Lone Star Mini Restoration

[Lone Star Mini]

Just so you know, the pivot shaft should not look like that.

I'm new to all this...  what exactly is the pivot shaft and how is it suppose to look?

[BruceK]

Just so you know, the pivot shaft should not look like that.

That is, as the British say, well and truely knackered.

[Lone Star Mini]

Ok, I managed to get only one cone and trumpet out..  with no help from the Sykes Pickavant tool..  Once I had the lower arm out of the car, I then proceeded to pry the trumpet loose.  Took a good bit of force, but I finally got it.  When I inspected the trumpet for the threads, I couldn't find any.  I wanted to check to see if I selected the correct metric (vs imperial) threaded rod for the cone/trumpet yet I could not find any threads anywhere on the cone or trumpet??  A tad confused with that one.  All I got from the trumpet was a mound of sand...  scratching my head over that one.  Any help to clear my confusion would be appreciated....

[BruceK]

The pivot shaft should be clean and bright with no visible wear marks – having lived a wonderful life bathed in refreshing grease.   Your's looks like nobody ever greased it and water got in and ruined it.  You will need new needle bearings too in the upper arm.

[Lone Star Mini]

This shows both cone and trumpet.. where are the threads for the Sykes Pickavant tool suppose to be?

[BruceK]

 There are no threads in either end of the trumpet - it's  just a simple piece of metal.  But there should definitely be a captive nut welded to the center of the rubber cone. Looks like yours rusted out – I had the same problem with a rusty Canadian Mini. 

I have no idea what the threaded rod was catching on.     

Maybe you'll be lucky and the other side of the car will be in better shape

[Lone Star Mini]

The pivot shaft should be clean and bright with no visible wear marks – having lived a wonderful life bathed in refreshing grease.   Your's looks like nobody ever greased it and water got in and ruined it.  You will need new needle bearings too in the upper arm.

Most appreciated for the input.  Please forgive me, but I'm learning names of components and their function.  What exactly is the pivot shaft and where are the needle bearings?  I will look at this upper arm and look for some sort of bearings.  Could the 'pivot shaft' actually be the upside down cone with large ball on the bottom?

[Lone Star Mini]

Ah.. ok, I think I've figured out what you gents are referring to. The pivot shaft is the large double sided threaded shaft that goes in the upper arm. There was a nut on either side of the arm holding it in place.  I get it (I think).

[BruceK]

 The pivot shaft is the horizontal rod that holds the upper suspension arm in the subframe.  It rides on needle bearings within the upper arm which has rubber seals on both ends to keep grease in and water and road debris out.     There is a grease nipple in the upper arm and that requires periodic greasing to maintain lubrication of that shaft.

Edit.  Yup you got it.

[BruceK]

  Could the 'pivot shaft' actually be the upside down cone with large ball on the bottom?

No, that ball thing is the knuckle joint that sits between the trumpet and the socket in the upper arm.  The ball actually sits in a nylon cup which then sits in the upper arm and there is a rubber boot around that to keep stuff out.

[Lone Star Mini]

The pivot shaft is the horizontal rod that holds the upper suspension arm in the subframe.  It rides on needle bearings within the upper arm which has rubber seals on both ends to keep grease in and water and road debris out.     There is a grease nipple in the upper arm and that requires periodic greasing to maintain lubrication of that shaft.

Edit.  Yup you got it.

Thanks Bruce..  I learn things as I go I suppose..  The other cone/trumpet assembly is wobbling about now and will be harder to pry apart.  I may have to cut that one out.

[BruceK]

The pivot shaft is the horizontal rod that holds the upper suspension arm in the subframe.  It rides on needle bearings within the upper arm which has rubber seals on both ends to keep grease in and water and road debris out.     There is a grease nipple in the upper arm and that requires periodic greasing to maintain lubrication of that shaft.

Edit.  Yup you got it.

Thanks Bruce..  I learn things as I go I suppose..  The other cone/trumpet assembly is wobbling about now and will be harder to pry apart.  I may have to cut that one out.

Whatever you need to do to remove it will be easier if you drop the subframe from the body first - you'll have better access.

[MiniDave]

If you got the upper arm out you don't need the cone compressor tool, just pry the cone out of the subframe.....

You use the cone tool to pull the cone up - compressing it - so you can get the upper control arm into place and slide the shaft into it.

You need two of these kits from MiniSpares.....along with new cones and new trumpets if those are corroded badly about the part that inserts into the cone.

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/Hydro/MSK001.aspx?190202&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/top arm.aspx|Back to search

You also need 2 of these (or 4 if you're doing the rear too)

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Rear/Dry/GSV1118MS.aspx?190701&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/knuckle.aspx|Back to search

And new cones, 2 front and 2 rear

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Rear/Dry/FAM3968.aspx?190701&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/rubber cones.aspx|Back to search

[BruceK]

Yeah, what Dave said!   ;D

You will probably want to get a set of Hi-Lo's too to replace the trumpets. 


http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Hilos_etc/C-STR644.aspx?1913&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/hi=lo.aspx|Back to search

[MiniDave]

It also wouldn't hurt to get some adjustable lower control arms and tie bars, along with the hi-los, these are the ones I prefer....

They're from MIniSport, rather than MiniSpares.....

https://usa.minisport.com/spdsp431a-heavy-duty-adjustable-mini-bottom-suspension-arms.html

Tie Bars - I prefer MiniSpares Tie Bars...

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/21A1091.aspx?1902&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/tie rods.aspx|Back to search

High Lows....Mini Spares, again.

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Hilos_etc/C-STR644.aspx?1913&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/hi lo.aspx|Back to search

Chances are you'll need to refurbish the rear suspension arms too, here's the rebuild kit but you'll want to send them off to Dan to have them done. You have to ream one of the bushings and he has the special reamer needed to do the job...you can't buy it, he made his.

