Racing Green 89 Mini

[MiniDave]

Hey Mark, welcome to the site!

I have mixed feelings at this point......my last car had cones that were like rocks, so I replaced them with coil springs (not coilovers - but coil springs that replaced only the donuts) and hiLos. I was pretty happy with those, it rode much better but then I was replacing rock hard rubbers.

On this car I tried coilovers (ProTech), which are coil springs that fit over the shocks and completely replace the cones and trumpets. So far I have mixed feelings about them......I decided to put some more miles on them before making a pronouncement.

They ride pretty well, but if I hit a bump with a sharp edge it's really harsh. That could be down to the tie rod bushings I used, going back to some stock ones might cure that. I also might need to soften off the shocks too.

A friend has a different brand of coilovers on his car (Gaz) and I think they ride better than mine but I don't know how many miles he has on them - mine are brandy new but his look to be several years old. However his have one issue - the shocks rattle like crazy! Driving him to distraction, so he's going back to cones. He is not a high performance driver so a smooth ride is more important to him....he bought MiniSports "SmoothaRide kit, which comes with new more compliant rubber cones, new shocks and HiLos...... that coupled with a fully adjustable suspension should give him the ride he's looking for and get rid of the rattle.

I won't be installing those for him till I get back from our Texas run, but my thoughts at this point are that if I make a change I'll probably go with stock rubber cones. I drove another car with those a few days ago and I was really impressed with the quality of the ride. The stock rubbers are rising rate, so they have a lot of compliance under normal driving but stiffen up as they get compressed. Those and a set of adjustable shocks might be just the ticket......

Lets see what other people on the forum think of their setups......

[BruceK]

Hi Mark, good to see you posting here! 

This is where I went for my Mini's alignment:   http://www.cobbtuning.com/location/plano/     

They spent about 90 minutes getting everything just right and I seem to remember I paid about $150 for the alignment.  Cheap, considering my car was so badly out of alignment I would have worn through 2 tires if I had not gotten it done. 

I believe the guy I worked with there was called Neil who was a British expat delighted to have a classic Mini in the shop.

[MiniDave]

Mark, which coil springs do you have, Red, Blue or Black?

I'm told the red ones are too stiff, the blue ones too soft and I had the black ones on my previous car, which were supposed to mimic stock rubber springs.

[John Gervais]

"Lets see what other people on the forum think of their setups......"

My front cones are the C-STR687 and am using stock genuine rear cones and KYB gas-a-just dampers all 'round.  This is by far the much more comfortable than I thought it would be, even with the 12" wheels, rear anti-roll bar and the other stuff I've got underneath. 

Did I mention how comfortable the ride is?  It firms up nicely if pressed, otherwise it's quite compliant.


Welcome aboard to the new guy -  19.gif

[gr8kornholio]

Thanks Bruce, I'll write that down.

Mine are the red ones, and yea I'd researched them before and found they are the stiffest.  Think I've seen the springs for sale somewhere, but it was like 350 for a set of them.  No idea what shocks are on my car, they are just plain black. 

These are the spax coilovers minispares has, the shocks look to be adjustable, but I'll have to ask to find out for sure.
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Coil%20over%20kits/RSX520.aspx?1911&ReturnUrl=/shop/classic/Suspension/Coil~over~kits.aspx|Back%20to%20shop

I'm running the stock 10" wheels and I'm planning to upgrade to the 7.5" discs.  Looks like between minispares and minisport I can get all the pieces at a reasonable price.

Thanks again for the info. 

[MiniDave]

If you go on TheMiniForum (UK) they deride all coilover kits, claiming that the shock mounts aren't designed to carry the loads of the springs and that the coils springs don't have the rising rate capability of the original cones - there is something to be said for what they say in that the section of the subframe where the cone (and your current red springs) sit is designed to carry spring loads and so on.....

However, there are a huge number of Minis on both sides of the pond running coilovers (including my car), so.......

When you pull your existing shock mounts off you may get a surprise in the form of a huge rust hole under the shock mount! This is very common and fairly easy to fix in a body shop, or if you have welding and sheet metal fabrication capabilities in your shop.

I hope yours don't rattle like my friend's do........the ones I bought don't so there's that but mine are a different brand.

And yes, those shocks are adjustable for stiffness, only on compression tho. I would try them on full soft till you get some miles on them, extremely easy to adjust, just turn the knob and count the clicks!

If you haven't already, you should consider going ahead and putting in the fully adjustable lower control arms and tie bars, that way you can dial in the suspension exactly as you want it......like Bruce did with his car.

[gr8kornholio]

Yea, found the springs on mini mania for 379, um no, so I'll keep looking for a better price.

Concern on the coilovers is changing where the spring works in the suspension.  How the forces act on the body work as compared to where the cones go in the subframe.

[MiniDave]

Exactly.....

I bought my black springs from Huddrsfield, but they came with the HiLos, I think they were about $400 delivered.......don't remember for sure.

[gr8kornholio]

http://www.minispares-online.co.uk/std-coil-spring-conversion-kit-for-classic-mini/

Found these, a lot better priced.  Looks like I can just buy the springs or the whole kit.  Not sure the quality of the HI/LO adjusters I have.

It warned me to read the new post before I posted.  Lol. 

[MiniDave]

I found the black coils on sale at Huddersfield for £99...about $120 in our money.

http://www.minispares-online.co.uk/std-coil-spring-conversion-kit-for-classic-mini/

Ha! You beat me to it!

[gr8kornholio]

 :D  Did it again. Don't particularly like this statement on minispares.  Google search found their springs.

