MadMMX

Ok, Just curious as to why you would part with the 320d - you must have put in a lotta work and tlc into that one ? Cheers, MadMMX

Hi MadMax, Noticed that you had adv'ed both your babies in todays paper - result of permits or migration ? Cheers, MadMMX.

Actually the 65- 320d got a trade-in of ~4m and essentially the 318i was about 5m. The main difference from what I gather between the 2000 318i and the 2002~ 318i is a newer larger engine. The older one used a M43/44 engine which turned out about 117hp and was 1895CC. The post 2002 had a N42 engine which turns out 143hp and is 1995CC and has a system called valvetronic. (Similar I guess to VTEC). Have spoken to friends and Mi**** and they reckon that the new 318i is more fuel efficient than the older one which was quite thirsty. Other than that the interior is pretty much identical with the exception that the stereo connection plug has changed so I can't use my older after market stereo adapter - so no pioneer mp3 player yet till I get a new connector. Overall the ride is extremly smooth and the engine is extra quiet - a far cry from the 320d which was more noisy, but the pickup when you floor the pedal is fantastic - it goes like a rocket. Cheers, MadMMX.

Hi Guys, Just to add my two cents worth - having recently moved from a 320d to a facelift 2002 318i, the 320d has no comparision when it comes to economy but the pickup on the 318i which is incidently a 2 litre is fantastic. Overall the 318i will give you about 8 km/l in heavy Colombo traffic so long as you don't keep your foot on the pedal. Cheers, MadMMX.

Hey W, You are not ex trit.. are you. Cheers, Dv.

Hi MadMax, Certainly is a nice one. Good paint job. As a fellow owner of the same combo - the mini is certainly not thirsty even with the ac but the 320d is definitely more economical. Cheers and enjoy your mini. Dv.

Hi Guys, Just to add my two cents. Unlike most of the jap cars around, it is not dangerous to butt a mini provided, a) If it is done right with the side valances made of single piece metal because the mini doesn't have a single chassis but rather is made up of two sub frames. So there are no major structural weaknesses I had an older mini and despite putting in the three meter dash / interior / disk brakes / new 1000 engine felt the lack of an ac pretty heavily. The fix was to put on a jap mini front onto the old car. The restore was done by a friend (who had restored classic cars before) and took a whole year to complete, but it was done with a fair amount of attention to detail. The end result was pretty satisfying and the overall cost didn't break the bank. Currently am running on the mini auto box (with the manual in storage) and I must say it isn't all that bad. Its a weird british autobox that like the manual minis shares the engine oil to run (no seperate atf required). It has no p and its a 4 speed auto box with selectable 1,2,3 & D. The pickup is decent and is ideal to zing around colombo with minimum effort. For those of you who are interested in this kind of thing there are a few photos of the restore posted at Mini Restore Cheers, Dv.

Actually got to know about it only on that morning. A friend mentioned that is had been listed in the previous weeks newspaper. Pity it didn't get all that much publicity cause it was good fun. Cheers, Dv.

Hi Guys, Just posting a few pics of the mini meet held in Battaramulla over last weekend. Mini Meet July 2006 Cheers, Dv.

Hi Guys, For those interested in the mini meet here are a few pics. It was good fun that day. Apparently over 65 + minis had registered for the event. Mini Meet July 2006 Cheers, Dv.

Hi Don, Actually mini panels are not difficult to fabricate. Just finished a restore on my mini - new front end a/c ++ and the remaining bits of panel (to replace the old corroded ones) were not difficult to fabricate at all. And very little cataloy was used in the whole process. You will require quite a bit of time and patience but believe me mini's are not expensive to maintain in comparision to the cars of today. What is important is putting in disk brakes (you will generally need 12" alloys to go with them as there are very few 10" disk sets around) as the general problem with most of the older drum brake minis is the front washes failing about once a year. The 998 engine seems to be more than adequate for colombo - even with the a/c. There are a few 1275 efi's around but I guess not so many spares to be had so if you blow a computer or sensor you may be screwed. On the whole its a good car to zip around the traffic of Colombo but beware of the rain as sometime the car stalls when the delco gets damp. Hope this helps. Cheers, Dv.

HI VWvortex, Thanks for the info. MadMax -> Milroy is in Kelaniya right ? First heard that he was somewhere in Kotahena. The car is green colour paid about 3.4 for it. Cheers, Dv. Actually - not Druvi from Sri Lankan - though I have met him and he's a friend of a close pal of mine.

HI MadMax, Its a 65-8XXX series. Got the car quite recently. Would like to have an intro to Milroy cause I don't want to dish out the $$$ to Prestige. Cheers, Druvi.

Hi MadMax, Just got my hands on a pre facelift 320d as well. Cool car. Would really appreciate it if you could give me the contact to Milroy's. Heard that its in Kotahena but don't know much more than that. A phone number would be much appreciated. Cheers, Dv.