Make Room for Mini May 20, 2006
So, without calling a contractor or pulling a permit, how do you turn a standard two-car garage into a three-car garage? Easy. Buy a Mini. After getting rid of some stuff that collected in our editor’s garage, he was able to fit a Mini plus two “regular” cars in there. Yes, the Mini has to be parallel parked in order to fit, but it works.
We also got the Mini registered on Friday, and the process was surprisingly easy. Having the seller’s North Carolina title definitely helped, and to our surprise Innocenti was already listed in Florida’s system. On the way back from the DMV, we stopped at RML Automotive, our local Italian auto specialist. Proprietor Ric Lovecchio seemed pretty intrigued by the little Innocenti.
Well That Was Easy Jun 1, 2006
This past week we received all of the paperwork to make our Mini kosher, as we now have a Florida title as well as our Hagerty insurance paperwork. That was a little easier than expected.
Mini's Maiden Voyage Jun 18, 2006
Good news: The car was just fine during the 40-minute trip, although the tach was intermittent. (The previous owner told us about the tach.)
Bad news: The purpose of the trip was to get the car registered, and even though we arrived at the DMV a little before closing time, they already locked the doors.
In other Cooper news, in order to get three cars into a two-car garage, we just ordered two pairs of Gojaks from Moss Motors. We figure it’s easier than using a floor jack, and less expensive than expanding the garage by a couple of feet. They should be here next week.
Sea Trials Continue Jun 27, 2006
Sea trials with the Mini are going well. The other day we took it on the interstate. At 70 mph (110 kph on the metric speedo), it wasn’t that bad at all. The wheels feel a little out of balance, so we need to figure out a way to balance them. (The center bores are too small for a conventional wheel balancer.) Also, some hair in the eyes hindered the view of the road a tad. Someone might need to get a haircut. Or at least leave a cap in the car.
I Feel So Flat Aug 12, 2006
We had been told that Innocenti wheels were notorious for leaking air. That statement might be true. We had one tire go completely flat last week, and now another one is working on it. It was full last week. Now it looks a little soft. Some mags might be in our car’s future. (The tires are brand-new, by the way, although we’ll check out the valve stems first.)