Can you convert a rubber cone suspension to hydrolastic? I've got a 74 clubby and was wondering if it's possible to change over to hydro and how difficult it would be? Just read up on it and it sounds bloody good.

Good news is yes, can be done.. but it's a lot harder than converting wet to dry..

Bad news is you need both front and rear wet subframes with all their bits, also the connecting pipes.

I did one years ago- dismantled a wrecked Clubman GT and stuck everything into an unsuspecting `75 Clubbie..

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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.

If you are interested I have nearly finished converting a Mini K from Hydro to Dry. I have all the bits and pieces you would require, including MkII Cooper S displacer units.

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Master of the obvious - Prophet of the past

Why on earth would you go to dry from wet????

I was just wondering for the future, not planing on doing it in the short term.

Long story.. it's how my MiniMatic became S powered..

My mate had a `75 clubbie. Worn out..
A chick at work had a Clubbie GT, (they were basically a Clubbie Cooper 1275S) which got sandwiched F/R in traffic. She got the insurance and the car- then sold the car to my mate for $850...
So... we pulled everything out of the dead 998 Clubbie and stuck all the GT stuff in- 1310S motor, 45 Dellorto, LCB, gearbox, oil cooler, 7.5 discs, twin tanks, subframes, hydro pipes... the works.
6 months later, it blew a head gasket and he had the shits with it (he's a Ford man)- so I bought it all for $1,500.. fixed it and drove it for a bit.

I had a MiniMatic at the time- so a year later I parked them next to each other, let the fluid out of both, swapped the S front subbie and everything on it, with the `Matic one.

Then I flogged the Clubbie for $2,000 with 998 automatic in it and a set of 998 Cooper discs on it

<edit> re dry to wet, I LIKE wet. I don't think the 2 dry Minis at Wakefield PK handled any better than mine the other day, and I think hydros ride nicer when set up properly. And you don't worry about rubber cones going hard, difficult height adjustment (unless U fit hi-los), etc etc.
Wanna lower it? Let some fluid out..

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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 I agree. My Mini is hydro and I like it. I have driven dry cone and yes some are better. But ride height seems to be an issue - the 850 I drove was very high and it is the same (or worse) than my car - but it has 3.5" rims.
When my car was much lower (front on bump stops) it handled really well, but was uncontrollable in the wet. I raised it for that reason, and in doing so accidently caused a drought in Canberra

I'm planning on fitting some front shocks to mine, that makes it handle much better.

And yup, lowering is so easy! I did it in the carpark at college once, much to the interest to all watching!

Anto

Anto,
If you want to make it turn in better than a dry one does, fit a comp hydro bumpstop kit to the rear only. $72 at Karcraft..
Has similar handling effects to a rear antiroll bar, but without the hassle. Andi it stops fore/aft pitching under acceleration.

I shaved about 4mm off my front bumpstops, that helps too.

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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.

Are they the progressive ones? I've heard they make a hydro handle much better, but I can't think why - surely bump stops would only make a difference at max suspension travel?

My car has a slight tendancy to oversteer at the moment and a rear anti-roll bar was on my wishlist (after front shocks).

What about front bump stops? I think I'm missing some - are there two different bump stops on the front? I've got the big noticable ones, that go on top of the suspension arm where the shock would bolt to, but I've heard there is meant to be another one tucked under the suspension arm, is this correct?

Anto.

Yes they are progressive, they are totally different design to what's there now. More like a hollow rubber spring..
The car actually sits on them when unladen.. and the more load it gets when cornering or loaded, the higher the spring rate.

<edit> here's a pic etc http://www.minispares.com/web/SUBTYPE/S ... entory.cfm

The standard front bumpstops are the cone ones on the top arm. You can get the progressive ones (same rubbers as the rears above, on different brackets) but the car sits way too high then (good for rallying only..)

There are also rebound rubbers under the top arms. Hard to see for the grease etc, but they are there- held in by a philips head screw.

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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.

My 1970 Mini K has had its wet suspension converted to totally independent. This was done by removing the interconnecting pipes and getting another pair of pressurising valve units and blanking them and the original ones off. A set of 4 shocks were fitted. The rear ones were attached to a long High Tensile 3/8" bolt which was fitted through the 3/8" clearance hole drilled through the backing plate. The nut was fitted on the outside of the trailing arm. The front hoses were fixed to the inner guards inside the engine bay. I am fortunate in that I have an original BMC hydrolastic pump. This means that one can fiddle around with pressures and suspension heights.to ones satisfaction. The overall result is quite satisfactory in my opinion.

i have 4 wheel indo hydrolastic.

its the maddest ever. now i have fitted 13x7 rims. and set up the camber toe in toe out. they car handles like a dream. lot of people told me that the 13s would not handle. but with the independent hydro suspension and with a little set up its the best.

iv hit corners at 130kph and its just gripped round no problems.

also at hi speeds its just awesome, its so stable its more stable then my mates BMW at hi speeds.

when you drive normal and slow though its the nicest ride. its like driving on a bed of water.

4 wheel indo hydro all the way

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Twincam GTi Powerd mini

dry - one bump on a wheel and you can hear it, its sudden and the whole car seems to shudder as the shock goes through it. more vibration throughout the car

wet - imagine the car on a water bed. one bump will be quieter, the whole car seems to absorb the shock, less vibration, smoother

dry - more peace of mind - no leaks u have to worry about, independant problems if one goes,

wet - mine's 35 years old, slight rust on the pipes, takes up 2% of my worry when i drive. one section goes, then the whole thing goes. havent heard of anyone having a problem with their hydro

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Inconspicuously Conspicuous
Appreciation without Depreciation
forever chasing clearer skies...

How do you set up the independent hydro?

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Due to lack of interest, tomorrow has been cancelled....