Hey guys!

I am huge into the car modding community. My past vehicles include a 420whp 2006 Toyota Camry. The motor is the same as the TC, so I just adapted a turbonetics kit from the TC and fitted it onto my camry. Just required a small shave to the manifold but it fit like a glove!

Also had a fully prepped SC400, etc etc.

So story short, I sold my supercharged Miata last week...

2001 Miata - Album on Imgur

It was supercharged with full suspension etc... But alas, as I am getting old, I needed to get into a bigger vehicle. My brother just bought the Camaro of his dreams. Thus, he handed over his completely stock Jaguar S-Type R (2003) w/ 60K miles to me.

The vehicle currently does not have the "lurch." But who knows lol. Transmission flush has been done 3 times at 45 miles as per manual. Whole car has been refreshed along w/ the transmission being serviced at 45K miles also. Basically, I ended up with a mint STR at a steal of a price.

I immediately did some research and realized that Mina Gallery was the perfect place for me to to get my modifications. I called Chris and he offered me a great package.

1) Intake
2) Intake Elbow (to be released and shipped in roughly 3 weeks)
3) Supercharger Pulley (which Chris measured to be close to 2lb)
4) Exhaust

I went down to his shop earlier yesterday and got everything done sans intake elbow. My review is listed below:

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Chris at Mina Gallery is one of the most standup guys I've ever met in the car industry. Extremely cordial, respectful, and helpful. He answered any questions I had and went out of his way to accommodate me as I will list below.

1) Offered me a package deal on the parts I've ordered
2) Prompt communication
3) Coolant reservoir had the infamous crack. He warned me ahead of time, found the problem, and had it fixed and replaced at a great price.
4) Wouldn't let me leave Mina Gallery until he fully tested my car. This meant that my car had to be brought back for the coolant reservoir. But unlike other shops who would let me drive off, he pretty much forced me to come back and fix it at a STEAL of a price.
5) Getting the exhaust done, the exhaust shop did not have the part I needed (2.25 X-pipe). Chris graciously drove over the X-pipe I needed from his shop over to the exhaust shop. Chris also offered me the X-pipe at his cost.

All in all, I am extremely happy with Mina Gallery. In the very short time I've owned this Jaguar (1 week), it has turned into an absolute monster. I'm running the Mina Gallery intake, exhaust, Magnaflow X-pipe and resonator delete, and 2lb pulley. This car pulls like a damn freight train compared to when it was stock 2 days ago lol.

Though I've only owned the car for a week, I know it was well maintained by my brother who is quite handy w/ vehicles. BTW, the transmission oil change is a PAIN w/ the infrared temp and dropping the whole pan...

I hope that this car will last me a good while. This vehicle is extremely nice and fast, and I hope to be an integral part of this forum community. I do have a lot to offer as my technical knowledge and skills go waaay back to my previous vehicles. I am well versed in terms of supercharger installs and maintenance, turbos, engine, transmission, etc.

I try to be as helpful as I can. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help you. You can bet I'll have questions of my own for you lol. I hope to get to know you all soon!

For now, here is only one pic of my vehicle getting the Mina Gallery exhaust done by Chris' recommended shop. Only reason why I had them do it is because I wanted it welded in rather than bolted. Plus I suck at welding =)

 

Welcome.

A bit of a beast growing there.

When time permits, please do your intro in the "New members area.........".

 

Time definitely permits. I'm new here but not to forums.. stupid me should've went straight to the new members area.. =/

 

Congrats on the new to you STR!

I have not met Chris in person, I have dealt with him and Mina Gallery over the years. As you mentioned stand up guy, stand up company! There are many, many posts I have stating such.

 

I'm very excited for the Mina Gallery intake that he's designing. I'll post up updates about the fit/finish of it. I didn't know Caldoofy still sold his intakes so I hopped on the Mina Gallery lol.

From what I've experienced from Chris and his customer service, I don't have a doubt that the product will be nothing short of amazing.

 

Welcome, 03 STR Black on Black here too. Bought new, 100% stock, low miles 15,000 +/-.