w00t! Mini goodies!

[greatbear]

Okay, so I am as hopelessly addicted to cars as I am so many other things. My order for some factory parts for the Cooper came in yesterday and I will take some time to add the alarm option and the front and rear fog light options. The former came in a tidy box with detailed instructions, whereas the latter is a hodgepodge of parts and wiring harneses and hardware that in some cases has parts I dont need. Oh, and not a single bit of instructions. And there is no service manual available. I'll figure it out. WHen I do it'll be yet another of my how-tos with pics posted on minicooperonline.com and MINI2.com. My last such posting caused a run on certain parts ordered from Classic Mini in Ohio where I get my goodies from. Parts guy said "So you're the guy who caused a surge in parcel shelves ordered with auxiliary jacks."

I love my own little brand of notoriety. *heh*

As winter approaches I will be driving the truck more, and that's when I will do some of my performance mods to the car. When springtime rolls around and I am done using the truck for yard and garden related nonsense, I hope to get the bodywork and paint done on it so it doesnt look so pitiful as it does now. Since I tore down and beefed up the transmission this spring, I have a few more performance tricks to add to the engine. 700+ ft/lbs of torque feels mighty fine!

Comments

[standardtom.livejournal.com]

Hi Phil,

Found your LJ via your comments on a friend's journal, and noticed your interest in Mini's. I've been thinking of getting one myself, and am interested in what you might have done with a parcel shelf and an auxiliary jack. I'm a dedicated iPod user, and am always interested in how I might connect it.

Hope all is well; oh, and while I'm at it: woof, you're very handsome.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

WOOF right backatcha! At least a dozenfold!

Thanks for you questions. Get a MINI. You'll love it. I wrote an article/how-to over at North American Motoring (formerly Mini Cooper Online) detailing my installation of the optional Aux jack into the parcel shelf. It's been working great. Not only do I have a home for my mp3 player (Archos Jukesbox 20 gig, iPod 40gig coming soon), but other trinkets as well, (cell phone, walkie talkies, etc). The car should come equipped this way stock IMO.

Now that PC connectivity is sorted out (I dont have a Mac) an iPod is doable for me. It's still the best-designed portable hard drive-based player out there. My only concern is the fixed internal battery, and with this online piece spelling out solutions in the future when the battery eventually expires, I feel more comfortable about getting one. That site is rather edgy in spelling out the original solution.

Take care, stud!

[standardtom.livejournal.com]

You know, when I bought my first iPod, one of the original 5GB models, I thought it was cool, but I figured it would wind up just being another one of my gadgets. Little did I know it would turn out to be just about the most important piece of gear I own!

Since that time, my hubby, a postman, has started using that one on his mail route, and I've got a 40GB model now. I had the third-party battery replacement done on the 5GB model, and it's worked just perfectly.

On the car front, I'm torn between gettng a MINI Cooper S, and an almost completely different type of thing, one of the V6 5-speed Mazda 6's. The Mazda is plenty fun to drive (just ask the Mustang GT we left flat-footed during the test drive heh), but the MINI has the performance and, well, it's just so dang cool. :-) But, then, the Mazda is also oh-so-practical. The age old question. :-)

As for studliness; I checked your bigmusclebears.com page, and you're pretty much a big ol' stud yourself, you know.