AAB-1
2011-03-03, 21:58
Hi all and greetings from Finland!
Name: Miika
Location: Finland
Model: Mini Cooper S - R53 - John Cooper Works 2004
Model: Morris Cooper S 1275 Mk1 a.k.a. AAB-1
This thread is mainly about my R53 but I will share some information & pictures about the AAB-1. That car doesn't exist anymore (only papers) but I will try to find anything related to it, just to keep the racing spirit alive.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2433284/Mini/R53JCW2004.jpg
Order Options
1CA Selection Cop Relevant Vehicles
327 White Bonnet Stripes
369 LT/Aly Wheels/S-Spoke
382 Roof And Mirror Caps In White
423 Floor Mats, Velour
441 Smokers Package
450 Height Adjustment F Front Passenger Seat
493 Storage Compartment Package
494 Seat Heating F Driver/Front Passenger
502 Headlight Washer System
520 Foglights
522 Xenon Light
530 Air Conditioning
550 On-Board Computer
564 Interior Light Package
687 Radio Preparation
8SP Cop Control
863 Europe/Dealer Directory
872 Chili
885 Swedish/Owners Handbook/Service Booklet
895 Additional Ventilator
896 Daytime Lights Function
925 Shipping Protection Package
Series Options
214 Automatic Stability Control+Traction
228 Sport Suspension Settings Plus
253 Leather Steering Wheel Cooper S
463 Interior Surface Alloy Platina
481 Sports Seats F Driver/Front Passenger
546 Revolution Counter
548 Speedometer With Kilometer Reading
823 Hot Climate Version
851 Language Version German
The Past
40 years ago, in 1971 my dad bought a Mini. It was a kind of special Mini with interesting history. The car was full race spec Morris Cooper S 1275 Mk 1. Roll cage, a close-ratio gearbox with straight cut gears, disc brakes, light weight flywheel, twin SU carburettors etc. Engine - according to my dad - nothing happened below 4500 rpm but you were able to rev it over 9000 rpm. It was used as a rally car in the Rally of the Thousand Lakes 1963 and later on as a rally / ice track race car. And who was the previous owner… a guy called Timo Mäkinen.
And now the sad part. In 1974 the body of the car was in so bad condition that it ended up in landfill. Engine, gearbox etc. were sold. In the beginning of February 2011 a Finnish Mini enthusiast called to my dad and asked about the car and if there were any parts left from it. It's kind of funny that even after 35+ years people still trace that car and the last owner. I happened to hear that discussion and that my dad still might have the papers of that Mini. My lucky day as he was able to find the papers and gave them to me. The original Finnish registration number was: AAB-1
The Present
So next step was to search information related to that AAB-1. Not much to be honest but I found a Finnish Mini Forum and someones Want to Buy - topic. A new forum member wanted to buy Mini Cooper or Cooper S. The forum moderator had offered his car. I thought that there was nothing to lose if I would wrote a short message to the seller of the car as he has only written something like: "I have Mini Cooper S 2004 JCW for sale. Send me private message if you are interested." Not sure if the car was still for sale but I sent him a message and a few hours later I received an email including some new information and pictures of the car.
The time schedule was tight. It was Thursday evening and he has already made an deal with local dealer. His brand new car was waiting at the dealer and Mini was going in as part of the deal. So I drove 300km on next Sunday to look and test drive the car. And 300km back. 48h time to decide what to do. On tuesday I called him as promised. 10 seconds before the call I had no idea what to do. Should I buy it or not. I said to the owner that the car was very nice but I don't think we can close the deal. I guess he noticed that was I serious after driving total of 600km just to check the car. So he lowered his asking price 500€ and gave me 8h of extra time to decide. 7,5h later we close the deal.
So next Sunday and a new trip (and my 35th birthday). This time with a bus. Few hours later I was driving my "new" Mini back to home. The seller had told me that there was a coolant leak and the authorized Mini service was not been able to locate it. But all went fine.
A few days later I decided to take Mini for a short spin. Just after 2 km of driving and yellow engine warning light come on. Next available place to stop and as everything seemed to work ok I drove back to home. As outside temperatures were like -25 Celsius during that week I decided to wait few days and try again. Next time I was able to drive 10km and then noticed that no warm air coming to cabin so I stopped the car. The engine temperature was higher than normal and fan was running. Great! I let the engine cool down and then drove back to home. The positive thing was that I was able to locate the leak. I noticed earlier that there was spilled coolant on snow below the car. Two possibilities: the coolant expansion tank or the hose attached to the bottom of the tank. I removed the old expansion tank and filled it with water. It was not leaking at that moment but I noticed that there was a small gap between upper and lower part. And naturally on that side which can not be seen when the expansion tank is attached to the car. Expansion tank is now replaced and that solved the problem.
Yesterday an old friend of mine visited and he had some Bosch equipment to read the fault codes. Nothing big to worry about as the combination of charged car and very low outside temperatures seem to be the reason for the engine warning light to come on. All fault codes were cleared and today the car passed the MOT.
