Yet another AMVIV is under our belts, a fact I gather you know since I’m pretty sure all y’all were either there or follow along at Facebook have have already seen the photos and read the stories. For me, this one was different than others. And, different in a good way!
With it being later in the year and the economy still in rough shape in California and other places, this year seemed to draw fewer attendees than in the past, giving it a very intimate feel. I actually got to spend time talking to people instead of rushing around from place to place. Hell, I even got to spend some time practicing my photography.
On the left is JP’s Clubman, fresh after a wash. On the right is Mr. Weaver’s MCS, fresh after a belt-line and trim ring black-out performed by none other than our very own Mr. Motoringbadges. Actually having the time to spend over 30 minutes with each of these cars and my camera is something I would have never had the time to do in the past.
Besides taking fancy pictures, I actually got to relax and enjoy my mates as well as meet some new friends. That and spend more time than I’d care to admit at Jack’s Pub in Palace Station assisting in clearing out their inventory of Bombay Saphire Gin. All in all, I had a fantastic time!
Hats off to the AMVIV group again for putting on another fabulous event. I could tell that everyone had a great time, everything ran smoothly and nobody went to jail. Win-win-win in my book. If you want to read more about the event, check out the AMVIV8 Event Wrap Up. And, if you went, take a minute to leave a comment of thanks! They work hard every year putting on one of the best (and usually largest) MINI Cooper events in the world! Besides the photos in my Flickr stream (some below), there are almost 600 in the AMVIV 8 Flickr Pool.
Me? I’m almost ready for next year. I need about another week for the rest of the gin to purge from my system!
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For those of you that missed it yesterday on Facebook or Twitter, I actually hit 250,000 miles on my 2003 MINI Cooper. More about this and my AMVIV write-up to follow later this week, but you can see of the photos over in my Flickr stream.
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Some key repairs were knocked out this week. Things that I have been meaning to do for a long time but couldn’t do to financial constraints. As you see above, I have 2 working headlights. Passenger side has been out for a few months now, but I rarely drive at night, so I didn’t worry. With the Strip Cruise this weekend, I wanted it to work. Ignore the non-working marker light for now, it’s on my short list.
Also completed this week was the installation of brand new front control arm bushings! [insert crowd applause here]. This particular repair has been waiting about 75K miles to get done. Again, delayed due to those very same financial issues mentioned above. And for a reason. Installation and 4 wheel alignment with a balance/rotate of the tires thrown in for good measure came to a tick under $650, not including parts.
Finally, a new boot latch has been procured and will be meeting me at AMVIV, courtesy our man at MINI of Ontario. Hopefully I can install it there.
Making big dents in my repair list if I do say so myself. Here is what’s left to be done, in no particular order.
But enough about that. Time to finish getting ready for AMVIV! See you tomorrow!
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That’s right gang, A MINI Vacation in Vegas starts this week! I was ready back in March, but now I’m really ready and very excited to go.
But, before the massive drive across the Arizona and Nevada deserts can happen, I really should install the fine front control arm bushings that I procured from our good man Chad from Detroit Tuned. And that will be happening later today and tomorrow by the good lads at MINI of Tempe. That, along with a 4-wheel alignment should have my MINI driving like new, and I’m very excited!
I’ve mentioned this on the show, but one of the reasons I like to order from DT is because Chad makes sure that I order the correct parts for my MINI, and the correct quantity. For example, with these control arm bushings, I almost order 2 sets, not 2 bushings. He caught it, refunded the amount I over paid and let me know what he did.
If you are going to AMVIV, come find me. I’ll be hanging out with Todd as he installs graphics, or I’ll be walking around taking photos or I’ll be in Jack’s Pub enjoying a very large Guiness.
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