Sorr to be rude but someone has simply not every mini Aussie built has hydro setup

If your mini has the two schroeder valves (same as tyre valves) under the rear bumper then it has , or at some stage had hydrolastic suspension . firstly , does it have a coiled spring in place of a shock absorber under the rear mudguard and no shock absorber at the front ? Shock absorbers can be fitted at the front to help the handling anyway but if there's no shock absorber at the front , a helper spring at the rear and a thick walled hose coming out the top of the subframe on either side in the engine bay then yes your mini has hydro . Mini's had both over the years and with your's being around the time they changed back from hydro to rubber cones it could be either but assuming you've got all the bit's I mentioned above then it's hydro . Check the springs to see if they still have tension and also consider getting the system pumped up again as they tend to lose pressure and sag with age . Don't try and stick a compressor onto the valves as all you'll do is let air into the system which will compress and not do any benefit , plus you'll be lucky to get enough pressure into it anyway with a normal compressor . Hydro works on the lines of two ballons filled with fluid joined by a bit of pipe , when you squeexe one ballon the fluid goes to the other one and inflates it further . The same with your car , when the front wheel hit's a bump and is forced up , the rear wheel is forced down to compensate and keep the car sort of level . As someone mentioned because the front is about twice as heavy as the rear the natural tendency is for the front to sit lower than the back , hence the helper springs to try and keep the back down . With hydro you can't fit hi-lo's to be able to adjust your suspension height easily but I'm sure others here will be able to tell you the tricks with it , I haven't done anything to a hydro mini for many years , except to say if you blow a line in the engine bay and it sprays in your eye's it hurts like all f**k .

_________________

I've just had a look at your car's pictures in the members gallery and can't see the hydro lines from the top of the subframe in the engine bay . Have a look at the front or rear subframes , the front will have either a straight rod coming vertical from inside the subframe tower to the top suspension arm if it's hydro , or an aluminium "trumpet" in the same place with a rubber ballish thing (cone) above it if it's rubber cone or "dry . The rear will have a horizontal rod visible in the cut out side of the subframe for hydro or a longer aluminium or steel trumpet (similar to the front but longer) if it's rubber cone or dry . If you can't follow my description just take some pic's and put them up here .

_________________