GBMINI#3

For storage between the downtubes, I still think the original “Hot Pocket” is the best; I have now tried various factory solutions, but on GBMINI#3 I have gone back to my old favorite.
I decided to buy a new “Hot Pocket” for GBMINI#3, rather than recycling the old one from #2, and I (part-)installed it recently:

(I have not yet velcro’ed the sides into place)

Disappointingly, the quality is nowhere near as good as the original one – you can see the lining of the Hot Pocket is quite loose in the new one (on the original, there are no untidy wrinkles).
So maybe I will clean up the old one and re-use that; but you can’t really see the wrinkles once it is installed, so perhaps it is OK anyway.

A little naughty of TVA to still show the original well made product on their website, but sell an inferior one (and not at a lower price, either!)

I dropped by MINI Peabody and met Charlie, collecting his brand new convertible (in perfect colors) – doesn’t he look like the perfect happy MINI owner?!

Scott told me that the parts for GBMINI#3 factory alarm arrived, so I thought “great, a quick install so let’s do it” …

Things went less-than-smoothly with the alarm install, due in large part to the “S” painting; Sublime Restorations had had to remove the headliner to do the work, and when they refitted it, the wiring harness to the alarm sensor in the roof got “lost”.
The alarm is supposed to be easy to install – remove the roof piece and connect the sensor to the wire. It is not supposed to take the best part of an hour and partial headliner removal to find that wire!

Anyway, much kudos to Todd who persevered and never swore, and finally got all the parts installed … only to find that the system would not work when it was configured!
I am still not sure why the factory alarm did not initially work; maybe you have to switch the car off and on again after configuring, or maybe (as Bob said) there is some key/ignition trick that can disable the alarm and we did it accidentally … Whatever the reason, the alarm was not working initially, then it started working, then it stopped again, then it started again.

It is nice to have the extra comfort of the alarm again, and I like the “chirp” … “chirp chirp” audio feedback of locking & unlocking the car.
I don’t think the $400 cost is excessive either (note that the alarm pricing has been re-structured so that you now buy the base system for $195 then a separate switch with LED indicator for $100 – because the switch type depends what MINI and specifications you have).

By chance my low-washer-fluid light was flashing today too, so I got an “old” right (wipers) stalk and confirmed the red light indicates low-washer-fluid (ie: it is the same wiring, just a different color light).
So I had that installed too – because I really don’t like the yellow light spoiling the interior red/black looks 😉