You'll need 2 of these

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Rear/Hydro/GSV1125.aspx?190702&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/radius arm repair kits.aspx|Back to search

[Lone Star Mini]

Thanks Dave/Bruce.  I pulled up one of the MiniSpares IPCs showing the break-down.  The suspension knuckle appeared to be with a standard trumpet, but I'm assuming it is needed for either trumpet or hi-low setup.    I will add all of these items to my purchase list, thank you.  I hope MiniSpares offers a bulk discount for large purchases - especially for shipping.  At this point, all I can do is take notes because I don't know what I want.  My mini seems to be missing all the little bump stops too so I guess I'll need those too.  My other mini has a different setup (I think) other than hi-lows or trumpets.  I think it has some sort of spring setup.  I'll look at it tomorrow. 

I was going to take Dave's initial advice for removing the sub-frame first, before trying to remove the cones.  Then I figured that the Sykes tool would be useless if I did because it used the engine bay framework to support the tool.  In the end, the tool was useless.  I will definitely focus on removing the frame now and then the other cone.  Now I have to go figure out where all the bolts are for the frame and whether or not I need to remove the steering rack first.   

Gents, I seriously appreciate your input, thank you!

[MiniDave]

You need the cone compressor tool to put it back together.....

[MPlayle]

Also, what has gone unnoticed about the pictures of your trumpet and cone: the cone has separated.  What appears to be a dome on the big end of the trumpet is actually supposed to be bonded into the bottom of the rubber cone.  It is also where the captive nut is supposed to be (visible when on the bottom of the cone).

You will still need to try to break that dome off the trumpet.

I use a 3/8" steel rod inserted from the knuckle joint end at a slight angle to catch against the captive nut and whack the rod hard with a hammer to knock the cone off the trumpet.  The same rod is used to knock the knuckle joint out first.  I set the trumpet in the center of a couple of wheels stacked to support it when knocking the knuckle joint out.  (Usually I stack the steel spare as the top tire.)

Where yours has separated, I would set it back onto the other part of the cone to support it when trying to knock the dome from the trumpet.

[94touring]

Yeah you have to press out, press in, and ream the rear arms.  I have a tool for the job if you end up needing them done. 

[BruceK]

Michael makes a good point. But the alternative to separating the cone and trumpet is to just trash them and buy new stuff. 

[Lone Star Mini]

Yeah you have to press out, press in, and ream the rear arms.  I have a tool for the job if you end up needing them done.

Thanks '94...'  I seem to stay confused, but will get there.  I believe the pictures you have shown are from the rear (?).  These don't look like my fronts at all.  Forgive me, but I'm trying to figure out exactly what you are referring to.

[Lone Star Mini]

Also, what has gone unnoticed about the pictures of your trumpet and cone: the cone has separated.  What appears to be a dome on the big end of the trumpet is actually supposed to be bonded into the bottom of the rubber cone.  It is also where the captive nut is supposed to be (visible when on the bottom of the cone).

You will still need to try to break that dome off the trumpet.

I use a 3/8" steel rod inserted from the knuckle joint end at a slight angle to catch against the captive nut and whack the rod hard with a hammer to knock the cone off the trumpet.  The same rod is used to knock the knuckle joint out first.  I set the trumpet in the center of a couple of wheels stacked to support it when knocking the knuckle joint out.  (Usually I stack the steel spare as the top tire.)

Where yours has separated, I would set it back onto the other part of the cone to support it when trying to knock the dome from the trumpet.

When I get the new setup, I will compare new against old so that I can learn exactly what you gents are telling me (cone being separated).  Thanks for the tip MPlayle!!   

[94touring]

Yeah you have to press out, press in, and ream the rear arms.  I have a tool for the job if you end up needing them done.

Thanks '94...'  I seem to stay confused, but will get there.  I believe the pictures you have shown are from the rear (?).  These don't look like my fronts at all.  Forgive me, but I'm trying to figure out exactly what you are referring to.

Yeah rear arms. Dave had mentioned in a post above about my ream tool for the rear.

[MiniDave]

I agree with Bruce, throw the old stuff away and just put new bits in there - cone, hi-lo instead of trumpet and new knuckle on each side.

Don't worry about being confused, once you have it all apart and on the ground it will start to make sense. Take LOTS of pics before and after you disassemble something, it will really help you months from now when you go to put it all back together....ask me how I know!

A set of those Mini Fin drums for the rear like in Dan's pic of the rear radius arms is a good idea too, and not expensive - about $75 the pair last I checked.

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Brakes/Rear/MINIFINS.aspx?0406&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/brake drums.aspx|Back to search

When it comes to front brakes, MiniSport make a nice rebuild kit for the stock calipers that has new stainless steel pistons in it as I'm sure yours will be corroded and/or rusted - or they have a great 4 piston caliper kit for not much money. A lot depends on what wheels you want to run - if you stay with the standard 12 inch wheels you can run the "big" 8.4 inch brakes, but with the 4 piston caliper kit you can run 10 inch wheels on 7.5" rotors if that's the look you're after. Either will stop the car just fine unless you're going to be on the track with it......if you're planning to do track days you'll want the big uns.

As you're doing a full restoration you'll also need new rubber seals for the doors and windows, I like Phoenix trim, their stuff seems to fit better and their prices are good......keep this link for when you're ready to order.

http://phoenixtrim.co.uk/classic-mini-shop-67-c.asp

[gr8kornholio]

Agree, the more you dig into the car the more it makes sense.  I am/was the same way.  Enjoying all the posting on this as I'm ramping up for a tear down of mine to get it painted.  Been collecting parts over the last year.  Have a feeling this thread will come in super handy.