If you don’t know who is POP BANG COLOUR is, let me fill you in…

Ian Cook is a contemporary British artist renowned for creating artwork using radio-controlled cars, car tyres and toy car wheels #PaintwithCars. He also creates #ContinuousCar drawings with one continuous line, commissions, school workshops and team building events, paint events and pop bang car vinyl wraps.

Painting with cars is quite simple – paint is applied onto the canvas, and the cars and wheels are run through the paint. However, prior to any painting being created, there is a great deal of preparation in choosing the correct image/s, doing a few tweaks (flipped, removing backgrounds if requested etc.) or mocking up a completely new image; this is what the client requires.

He a little back story on him:

Graduated with a first-class degree in Fine Art Painting, Ian has a quirky edge and has always described his artwork as ‘a friendly explosion of colour’. His unique process of painting started for 3 main reasons;

1. Car and motorsports enthusiast

2. He has trained and always wanted to be an artist

3. For Christmas in 2006, he was bought a radio-controlled car and was told: “Don’t take it down the studio and don’t get paint on it!” and so he decided to do just that.

Since 2007, Ian has combined his passion for cars and art, creating various artworks and projects. Highlights include painting a portrait of Lewis Hamilton the size of a 3-storey building, breaking a Guinness World record and having artwork featured on Top Gear.

Ian and his fleet of paint-splattered cars can be found at popular motoring shows and events in the UK and internationally when not painting in the POPBANGCOLOUR studio.

Artworks are generally created to commission or appeal to the audience who are likely to be at the event, whether at BTCC, Goodwood, Silverstone, or elsewhere.

His big break started with the first artwork he created live in a shopping centre in Wolverhampton. This was covered by the local media and then picked up by the national media. This led to featuring at various motoring events when at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed, an employee from M&C Saatchi spotted Ian’s work…

He has worked with a lot of automotive brands, Car Events and appeared on BBC One.

His skill and work are distinctive, and you have definitely seen his work without even realising it!

If you want to check out more of his work, here are his details:

Website – Pop Bang Colour

Instagram – Pop Bang Colour

Facebook – Pop Bang Colour

Twitter – Pop Bang Colour

Here is my interview and live drawing with Ian Cook, aka Pop Bang Colour

Any comments and subscribes to my Youtube Channel would be much appreciated as I want to grow the channel to help other MINI owners out worldwide and bring the community together.

If you want your car drawn to drop him a message, he will get back to you on a time and date.

The cost was £75, which included the drawing being sent to you plus you’re supporting a British artist!

If you want to modify your MINI like mine – Here is my Ultimate R56 MINI Modding Bible – Click here for my guide

Hopefully, this guide will give you a stepping stone to find the perfect MINI, and I look forward to the MINI Adventures.

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit for repairs, upgrades or parts:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by my own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners worldwide, and this is not a sponsored post for full transparency.

If you got the modding bug, don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for all generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips seen on my MINI R56 JCW to support the blog & YouTube channel.

All your support over the years, and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always, it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post Automotive Art: Pop Bang Colour Draws My MINI R56 JCW appeared first on JCW Adventures.

I am going to start with the basics of any used car buying first then move on to specific things you look out for an R56 generation MINI.

Rules of Buying a Car:

• Never buy a car in the dark or when it’s raining.

This is a rule of thumb as the darkness or rain hides away imperfections that might not be easily seen in normal light such as paintwork, scuffs or poor repair work.

• Check the MOT History

This was harder before as you had to look at what the owner provided, but now it’s a simple matter of going on your phone or laptop to this link. It will bring up the car’s MOT history, and it’s a telltale sign of how it’s been looked after, i.e. was the owner a cheapskate or genuinely loved their pride and joy. – https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

• Walk away if the bonnet is warm or they have taken it around the block

Ideally, you want to see what the car sounds like from a cold start as any rattling, smoke or warning light will pop up then. A warm car will hide these faults as the engine etc. has reached their operating temperatures.

• HPI or Credit Check on the car

A basic point so don’t be caught out by accident car or if there is finance left on the car

• Check the fluids & Tyres

A simple sign of how the car has been looked after is all the fluids at the right level. Mismatch tyres are a bad sign of the ownership the car has been under as they couldn’t be bothered to get new tyres and care very little about safety.

• Check all the buttons work & features.

Checking everything is crucial as it will be a bill later down the line for you as you realise heated seats don’t work, or air con is broken. This will allow you some wiggle room when you negotiate a final price.

• Be reasonable when negotiating

Low balling someone will get you nowhere but never settle for the asking price at the same time be wary if the price is too good to be true. At the same time know when to walk away from a deal if you’re being pressured or anything.

• Check the panel gap

Look all around the car to see if the panels line up correctly if they don’t; it’s a sign of the car being in the accident. Same goes when you open the bonnet and check the boot to see if it had a front or rear impact.

• Warning Lights

Look for any warning light and bring an OBD Code reader to look for any store fault codes with the ECU.

• Leave the radio off

Sounds simple but level it off and listen to any weird noises with suspension, interior, engine etc

• Always test drive more than one

Yes, it easy to get your head wrapped up on one car but always drive more than one. Even though they came off the same production line but there is variation like one engine performing better than another one.

• Paint

Look at it see any issues with chip stones, lacquer peel or any repair jobs, which is a good sign to see how the car is looked after throughout it’s life.

• Money

Make sure you have the money or the finance arrange before looking to buy to save yourself the time and heartbreak. Never be forced to make a deal on that day or putting down a deposit. It’s always cheaper to borrow money off the back to finance a car than going with a dealer finance route unless it’s 0% finance. As a gold rule keep aside £1000 for any mishap or issues for the first 3 months of ownership just in case money.

