Bumper Plugs

It seems like at one point the car had front plates drill into the bumper directly. Now, I typically run front plates on my daily since I drive into NYC where they can get pretty strict about this stuff but I wanted something I can take off if I want. I decided to go with a front tow hook mounted license plate bracket but the car already had 4 holes in the bumper for the plate. 

existing holes

I don't want to fill and respray the bumper yet so I opted to just get a set of bumper plugs of the right color (Brilliant Silver). It requires expanding these holes to about 1/4" then putting the plugs in. I'll admit it's not that great but it looks at least a bit cleaner than 4 random holes.

Bumper plugs installed

Prepping the Mini for transfer

With the addition of the C55 AMG to the fleet as my new daily, I didn't want the Mini to just sit around go bad from not being driven but I also didn't want to sell it so my compromise decision is to let our nephew use it as his first car. Doing some final maintenance before handing it over and removing the JB4 tune so that the power would be more manageable for a teenager.

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 87,186

- 5L Liquimoly 0W-20
- New Mahle oil filter
- New oil drain copper washer
- New rubber oil drain gasket

C55 AMG - Mando

A few years ago I was looking for a C55 AMG as my daily but didn't find one that was well sorted. I restarted looking for a new daily recently and came across one on Bring-A-Trailer that looked very clean and well sorted. I'm a firm believer that if you're buying used, always buy the seller and after some questions, I felt very comfortable being aggressive with the bid and ended up winning it. 

C55 AMG "Mando" - 5/24/2026

I'd never bought a car off an online auction before and was pleasantly surprised how smooth this transaction was because the seller was super easy to deal with. I wired the funds shortly after the auction ended which cleared pretty much the next business day so he overnighted the title and bill of sale to me and I was able to quickly register it. I then few out to Chicago the following weekend with my wife and we took in on a fun 750 mile road trip back to NY. I'm calling the car Mando. 

I already have a bunch of parts that have arrived for it. I'm keeping it mostly stock, just doing a few important maintenance items and some slight improvements including CLK Xenon headlights, a Dynavin headunit so I don't have to get a phone mount and just navigate using Apple Car play and a Wavetrac diff. The car was super fantastic to drive. The V8 has lots of grunt and and sounds amazing and even as a 21 year old car, really drives fairly new. The motor mounts need replacing for sure. I've got a set from the CLK black series that will go in as well as a new transmission mount. 

We'll see what else needs replacing once it goes into the shop. 

Mileage: 77,534

Nasty air cabin filter

I'm usually really good about maintenance but since I don't put a ton of miles on the S2000, I figured the air cabin filter wouldn't be that dirty. Clearly I was wrong.

New cabin filter

Time flies so I think it must've been 5 years now since I last replaced it so noting it here so I don't forget in the future.

Maintenance Updates:

Mileage: 69,675

- New air cabin filter

Oil change for the 944

I realized it’s been a bit longer than usual since my last oil change on the 944. I had meant to do it last year while other work was being done but I must’ve forgotten so no better time than the present. 

Oil change time

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 99,055
- 6 quarts Valvoline 20W-50 VR1
- Porsche/Mahle OC142 oil filter

9ElevenHeadlights Raven Headlights

During the first iteration of the 911SC build, we installed LED headlights from Audette Collection with Bosch fluted lenses along with an H4 harness conversion. While aesthetically it looks great, to be frank, I found the lights to be dim and a bit scary to drive at night. I wanted to get something that was really well engineered and have been eyeing 9Eleven Headlights for some time now. 

9Elevent Headlights Raven headlights in Gunmetal

The headlights are an engineering work of art and while they are quite pricey, I'm more than happy to support small business who do things the right way. Installation was pretty straightforward since I already had LED lights before with the H4 conversion. The kit came with a harness that connects to the H4 socket and then their connector on the other side that goes to the headlight.

H4 adapter harness

I also got fresh headlight gaskets. Even though my old ones were still fine I figured it's cheap enough to put a fresh set in. I've never bought anything that actually included white gloves to ensure you don't mess up the lights during install. 

included white gloves

The lights look absolutely gorgeous installed and the brightness is spot on. I opted for black headlight rings and I think it gives a nice aggressive look.

Raven gunmetal headlights installed

Raven gunmetal headlights installed

Lights on

Audette Collection headlights (left) vs
9Eleven Raven Headlights (right)

J's Racing Intake

I ordered a J's Racing Intake from Japan late last year since I wanted a snorkeled carbon fiber intake like my PasswordJDM intake that takes up less space and doesn't block the radiator as much. With it raining all day, I figured it'd be a good time to install it. Installation could've been smoother. I had to use a Dremel to open up the snorkel tube hole to actually fit the air filter and it was a bit of a pain lining everything up and to clear my cooling plate but overall it's a nice piece and should function well.