It took some finding but as they say we got there in the end and we are more than happy with how this stunning R55 Cluby has turned out.
We have always wanted a shop van to fetch and carry our smaller parts, it’s been great having the R56, R58 & F56 Hatch and coupes as the demo vehicles to showcase the wider flares but now we have the platform with the Clubman or should we say Clubvan to not only show them off but also to livery up where you go to get the wider goodies.
Well the first job we did after finding our black 2011 Cooper D was to lower on a set of H&R springs and then fully de-chrome and tint the windows, this was all done by Smifys & 1st choice tints and as per usual they absolutely smashed it, Smify also gloss blacked the side windows with vinyl to convert from ClubMan to ClubVan, we can now sit the livery exactly where it needs to be and it looks exactly how we had envisioned, 1st Choice Tints then applied the window tints with a double layer of 5% added to the rear windows to add to the Van look and they really pulled it off.
Next up were a set of our wider flares which were a little trickier to fit at the rear, but we do like a challenge, you just need time with a bit of patience as these are for the R56 as the fixing points are a little different, but as per usual we nailed it and it was time to look at wheel options and what we would fit on this build and as with all 4 stud vehicles that require wider wheels, it always throws up a headache especially when you want an old school look, as our tried and tested 2Forged wheel design just wouldn’t cut it on this build.
We had almost decided that 3 piece was the only option when we stumbled across the Japan Racing Wheels 5 spoke JR6 listed as a 9x17 & 10x17 4 stud wheel, with custom offsets available it was a no brainer, they are fitted with 245/40R17 front and 255/40R17 rear Nankang tyres and the rears still need help with a 12mm hub centric spacer, but they look absolutely amazing fitted.
The last piece to this build was to add our JCW Challenge front bumper, fitted with our Cooper D front grill this gives a totally different look to the usual JCW front end, all that’s left to do is add the livery.
All the parts off this R55 are available and if you fancy building an identical Clubby, get in touch with us to discuss further.
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