I shoudn't have sniggered at the wing on the one in the previous pic... MINI karma was swift. Coming off the motorway ten minutes later I suddenly realised my MINI was producing a massive smokescreen on the overrun. It was running fine and there were no warning lights, so I got it to the other side of the busy junction I was negotiating before stopping for a look. Everything seemed fine and so I drove it home, with smoke (albeit less) still evident on the overrun.

I'd just had one of the exhaust backboxes replaced the day before and after Googling and reading a few things on forums, decided to take it on a long run to see what it did. Over 50 miles it produced smoke on a couple more occasions earlier in the journey, always on the overrun, but far less than the first time. By the time I'd returned home there was nothing. I've now covered around 150 miles in it since and it seems fine.

So what was wrong? My mechanic suggested that its probably down to the backbox on the other side which they noticed was breaking up inside a bit. It seems a sensible theory that they could have disturbed it enough while fitting the new one that it could have caused some of the more fragile bits to break away. There are forum posts on the internet about new backboxes causing smoke when protective coatings or exhaust paste burn off on initial use too. So I guess it could be one or a combination of these factors which caused a smoky MINI. Hopefully I'll not see anymore - it had me worried for a bit there!

Backglass detail for the Out Of Sight pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1974)

Backglass for the Punk pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1982)

Backbox and topper for Monopoly pinball machine. (Stern, 2001)

Close up of the backglass of a Dynamite pinball machine.

Backbox and topper for The Beatles pinball machine.

Close up of the backglass of the Volley pinball machine.

Backglass for the Twin Bill pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1955)

Backbox for the Fun House pinball machine. (Williams, 1990)

Backbox art for the Aladdin's Castle pinball machine. (Bally, 1975)

Backglass for the Dolly Parton pinball machine. (Bally, 1979)

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Not a crop that I imagine everyone will like, but I wanted to show off how clean this car is, & to make the incredibly shiny backbox a focus point.

Pinball machine backbox art for Disco. (Stern, 1977)

Backbox and topper for The Rolling Stones pinball machine.

Backbox for the Playboy pinball machine. (Bally, 1978)

Close up of the backglass of the Gayety pinball machine. (Bally, 1955)

Backglass for the Pioneer pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1976)

Backbox for the Space Hunt pinball machine. (Hexa, 2023)

Backbox for the Aerosmith Premium pinball machine. (Stern, 2017)

Backbox art for the Argosy pinball machine. (Williams, 1977)

Pinball machine backbox art for Strato Flite. (Williams, 1974)

Backbox for JackBot pinball machine. (Williams, 1995)

Judge Dredd pinball backglass.

Close up of the backglass of the Gigi pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1963)

As the tailpipe just behind the backbox was completely rusted through, we decided to treat the beast to a full new hand-built stainless steel exhaust system, from the Turbo back, by the guys at www.rebelpowerpipes.co.uk

Beautiful piece of work from the guys.

Visit www.carproductstested.com if you love cars!

Backbox for the Twister pinball machine. (Sega, 1996)

Backbox for the Toy Story 4 pinball machine. (Jersey Jack, 2022)

Close up of the backglass of a Gemini pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1978)

Bought myself a TA Technix Stainless Steel catback for my Golf MK3 GTI 8v. Had to mod it a bit to get it to fit correctly. Too bad it wasn't a 100% straight fit.

Sounds good though :)

Info:

Camera: Nikon D300 / Nikkor 17-55mm

Close up of the backglass of the Moon Shot pinball machine. (Bally, 1963)

Backbox for the custom Castlevania pinball machine.

Backglass for the Round Up pinball machine. (Bally, 1971)

Closeup of backglass of El Dorado pinball machine. (Gottlieb, 1975)

Super Mario Bros pinball backglass

Pinball backglass - rollergames.

Backbox for the Clown pinball machine. (Inder, 1988)

NBA Fastbreak pinball backglass. Very low scoring machine this - 50 points is a good score!

Close up of the backglass of an Amigo pinball machine. (Bally, 1973)

Close up of the backglass of a Cosmos pinball machine.

Panthera pinball backbox. (Gottlieb, 1980)

Pinball machine backbox art for Mars Trek. (Sonic, 1977)

Bought myself a TA Technix Stainless Steel catback for my Golf MK3 GTI 8v. Had to mod it a bit to get it to fit correctly. Too bad it wasn't a 100% straight fit.

Sounds good though :)

Info:

Camera: Nikon D300 / Nikkor 17-55mm

Close up of the Wild Wheels pinball machine backglass. (Bally, 1966)

Flash Gordon pinball backbox. (Bally, 1980)

Pinball Champ backglass.

Close up of the backglass of a Hi Lo Ace pinball machine. (Bally, 1973)

Jackbot pinball backglass

Close up of the backglass of the Bali Hi pinball machine. (Bally, 1970)

Backbox for the Wizard Of Oz pinball machine. (Jersey Jack, 2013)