Peter P18

Bridgestones as well mate. I'll get the garage to take a look tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up. :)

Really?! :( Hadn't noticed that mate. Guessing tires are going to need swapping over as well in that case?? Bummer!! :(

It's a shame for the car for sure David. I'll get it looking A1 again soon though mate. It's not overly noticeable to the untrained eye, but having washed and polished it as often as I do (at least once a week since December! Lol.), you know the marks are there. It'll be mint once the guys at Darnley Auto Works in Strood are finished with it. They do awesome work. Seen Ferrari's, Aston's, Lambo's in there over the years. Rob and his Dad are really good at what they do. Done loads of show cars over the years. :)

Front bumper is stone chipped to hell, door edges are chewed up from careless passengers opening them onto brick walls or similar, roof has spots where the lacquer has been damaged. They think it could be a grit lorry that the last owner sat behind whilst it pelted the hell out of it! :( Boot is scratched and scuffed from badly loaded shopping bags and luggage at a guess! :( Had a Chinese woman as it's only other private owner. Guessing hubby was a mega rich banker that thought a 5-litre V8 was the perfect car for the wife to do her shopping and school runs!!!! ;)

Forget to say guys, took my spare engine cover to my paint guy in Strood this morning. He's re spraying it in body colour for £60. Will post pictures when I pick it up next weekend. :) Good news is if anyone wants their engine cover in body colour, I'll have my spare that can be painted up to save you not having one on your car? Repainting my roof, front and rear bumpers, door edges and boot is £700. Thought that was pretty reasonable for what's involved (a weeks work they reckon). Cheers. Pete :)

So I managed to complete the install of my Apexi throttle controller. The button fits perfectly into the blank beside the headlight washer switch. Looks OEM: Very easy to install provided you get the specific IS-F harness as well as the controller. Red mode is lighting quick! Tried sport mode and red throttle mode together! WOW!!! ;) Also got my LED sidelights installed. Looks awesome compared to stock. Pig of a job mind! ;) Here's just with sidelights: Now sides and dipped main beam: Drivers side: Passenger side: Need to see them in person to get the full effect really. Just full beam to do now!! ;) Pleased with my progress though. Not a bad days work! Cheers. Pete :)

Lol have you ever just got it there at 3400 and it's just started to open and you have to slow down grrrrr I hate that Me too chap, hate it big time!! :(

Think Stu may have predictive text syndrome!! Lol. ;)

That's an image I didn't need Dave! Lol. ;) She'd need to be starkers, wouldn't want any buttons, zips or bra clips chipping the paint!! Lol. Sad to say I like the pictures of just the cars. :) You can find the lady pics elsewhere I'm told!! ;) Lol.

Why the PistonHeads tag David? Not selling up are you??? :( Looks great by the way. :)

Had a run in tonight in fact! ;) Why this Mini decided to stay in the fast lane of the M25 at 60mph is beyond me! :( Seems drivers who are nervous in the rain think its safest to clog up the fast lane! I'm quite patient, but constantly braking with a good ten car lengths in front of you is not on! I then came across a learner on the back roads near my folks place doing 20mph. I held back only to be overtaken by a right idiot that then overtook the learner on a blind bend!! :( Just take it easy guys. Plenty of idiots out at the moment it seems!!

Shame the seller doesn't respond to messages! :( I'm trying to contact him for a few bits, but so far no luck! Hopefully he'll get in touch at some stage. Must be gutting though! :( Even if the insurance company pay out most of the value (you never get all of it back), it's still got to hurt losing your pride and joy. Must be even worse for those who lost their homes and businesses as well as their cars. :( Tough times.

Must admit there isn't much ***** taking on here. ;) Not that I think it's a bad thing, just kind of used to getting some playful banter from other forum members! Think it's good that the IS-F community is straight up. Haven't come across anyone offensive or rude so far (apart from Stu of course! Lol. He's a biker though so can't blame him!! ;)). Maybe I'm biased, but seems to have picked up a bit since a few of us new owners turned up. Looked like there were times when a couple of posts a day was the norm! ;) Be good to arrange a bigger meet at some point. Maybe do an IS-F meet somewhere? Just imagine 20+ in the same place! :)

That looks pretty similar mate. I'll snap a picture at some point, and post it up to be sure. Think it's just a blank front that I need to remove to access the recess where those two bolts are. Cheers. :)

Nice one. :) Will check and let you know chap. Cheers. Pete

Thanks Gareth. :) Seem to recall we only have a blank cover installed there, hence nothing to open/drop down to access any screws. I'll try and snap a photo over the weekend to show you what I mean mate. It may just be a case of gently levering the whole thing from a corner? The LED kit is in transit at the moment, so not in any great rush (just trying to get prepared for when it arrives!). I've already got quite a long list of 'to-do's' this weekend (replacing sidelights, finish install of Apexi throttle controller, and remove rear lights to clean out the mold/mildew!), but should have a chance to take a picture or two. Thanks. Peter :)

Gareth, How did you do the front dome removal? Appreciate we don't have the sunglasses compartment they show on the video to contend with, but it mentions two screws that are hidden inside the compartment you need to remove? We don't appear to have any screws on ours do we? Thought I'd ask as you've done yours already. The rest of them look nice and straightforward. Cheers. Pete :)

Are you going to change your wheel nuts Stu? Maybe some blue ones to match the new calipers? Just a thought! ;)

Think gloss are easier to clean that matt personally. Using a good rim seal like Poorboys will make it easier though Stu. :) Provided you keep on top of the cleaning (at least once a week), should be fine in either finish chap. Cheers. Pete

Thanks Stu. :) Have ordered a set in black, and a set in white. :) That way I'm covered for the three colours I'm looking at for the calipers.

Can you post the eBay link up please chap? Ta. :)

I'm thinking of using these guys: http://www.specialisttyres.com/brakecalipers.htm Letchworth is pretty close to where my folks live. Would take a Monday off after one of my weekends with the kids, and take it over to them. I'll probably get the alloys repainted first, then head over there to finalise the colour for the calipers. For me it'll be between blue, orange and silver. Have you sourced the Lexus decals yet? Might prove tricky, as the originals were painted on??

What are your plans regarding the decals Stu? I'm thinking I would probably go for Brembo decals as opposed to Lexus ones? As per my post on the US forum, do like the look of the orange! ;)

Personally think that is too light Stu. You should try and see hyper chrome in the flesh so to speak! ;) It's a really rich colour with a kind of wet look (hard to describe). The wheel is painted a silver colour first, then given a layer of black over the top (meaning the silver/grey is still there if they don't over do the black coat). I may get mine done as an interim measure until I can afford the 20's I want. :) The blue caliper would work really well, as would silver like with the AMG Merc's. It's down to personal choice though at the end of the day mate. ;) Cheers. Pete

Of course not Dave, that would be irresponsible, and far too much fun! ;) It's that 3,400 change when the second valve opens that always makes me grin!! ;) Really is a Jekyll & Hide car. Love it. :)