• Servicing

Set some money aside for a full service, fluid change and filter changes as you will want to do this give it some TLC and give yourself a piece of mind

• Warranty

Always worth shout buying an old car to get some cover or check-up. I would go for MINI’s warranty as you can cover everything and you get a courtesy car, EU cover and support 24 hours 7 days a week.

• Arrive Earlier

A little cheeky trick I do to see what the car is like truly like so they cant prep it. So book the appointment at 11 am but arrive at 10:30 am which will help you dodge a bullet on a rubbish car.

With the basics out of the way, let’s get on what to look for on a 2nd Gen MINI with all its quirks and charm:

N14 Engine – It has its issues, but it always boils down to how the previous owners to look after with preventative and routine maintenance. Check the oil and filter was changed a minimum of every 10,000 miles or every year. I made a video on how to look after it, which is available on my Youtube Channel.

Timing chain – It’s meant to last 100,000 miles but will be needed to be done at around 50 to 80,000 depending again it’s usage and owner maintenance. Signs of it will need to be done is high tapping noise, and rattling sounds like a diesel engine on cold start-up, and lack of go from the offset with the noise disappearing as the engine warms up. It will cost around £700 to £1000 to get this sorted from an independent or dealership.

Carbon Build Up – A common issue on direct injection due to the way the fuel doesn’t go over the values to clean them. It will need decoking every two to three years to keep running right which set you back around £200 to 250

Idle or Full Throttle – Check for blue or white at idle or full throttle which will show either the turbo is on it’s way out or valve stem seals need to be done both are expensive jobs at £1,000 or £600

High-Pressure Fuel Pump – Common issue on MINI which is annoying as they seem to last between 50 to 60,000 miles before they fail so its £600 for an OEM one

Engine Cover Weep – Typical German car problem which happens overage as the rubber gasket perished so its £150 for this job or if it’s the whole cover then another £300. On N18 engine cover melting is a common issue at the corner near the turbo

Turbo Oil Feedline – This issue because the MINI engine runs so hot as it leads to oil feedline to leak or coke up so make sure it has the recall oil feedline heatshield or buy the aftermarket braided oil feedline at £80 and £180 fitting

Water Pump & Thermostat – On an engine that runs quite hot any way you would think they would give it a good cool system but that’s not the case as they regularly fail. The water pump is £35, and the thermostat is £75 which is a bit awkward to replace so another £200 there easy

Bushes – You buy a MINI for it’s handling so expect the bushes will need replacing unless the previous has replaced them to poly bushes ones. Bushes are cheap at £40, but it costs four times as much to replace on given the hours of work going into replacing them at £300

Clutch – As MINI are brought to driven so the typical check of seeing how high the biting point or any whine from the front from the dual mass flywheel

Water Ingress – This issues only happens mainly in the boot as the rubber seals lose their seal over time, so do check under the false floor of signs of water in there. Boot seal is around £60, which can do it yourself

Panoramic Roof – They weren’t the best, to begin with, no they fail or leak – FUN Times – Replace £3k or motor £250

Tyres – If it’s still on run-flats do yourself a favour and buy normal tyres and get some tyre sealer – You can thank me later

N18 or N14 Engine – N14 if you want to modify or N18 for a daily driver

Service – Replace the gearbox oil and fuel filter – Often overlooked as we are told they are lifetime (ignore it and just do it)

Cooper, Cooper S or JCW – Cooper for fun & economy, Cooper S – a bit meh & JCW is the one you want

Diesel Engines – They are relatively cheap to run, but DPF Filters and EGR Valves will become an issue like any diesel car

Manual or Auto – Get the manual – It’s a driver’s car, as the auto-box is mehhh and unresponsive

Clubman Barn Doors – Check for signs of rust between the doors as drain points in the doors can get clogged, so water sits causing rust between the seals and door edges

Convertible Roadster & Coupe – They suffer the same issues as everything is shared on the hatchback platform. The coupe boot struts can fail quickly, given how heavy the boot lid is – you will know when you open it for the first time

Countryman & Paceman – They suffer the same issues as everything is shared on this platform minus the chassis

Must-Have Options – HK Audio System, Xenons and Heated Seats

If you want to modify it – R56 MINI Modding Bible – Click here for my guide

Hopefully, this guide will give you a stepping stone to find the perfect MINI and look forward to the MINI Adventures.

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit for repairs, upgrades or parts:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners across the world, and this is not sponsored post for full transparency.

If you got the modding bug don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for all generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips as seen on my MINI R56 JCW to support the blog & YouTube channel.

All your support over the years and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post Modern Classic: The Ulitmate 2nd Gen R56 MINI Buyer’s Guide appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The idea of the challenge is to get MINI owners across the world to showcase their MINIs for the world to see. During these times, this will allow the MINI community to grow a strong bond, new friends made, and MINI owners aided.

Naturally, the photo challenge starts in May and will end at the end of the month and please make sure to use the hashtag #MINIMAY in all your photos. I will be looking through the hashtags and share the best picture I see that given day on my own Instagram – D4rkhorse

Hopefully, this will help fight the boredom with the lockdown and with that, I have started making videos on YouTube to help the MINI community that cherish and love deeply.

So from one MINI owner to another, please subscribe to the channel, so I grow it and help MINI owners all across the world.

The below video is the first of many videos to help MINI owners – I outline on how to maintain an N14/N18 engined MINI.

If you got the modding bug don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips as seen on my MINI R56 JCW.

All your support over the years has kept the blog going and made it what it is.

So thank you deeply straight from my heart for being a supporter of JCW Adventures.

As Always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Ali

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post Do It For The Gram: #MINIMAY Photo Challenge appeared first on JCW Adventures.