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. I also sanitized and replaced the air cabin filter

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 87,186

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

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

Historical maintenance from previous owner:

11/9/2023 - 67K miles

- windshield washer pump

- Air cabin filter

3/25/2024 - 68K miles

- Engine oil

- Transmission Oil

- Diff fluid

- Coolant

- Brake fluid

- Power Steering fluid

- Vbelts replaced

- Transmission connectors replaced

8/27/2025 - 72.6K miles

- Breather hoses replaced

- Iridium plugs - NGK5344

- Plug wires replaced

- Valve cover gasket replaced

- Crank position sensor replaced

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.

Coolant Sensor Fix and New Battery

For a while now at cold start I'd get a temporary "Failure Detected" message on the Cayman with the coolant temp gauge showing no value. Once the car warmed up, this would go away. After some research I found that this is a symptom of the coolant temp sensor going bad. Given that the car is now 19 years old, I suppose that's not completely unexpected. 

New coolant temp sensor, o-ring and reitaining clip

I ordered a new OEM sensor along with a new o-ring and retainer clip, dropped the car off with Lee at Hybrid Motors and he made quick work of replacing it and topping off the coolant. Unfortunately on my way home after picking it up, I got a nice bullseye from a rock and cracked my windshield. I used a Permatex repair kit to prevent further spreading for now but I will probably get the windshield replaced once I find a place I can trust to replace it with OEM glass. 

Cracked glass

Attempting a temporary repair using a Permatex repair kit

My Antigravity lightweight battery is also approaching 7 years old and while it's still fine, I don't want to run the risk of a battery failure when I'm out somewhere due to age so I pre-emptively bought a new 40Ah version to replace it.

New Antigravity Battery

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 56,258

- New Antigravity 40Ah battery

- New coolant temp sensor, o-ring and retainer clip