The future
I'll add more information about the car(s) and maybe few pictures later on. One of my enquiries was successful as while writing this story I received an email. I have never even seen a picture from AAB-1 before and now I have 16 in my mailbox. :)
Name: Miika
Location: Finland
Model: Mini Cooper S - R53 - John Cooper Works 2004
Model: Morris Cooper S 1275 Mk1 a.k.a. AAB-1
This thread is mainly about my R53 but I will share some information & pictures about the AAB-1. That car doesn't exist anymore (only papers) but I will try to find anything related to it, just to keep the racing spirit alive.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2433284/Mini/R53JCW2004.jpg
Order Options
1CA Selection Cop Relevant Vehicles
327 White Bonnet Stripes
369 LT/Aly Wheels/S-Spoke
382 Roof And Mirror Caps In White
423 Floor Mats, Velour
441 Smokers Package
450 Height Adjustment F Front Passenger Seat
493 Storage Compartment Package
494 Seat Heating F Driver/Front Passenger
502 Headlight Washer System
520 Foglights
522 Xenon Light
530 Air Conditioning
550 On-Board Computer
564 Interior Light Package
687 Radio Preparation
8SP Cop Control
863 Europe/Dealer Directory
872 Chili
885 Swedish/Owners Handbook/Service Booklet
895 Additional Ventilator
896 Daytime Lights Function
925 Shipping Protection Package
Series Options
214 Automatic Stability Control+Traction
228 Sport Suspension Settings Plus
253 Leather Steering Wheel Cooper S
463 Interior Surface Alloy Platina
481 Sports Seats F Driver/Front Passenger
546 Revolution Counter
548 Speedometer With Kilometer Reading
823 Hot Climate Version
851 Language Version German
The Past
40 years ago, in 1971 my dad bought a Mini. It was a kind of special Mini with interesting history. The car was full race spec Morris Cooper S 1275 Mk 1. Roll cage, a close-ratio gearbox with straight cut gears, disc brakes, light weight flywheel, twin SU carburettors etc. Engine - according to my dad - nothing happened below 4500 rpm but you were able to rev it over 9000 rpm. It was used as a rally car in the Rally of the Thousand Lakes 1963 and later on as a rally / ice track race car. And who was the previous owner… a guy called Timo Mäkinen.
And now the sad part. In 1974 the body of the car was in so bad condition that it ended up in landfill. Engine, gearbox etc. were sold. In the beginning of February 2011 a Finnish Mini enthusiast called to my dad and asked about the car and if there were any parts left from it. It's kind of funny that even after 35+ years people still trace that car and the last owner. I happened to hear that discussion and that my dad still might have the papers of that Mini. My lucky day as he was able to find the papers and gave them to me. The original Finnish registration number was: AAB-1
The Present
So next step was to search information related to that AAB-1. Not much to be honest but I found a Finnish Mini Forum and someones Want to Buy - topic. A new forum member wanted to buy Mini Cooper or Cooper S. The forum moderator had offered his car. I thought that there was nothing to lose if I would wrote a short message to the seller of the car as he has only written something like: "I have Mini Cooper S 2004 JCW for sale. Send me private message if you are interested." Not sure if the car was still for sale but I sent him a message and a few hours later I received an email including some new information and pictures of the car.
The time schedule was tight. It was Thursday evening and he has already made an deal with local dealer. His brand new car was waiting at the dealer and Mini was going in as part of the deal. So I drove 300km on next Sunday to look and test drive the car. And 300km back. 48h time to decide what to do. On tuesday I called him as promised. 10 seconds before the call I had no idea what to do. Should I buy it or not. I said to the owner that the car was very nice but I don't think we can close the deal. I guess he noticed that was I serious after driving total of 600km just to check the car. So he lowered his asking price 500€ and gave me 8h of extra time to decide. 7,5h later we close the deal.
So next Sunday and a new trip (and my 35th birthday). This time with a bus. Few hours later I was driving my "new" Mini back to home. The seller had told me that there was a coolant leak and the authorized Mini service was not been able to locate it. But all went fine.
A few days later I decided to take Mini for a short spin. Just after 2 km of driving and yellow engine warning light come on. Next available place to stop and as everything seemed to work ok I drove back to home. As outside temperatures were like -25 Celsius during that week I decided to wait few days and try again. Next time I was able to drive 10km and then noticed that no warm air coming to cabin so I stopped the car. The engine temperature was higher than normal and fan was running. Great! I let the engine cool down and then drove back to home. The positive thing was that I was able to locate the leak. I noticed earlier that there was spilled coolant on snow below the car. Two possibilities: the coolant expansion tank or the hose attached to the bottom of the tank. I removed the old expansion tank and filled it with water. It was not leaking at that moment but I noticed that there was a small gap between upper and lower part. And naturally on that side which can not be seen when the expansion tank is attached to the car. Expansion tank is now replaced and that solved the problem.
Yesterday an old friend of mine visited and he had some Bosch equipment to read the fault codes. Nothing big to worry about as the combination of charged car and very low outside temperatures seem to be the reason for the engine warning light to come on. All fault codes were cleared and today the car passed the MOT.
The future
I'll add more information about the car(s) and maybe few pictures later on. One of my enquiries was successful as while writing this story I received an email. I have never even seen a picture from AAB-1 before and now I have 16 in my mailbox. :)