This may be of interest to the owners of early Minis (1961 and earlier). The elusive and [u]insanely /u] expensive metal master cylinder caps have been reproduced. The new caps look to be a very high quality reproduction of the originals (less the rust pitting and dents in the tops).



I've seen good secondhand ones sell for well over $100 on ebay, so these are a bit of a bargain at US $7.95! Available from
http://www.scarboroughfaire.4mg.com/, but you'll have to send them an email, they don't have an online shop (and their website hasn't been updated since 2003).

A quick check on ebay indicates that the bottom has fallen out of the market for the original ones.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

worth grabbing a couple just to keep for next time they're hens teeth!

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

hee hee

how good do they look,,, damn near perfect aren`t they???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Got mine today.

They are the ducks guts, nicely finished, not too shiney.

I'm happy I don't have to use the plastic ones now.

Ian

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1961 Morris 850 (being restored)
1965 Austin 1800 (daily driver)

They're not quite an exact replica but they're pretty bloody close, and they definitely are a lot better looking than plastic ones, for early Minis. Here are some pictures of a good original one beside a repro one.





Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

The cotter pin is crooked. in the repro model.

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1974 1150cc Leyland Mini S racer,
1975 No motor Leyland Mini "ute"
1991 IPRA Honda Integra (in the build)
1995 Land Rover Discovery 300Tdi

CAMS Scrutineer

Yeah, I know. And if you look closely the vent hole is higher up, the corners are squared off on the top and the slot is wider.

They're also somewhere between 1/10th and 1/20th of the price, so I'm prepared to relax my policy on not compromising on quality.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

My `61 850 had those caps (when I bought it in 1964), they were a rusty POS even back then.
It was a great leap forward when I fitted plastic caps instead. I never looked back, and neither did BMC...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

yeah but how good are those caps hey???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I think They Look Great, It is easy to find fault in anything if You try, if you have a look at every single part you put on Your Mini, I dare say faults even very minor ones could be found, HOWEVER, When You look at the car as a whole it is a different matter and the overall apperance is very Good.

A lot of us like our car to be original, and Some people just do not get this

You will get people telling You that the Plastic one is better and it does not rust, But it
does not stop the thread on the master cylinder from rusting, I have had master cylinders with plastic caps fitted and great force was needed to remove the cap
These Days the replacement Master cylinders are zinc plated back in 1961 the were tin plated tin plating does little to stop Rust ( After a while tin Plating and Zinc plating is hard to tell apart
If You car had Tin Caps and You want tin caps Buy These

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" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

Yep, that's my position. I admire any business or individual that takes the risk of getting parts reproduced. I think Scarborough Faire actually did the caps (along with the whole master cylinder) for MGAs, its just that owners of early minis get the benefits too.

When someone starts a restoration they need some kind of guiding philosophy. You could take the Doc's approach to its ultimate extreme and replace every slightly dodgy early part with the superior part that came out later, but you'd end up with a MINI. My approach with my Traveller is to aim for a car that is correct for the early sixties. I will be rectifying serious problems like the wet tail crank which leaks oil onto the clutch plate and the terrible brass cone synchro, but I'm doing it the way it would have been done in 1962 or '63, not the easy way.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian