Here are some photos of my displacers as examples, these were very grotty and impossible to even make out the colours, but after a little work with a wire brush and a quick spray with WD40 and suddenly everything becomes clearer....







Can you see the the numbers stamped on the side?



A close up...



http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb2/ ... int_02.jpg

One way it seems you can identify unstamped/unmarked Cooper S/GT bags from standard Mini ones is to measure down to the rubber from the ledge of the displacer at the hose end. Cooper S/GT ones are around 5/8", Mini are around 7/8". This information came from another Ausmini member but I cannot recall who. I have used it quite a bit and it seems to be reliable but it doesn't establish variation in Cooper S/GT bags. Apart from early and late, there are race and rally versions as well as some used on the front only and some on the back only. I have made the assumption that bags measuring 5/8" and otherwise unstamped/ unmarked will be standard road Cooper S/ GT bags. Anything different is marked.

As a footnote, I have a hunch the extra stiffness on Cooper S/GT bags comes largely from thicker rubber in the walls of the bag, thus the different dimension.

Regards
Al

Those measurements are quite helpful, thanks. I have a heap of un-marked bags, which I'm 99% sure are just 'Mini' ones but this may guide me.

The Hydro Displacers actually have a diaphram / spring in them, item 2 in the drawing below;-



It is actually the thickness of that diaphram / (rubber) spring that determines the rate and the position of it that determines it's 'natural' ride hight, which of course can be varied with the amount of fluid that is pumped in and / or any spacer washers fitted. There is a limit as to how much fluid can be used for raising the ride height, hence why they have a maximum pressure limit.

So while hydro 'floats on fluid' it is actually sprung on rubber (Hmmm....that sounds familar?)

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Yes, that is the part of the bag I am saying is thicker than regular Mini bags. As a car rides down the road, this part moves up and down (back and forth at the rear) quite a lot, including the hose.

It would be nice to sacrifice both a Cooper S/GT and a regular Mini bag sometime to study the differences but I have never found a Cooper S bag I was willing to cut up.

Al

It was me that gave the dimensions from the top rim to the rubber, but I can't recall what the S ones were now. The only 2 I have are in the front of my car...
The difference is quite obvious when you see them side by side.
This is on Oz cars, UK bags may differ. I think Morris 1100 said in another thread that this was so.

I always thought Dunlop Australia made hydro bags here... before they closed the factory down [edit] at Birkenhead Point (now called).

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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.

Following advert posted for no other reason that I have it and thought it might be of interest.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Hi Kev,
Once again, thankyou for the useful clue and the dimension you gave is as I have said. About 5/8" down for an S/GT one and 7/8" for a regular Mini. I have found UK bags to measure the same as Aussie ones but UK ones are always stamped. What I don't know is if there were Aussie built race and rally bags. I've never seen any and it may be the volume wasn't high enough to bother making them. If they were needed, UK ones were sourced.

Al

In the post referred to above, Morrie1100 refers to the bags having 'made in Australia' embossed inthe rubber. On reflection, I think I have seen this too!

So please ignore my previous post where I assumed they were all UK made!

It's amazing how much was done to increase the Australian content!

More to the point, what happened to the tooling, does Dunlop manufacturing still exist in Aus?

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Sir Alec! we are not worthy!

There is a guy on the ad16 forum who has been researching for a couple of years the manufacturing process for these canisters. He was looking for a way to make them rebuildable. He was in communication with Moulton himself. In his research he found the tooling in England had been destroyed (for scrap metal?)
So there could be an opportunity if the Australian tooling has survived!

Aussie made ones were definately clearly marked on the rubber on the hose end. It would be an extreme stroke of luck if the Australian tooling has survived and if anyone around today could recognise it.

Al

Seems as though there may have been OZ made bags???
The GT bag numbers mentioned have the AYG prefix which, in some other cases, the "Y" means an Australian designed or??? manufactured part.
Does this mean some of the later, 5/72 build date in my case, GT bags were Australian made?

RonR

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68 build Mk1 Cooper S
72 Clubman GT project. Total restoration required

The original fitted ones would have been.

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I'm not so sure about the depth of the bags indicating the type, at least in such a focussed form anyway.

I've got a box full of old bags, and it seems that they can have the differing depths but not be exclusively Deluxe/Mini K or S/GT in origin.

I would back it up with some examples, but I am not at home to drag them out to compare numbers...I think I had it in a previous post somewhere however...


This refers to the problem at hand however..
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic ... r&start=15

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Mick, you are right. I had a look as some of mine this morning. The measured distance has SFA with picking between Mini and S bag. This set distance has to do with ride height / bag stiffness.

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