cmcveay

Will you be shaving your legs too?

Unfortunately, I think she was serious.

To get the sway bar out/in you do need to loosen - almost to the point of removing - the rear subframe bolts on one side of the car. The top bolt on the front struts is best done with a standard spark plug wrench and a hex key. With that set up, you can put a standard wrench on the socket to turn the nut while the spindle is held with the hex key. Getting the front struts out of the spindle can be a real PITA but it's not impossible. One little secret is that the spindle(s) will "rotate" forward to let the bottom of the strut come out. After having done a 1/2 dozen or so suspension swaps, it's really not that hard. I've got the wrench and spring compressors if you need them - it beats buying more.

As much as I love the DOS stuff, I can but lots of latex gloves for that price and still do the treatment by myself. Cool idea though!

Evan, Are you talking about the removable rails for the Clubman that are used to mount cross bars and all? If so, those are BMW/MINI pieces that you can find here REALOEM.com. I've only known one person who had those - a friend of Alan (Scavenger) and so I don't know if there's any issue with water. I do know that Catalina and Quitta have the OEM base racks and they've removed that part of the rubber to access the mounting holes so they could answer that part. Having installed/uninstalled that type of roof rack a couple of times, I totally agree with the "PIA" assessment. Knowing that I'd be putting a roof rack on my Clubbie, I went with the factory installed roof rails and I'm really glad that I did. I wish I could still have the JCW spoiler but it's a trade that I was willing to make.

Not a stupidish question at all! As Mike said, Garage Mahal is just the name we've given to the garage attached to our house. We frequently open it up to members who need to do work on their cars and, at times, we host events like mobile window tinting and most recently, a very, very successful "Paintless Dent Repair Party". I've got a pretty good collection of tools (some MINI specific and others are general). Thanks to the generosity of a club member, we also have a Bently manual for the 2nd Gen MINI that's kept up on top of the tool box to answer questions. The "Garage Mahal" even has it's own facebook page where we post pictures of events that take place.

Welcome to the forums and we look forward to meeting you in person. To re-use a phrase - Hi, My name is Craig, my car is Merlin and I'm a MINIac.

I remember a couple of years ago, Haemish needed to put some miles on his car to get a scheduled maintenance done. He took a road trip and hit all of the MINI dealerships between Baltimore and Richmond - and he may have hit a couple of others too. We all got a good laugh out of that.

I've got a Nikon D40x that's in pristine condition that's getting ready to be relegated to the lower shelf. I'm just not using it any longer as my D3 and D700 see all of the action. If you are looking for a great little DSLR camera, this is worth at look. 4 years old, roughly 12,000 shutter clicks (life expectancy of 100,000 or more) and it's always been well cared for. It comes with a battery and battery charger. In addition to the camera body, I have the 18-55mm kit lens by Nikon and it also has an 11-16mm lens by Tokina. Other accessories include an Opteka strap and a wireless shutter release. Asking price? $350 or ???

How could I forget this part! Here's a story about how cool our club members are. After the club dinner last night, we were in the parking garage for a photo op. While we were there, an elderly couple came out of the stairs and the woman took a fall where the walkway stepped down to the floor of the garage. She hurt her shoulder and the side of her face. The husband didn't drive - but he was willing to try - and the woman needed to get to the hospital. Realizing the problem, Catalina approached the couple and offered to drive them to the hospital. Then, Haemish jumped in and offered to follow them so he could get Catalina back to the garage. So, in the end, the couple made it to the hospital, they had their car and we were all back together. What an awesome group of people we have to call friends. Far, far too many people would have just walked on past this couple or they would have ignored what went on.

For those who weren't able to miss it, here's Ali's latest "Glamour Shot"... Wait, what's that! Yes folks, here's photographic evidence of Ali cheating on her beloved Tigger.

Considering the weather for the day, let's skip the rooftop and meet up on one of the higher level floors (or one that's not as crowded). I'll get there early and hope to stake out a location.

If I remember correctly, there's a parking garage directly behind Capital City Brewing company. Sure, let's meet up on the roof of the garage (or the top floor).

Come prepared for a photo op in the parking garage afterward! I'm sure Ali will want to join in on this but I have a class project and I'd like to include as many of you as possible - if of course you are interested!

Get yourself an NRA Lifetime member decal and then make one that says "I (heart) My Glock"... That should help a little.

Posting this for a friend who recently sold his MINI. 1 set of four (4) 17" Rota RB wheels in Hyperblack with a set of Bridgestone Blizzak Winter/Snow tires mounted and balanced. Approximately 25 miles on the wheels and tires. Asking price is $1,000. The wheels/tires are currently located near Whites Ferry in Maryland but I can help if delivery is needed. I'll post a photo when I get home this evening.

Jono - if you aren't "mobile", we can always come get your car and bring it over to be worked on.

Come out to the Garage Mahal for the annual DCMM Post Holiday Party! As has been done in the past, this will be a Pot Luck event and BYOB. We'll have water and soda's but if you want anything else, please drink responsibly. We'll also have a White Elephant gift exchange for for those interested - please limit gifts to no more than $25.00. Additional rules/information will be announced at the party. Time: 5:00 p.m. until we turn off the lights or the police shuts us down. Where: Garage Mahal (5200 Lindsay St., Fairfax VA 22032) Lots of on street parking, just don't block the driveways. RSVP's are open.

Welcome to the Forums Sara! Sorry we missed you at Sterling. Look forward to meeting you at an event soon.

Same here, I have Keyless Entry and it's been some time since I put the key in the slot. I'm also set up so the doors auto lock at 11mph and when I hit the button to turn the car off, they unlock. If the key is in the slot, when I push the button, the doors stay locked until I bump the key to remove it from the slot. Other neat tricks? If the car is locked and I walk up to the barn doors, I don't have to unlock it to open the rear doors. If it weren't for the door handle covers, there's a little black button that will lock/unlock the car if you can't get to the keys in your pocket. If I walk away from the car for a while with the keys and nothing disturbs it, it will automatically lock. Oh, start the car and walk away with the keys. It tells you that the remote key isn't there any longer. And, finally, you can't lock the keys in the car electronically.

Sorry it took so long. Between work and class, I'm just looking at too many pictures. I think that there will be at least one picture of everyone here. If you find one you like and you'd like to have me do some adjustments to it, please PM or email me with the image number and I'll take a look at it. Otherwise, they are here for your use and enjoyment. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCRdYVt

Well, you are still welcome to pull into the Garage Mahal whenever you need. We missed you today and I hope everything went well for you.

Mike - if you just want to get rid of 'em, I do like 'em. Bring them with you whenever you want to get/use the oil filter socket.

Let's do some of our own!