Piper performance cam, NGK spark plugs, Mr Retro red performance ignition leads, Tim Woodford coil pack relocation plate, Howe Performance enlarged throttle body, TPE Precision charge pipe, Ramair induction, 17% pulley supplied by 1320Mini, Stoney Racing full silicone hose kit and induction pipe, Minimise custom wheelarch eye stickers, various parts smoothed and powder-coated by Marcus Love, MTC black intercooler, Notsohobo black intercooler air diverter, Milltek stainless steel exhaust system inc. decat and manifold, new Mahle radiator, power: 224bhp SUSPENSION Raceland coilovers, R56 rear arm upgrade by MAR Motorsport, Andy Bushell red strut brace, Powerflex polybushes, full chassis overhaul with Febi Bilstein parts – inc. lower arms, ball joints, wheel bearings, rubber boots and drop links TR ANSMISSION 6-speed manual, Max Torque performance clutch BR AKES EBC gro ove d disc s , EBC Yellow Stuf f pa ds , H el Pe r formance b raide d hose s sup plie d by B igg Re d B rake s , new c alip e r s an d se nsor s from Fe bi B il s tein WHEELS AND T YRES OE 16” alloys - painted gloss black by Tamworth Powder-coaters, Toyo tyres INTERIOR OE Cooper S dash with 5-piece red hydro-dipped dash panels by Advance Modifications, black Alcantara headlining and pillar trims, custom carbon fibre rev counter and speedo, Trix Bits carbon gearknob and handbrake handle, black leather centre console upright covers, K AD Fibreglass Products carbon race seats, TRS Motorsport harnesses, Carmats. co.uk black and red mats, Minimise custom door sill guards, MRC Motorsport red half-rollcage, custom race doorcards with sponsor stickers, JC Clubsport rear seat delete wrapped in RC Fabrics black embroidered diamond Alcantara Red-and-black theme makes for a very inviting cabin
and check, and the bonnet scoop had snapped and f lown off ! This was three days before the Minis and Milkshake event that we were attending and revealing the car at… I frantically searched the internet for companies that could supply and donate a new scoop, and with just one email to Avantgarde Autos they came straight back to say they would happily help. They had a scoop prepped and painted the same day for us – it was posted Thursday, received Friday, fitted Saturday and ready for the show on Sunday. Kam and the guys at Avantgarde Autos were absolute life-savers, and it turns out that this scoop is the only one in existence as they hadn’t planned to start producing this until January 2023… but because this was for charity, they decided to donate it and bring their production forward.”
ALL IN THE DETAILS
After the show, the MINI was treated to a false rear f loor and strut brace, with JC Clubsport and RC Fabrics supplying embossed diamond Alcantara, and with a few modifications to the f loor to get it fitted around the rollcage it was in and looking great. And then it was mapping time! A date was booked with Chris at CC Tuning, Burton-on-Trent, and he spent hours getting it mapped to his liking and running just as it should, the resultant 224bhp being a very respectable and pleasing figure.
“A few more little jobs were sorted after this,” says Chris, “with the carbon gearknob and handbrake donated by Trix Bits, along with the custom race doorcards with all the sponsor logos going on to them. New black headlight rings, door handle covers and Union Jack rear lights were fitted that were kindly donated by SMPS2012, and a good friend Daniel Orwin came over and wrapped the corners of the front and rear bumpers and fitted the red bonnet scoop sticker to finish things off. The car was now complete and getting a great response from everyone who saw it, but I know there will still be bits that I want to do to make it perfect before the winner takes
A lot of people have put a lot of effort into this project
ownership of the car!”
And with all of that herculean effort from this intrepid and indomitable group of enthusiasts, the R53 is up for grabs. Tickets are £10 a pop, with all of the money raised going to the Air Ambulance Service; they’re on sale through East Mids Minis on Facebook or via the JustGiving website (visit https://bit.ly/3SZf Pph ) and will run until 23rd December. The winner will be chosen on Christmas Eve and notified that they’ve won the car on Christmas Day. Built by mates, funded by generosity, destined to do good, this is a proper feel-good story. And isn’t that what the MINI scene is all about?
THANKS TO:
Thanks to all the companies who donated parts and helped with the build: Febi Bilstein, Milltek, EBC, Raceland, MRC Motorsport, SMPS2012, Piper Cams, Millers Oils, Mahle, King Bearings, TRS Motorsport, Maxton Design, Inflo Vinyl, Avantgarde Autos, EDF Motorsport, Hexis Vinyl Wraps, 1320Mini, Alien Car Magic Ltd, JC-Wings, Carmats.co.uk, KAD Fibreglass Products, MTC Motorsport, Roadie Designs, Minimise, NGK Spark Plugs, Ramair, JF Customs, Auto Body Tech, Micks Tyres, Larkspeed, Rooster Racing, Trix Bits, Two Guns Transport, JC Clubsport, WS Bates Ltd, Citro Minis, PowerfulUK, East Mids Customising, GS R53 Mini Specialists, CB Miniparts, MCR Mini, Stoney Racing, MAR Motorsport, RGT Minis, County Batteries, Advance Modifications, Sheet Plastics, Whatageek Designs, Andy Bushell Braces, Max Torque Clutches, WK Peckham Mini Spares, Bigg Red, Road Track Race, Car Toon Canvas, Bomber County International Transport… and the people: Mark Richard, Marc Turner, Gareth Barron, Adrian Hardy, Jonny Curnow, Dave Mills, Bob Martin, Martyn Hill, Martin Pritchard, Joel Parker, James Allured, Marc Turner, Marcus Love, Jason Perry, William Saunders, Gareth Hackland, Harry Howard, Ben Johnson, Steve Dodgy, Paige Ball, David Kirkham, Jeff Lamb, Colin Bolam, Philip Ziggy Bartrop, Paul Muggleton, Daniel Orwin, Bradley Miller, Andy and Lynsey Bushell, Rob N Lozza Wright, Jeff Lamb, Danny Kerry, Regan Bennett, Scott Newton, and Paddy van der Moyle.
