ALLGBMINI – Page 404 – M&I / GBMINI

Buttons

Posted on August 15, 2005February 17, 2017 by Ian C.

I recently received a gift pack in the mail, from Craig (“Cooperation“, or “rawk“) – this MINI owner is massively talented in graphics … Originally I contacted Craig to get a button for GBMINI#2; more recently Craig decided to make a new button for me to match GBMINI#3, then with the recent death of Ed, Craig did a special button and rushed the package to me (along with a button ready for next years MINIsOnTop):

Minolta DSC

Craig does not generally make individual buttons; he explains:
The MINI badges, event shirts, club shirts and other items are just a sideline that has sprung up from being a part of the MINI community for the last 4 years … a sort of hobby.
I’ve never solicited business from anyone in the MINI community, it has come to me through many different channels and I like it that way … if someone is looking for me they can find me on many, many MINI sites.
My problem with doing individual badges orders is I’m not really set up to handle the distribution side of it… I would rather work with event organizers and clubs and leave the distribution up to them. Our regular price for custom badges is between $.50 and $1.00, depending on the quantity. Because of the amount of work in individualizing the MINIs, I’ve found that $2.50 is a fair price for the MINI badges. That also leaves room for the groups to charge more and make a profit themselves.

So if you need a bunch of really nicely made custom MINI buttons, you know who to contact …

How big is the fuel tank (again)?

Posted on August 13, 2005February 10, 2017 by Ian C.

A few months ago I wondered just how big the gas tank was in GBMINI#3; the specs say 13.2 (US) gallons …
Yesterday during my day out in Boston, I got the distance-to-empty down below 5 miles, and was shocked when I filled the car:

More than 10% over the claimed capacity! I never got anywhere near this much in GBMINI#2, and I ran it down to about 0 miles to empty a few times …

Is the ’05 fuel tank bigger? Is the MCS auto fuel tank bigger? We need an official answer to this mystery! 😉

“A Grand Day Out” in Boston

Posted on August 12, 2005February 10, 2017 by Ian C.

Today I headed in to Boston to “the other MINI dealership” – Herb Chambers MINI:

Minolta DSC

The reason was to meet with Annette (NoNo on MINI2), because her MINI has been “sick” and her original dealership, New Country MINI, completely failed to find the problem and eventually blamed her aftermarket air intake and/or exhaust – even though they had no idea what the problem was!
Pete (BWROOFCHEX on MINI2) helped arrange for Herb Chambers MINI to investigate and hopefully fix the car …

Herb Chambers MINI is different to MINI Peabody in a few significant ways – primarily they share a building with BMW & Porsche (so for example you have to go to a different floor to the bathroom, and outside to a different part of the building if you want to buy a MINI accessory).
The other big difference, due to their location close to the center of Boston, is a lack of parking – more than $4 of quarters (per MINI!) kept the parking meters happy while we were there …

Where Herb Chambers apparently is NOT different is the enthusiasm shown by their staff for MINIs – indeed both Steve & Rich currently drive a MINI, and Steves car is nearly as decorated as mine:

Minolta DSC

Also, there was only enthusiasm over the fact that Jared, Pete, Jason and myself all descended on their dealership just to hang out and chat with Annette while her car was being worked on …

Minolta DSC

In time, we all headed off for lunch at a nearby “fast food mexican“, then attempted to reach Fenway Park for a guided tour; we did get there, but with limited parking & time (due to a game tonight), we changed our goal to the New England Aquarium – the journey took us through lots of Boston, as one way systems prevented our direct route attempts!

Minolta DSC

But in time we got there, and after buying tickets we enjoyed the aquarium exhibits … highlights included penguins:

Minolta DSC

Next we headed over to Quincy Market for food, drinks and shopping; we were also treated to some amazing acrobatic entertainment, which culminated in one guy somersaulting over the other 7 – stunning!

Minolta DSC

Finally we spent some “quiet time” in the Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront, before returning to the cars (and paying $29 parking, each!) …

Minolta DSC

A great day spent with great friends!

Oh – Annettes car is not yet fixed; one experiment did not fix the problem but did eliminate one possible cause … Mark at Herb Chambers MINI has promised that he will resolve the issue to Annettes satisfaction, as soon as he can.
Meanwhile, you can watch the MINI2 thread which I am sure Annette will update when there is news …