"These are not recommended for road use and suspension should be suitably set up as these springs can move in "situ" especially when the car is lowered and driven over rough road."

[gr8kornholio]

Did you like the black coil spring conversion?  If I can get a set of springs for that maybe I'll just change out the springs and get some good shocks, since I don't know what are on mine.  Bet if I dug through all the receipts I got with the car I can probably find them. 

[gr8kornholio]

Score, found the suspension receipt.  I feel sorry for these 2 that built this car.  The suspension was actually done by the guy in Rhode Island.  1000 for parts then spent 550 to install.  OUCH!  Hopefully 7 ent. still has these part numbers since this is from late 2004.

[MiniDave]

Those are probably standard shocks, which are fine for most driving, I think the only time you need high performance shocks is if you're going to track or autocross the car.

Hey Mark, why not start a thread on your car and the mods you plan to do?

BTW, Beavis and Butthead fan?

[gr8kornholio]

Yep, those are standard shocks.  The part numbers still work.  Here is the conversion kit he purchased http://www.7ent.com/products/coil-spring-conversion-w-adjustable-struts-for017.html.  But he didn't buy the recommended taller stop, which one thing that started my concern with this set up.  When I jack the front of the car, the suspension droops and the hi/lo and spring flop to the side.  Looks like he also bought upper shock mounts, they seem to just be reinforcement. 

Yea, was favorite show when I was in high school.  Outgrew the Simpsons.  Ok, I started a thread for my car, is there a way to move my part of this discussion to that thread since I seem to have hijacked this one a bit?

If not, notice to anyone who gets to this point we moved this to the My 65 Australian MKI thread.

[MiniDave]

Well, you can just copy/paste your comments if you want, but I think folks will find it OK.

[gr8kornholio]

Back to the regular scheduled programming.   77.gif

[MiniDave]

A little more work today on the RG car in anticipation of our Texas trip in March, I heard a little crunch when I'd let off the throttle so I assumed it was due for some engine steady bushes......as always with these later model cars there's enough stuff in the way that nothing is an easy bolt on-off operation.....but I digress.

I got the engine side undone easily enough, and when I went to the back end I found the bolt and consequently the ground cable attached to it were finger loose. I went ahead and removed the bolt, but in order to get the steady bar out I had to also remove the breather assembly off the bell housing - the back bolt on that was hidden by an unused bracket that was part of the slave cylinder bracket. Crikeys!

Anyway, I persevered and used some of the new style one piece bushes and it all went together fine. while I had the breather off I ran solvent thru it in my parts washer tank but it seemed pretty clean inside.....nice to know.

Not much else left to do, can't decide if I want to drop that heater to fix the flap before the trip or not.....I probably will.

Next time I take it off the rack I'll park it behind the blue Clubby and see how much of a drop I need to level out the towbar.

In the meantime I'll build a stand to hold the trailer lights in the rear window for towing, and that will all be ready to go at last.

EDIT: Can't decide if this is too much upward angle or not.

[94touring]

Looks great  4.gif

[Willie_B]

That should be ok, just watch for any drive way transitions that may be steeply angled up.

[BruceK]

By the way - 21A1307 Spacer between seal and inner bearing 0.229" inches thick isn't needed.  My AKM2 6th Edition manual says it was deleted from production cars and no longer required.

Just did the front wheel bearings on my car this past weekend (thanks for helping me Mark) and the spacer was there on the driver's side, but not on the passenger's.  I can understand why Austin/Rover quit fitting it (likely for cost reasons) and I understand that if you don't push the grease seal too far it is technically not needed, but personally I'd rather have one fitted.   Does anyone have a used one they no longer want?


Separately, I now have a pair of used nylon shields that mate to the inner grease seal - John I believe you want these right?

[John Gervais]

Yes please -

[gr8kornholio]

You're welcome Bruce, was a great learning experience.  You know, like removing the nut before trying to separate the ball joint.   77.gif

[jeff10049]

A little more work today on the RG car in anticipation of our Texas trip in March, I heard a little crunch when I'd let off the throttle so I assumed it was due for some engine steady bushes......as always with these later model cars there's enough stuff in the way that nothing is an easy bolt on-off operation.....but I digress.

I got the engine side undone easily enough, and when I went to the back end I found the bolt and consequently the ground cable attached to it were finger loose. I went ahead and removed the bolt, but in order to get the steady bar out I had to also remove the breather assembly off the bell housing - the back bolt on that was hidden by an unused bracket that was part of the slave cylinder bracket. Crikeys!

Anyway, I persevered and used some of the new style one piece bushes and it all went together fine. while I had the breather off I ran solvent thru it in my parts washer tank but it seemed pretty clean inside.....nice to know.

Not much else left to do, can't decide if I want to drop that heater to fix the flap before the trip or not.....I probably will.

Next time I take it off the rack I'll park it behind the blue Clubby and see how much of a drop I need to level out the towbar.

In the meantime I'll build a stand to hold the trailer lights in the rear window for towing, and that will all be ready to go at last.

EDIT: Can't decide if this is too much upward angle or not.

Not too bad the more level the better but that looks OK 3" difference is about the max you want.

[MiniDave]

I had the RG on the alignment rack again Sunday and I think I finally got it right.....the back end was really out - as in toed out - on the right, and toed in on the left.

Plus the front end somehow only had 1.5* of caster on the left.

So, got all the numbers where they belong and now the car drives SO much better.

It's really nice having access to a modern alignment machine - now if I would only learn to use it right!  ::)