Morris 1100,

Thanks for posting that Moke test mule. From the looks of it, the main controls look like they were trying to settle on the connecting line diameter between the front and rear bags. There may have been a bleed control in there as well. I would imagine that the bags on that car are serviceable, not crimped like the production cars. It would be cool to see that car disassembled...

Matt,

Thanks mate, its a bit more than "somewhat", its workin nice. This is only the second mini I've ever been in, the last one was my mates 67' Austin Cooper S in California... I was so stoked to go for a ride that I can't even remember how it rode, just that I wanted one too.

Cheers, d

The new owner of the Moulton Moke is a member of the UK Moke forum.

http://www.mokeclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=5267&p=28733#p28733

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

Don, are you still playing with displacers?
I have some questions.

me too!!

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66 MK 1 Cooper S
64 Grp N Cooper S
64 Grp N Cooper S (ex Bob Asher)
64 GRP N Cooper S (ex Fred Burley)

Big thanks to Don for his research and suggestions. I need to replace a bag on my car so followed Dons suggestions and made up a funnel to clean out a spare for replacement.

I bought a bunch of 5/8 UNF bolts and drilled them out as suggested. I used a piece of 2in PVC pipe and an end cap. I simply put the drilled bolt thru the end cap and used a nut to hold it in place, rubber washer forms a seal. Worked a treat and washed out 3 bags. I have extra nuts that will be countersunk on the end to use as caps once I fill the bags with hydro fluid for storage.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Re Winabbey post.
When we pumped up the suspension on Cooper S, the trim height was 12 1/4" with max pressure @ 275psi and Mini Deluxe & K's had a trim height if 13 1/4". I worked at a BMC Dealership.
Doc is certainly a valuable contributor to this site.
Cheers, Alan

Hello everyone!

Sorry I have been a ghost lately, plugging away with all that life throws at us. My main choice of transportation blew itself up ironically just as I finished rebuilding the mini... So the mini was put too the full test of being a daily commuter, 35km each way, for almost 4 months now. All I can say is I don't like traffic in a constantly overheating A-series engine doing under 20km/h. Anything above 40 is awesome. However, me LOVE the hydrolastic long time! Maybe it helps that my car had been sitting deflated for the last 30 years, so my rubber springs and rear tension springs weren't over worked. Regardless, I had made some repairs to even my bags (new stainless ferrules crimped to the flex line), and even running a non Cooper S bag in the left rear. I love peoples reaction before a speed bump... granted your in a small car and the bump looks like Everest, but once you guild over it, its all laughs and amazement... except for my wife, she reminds me to be nice to my toys. And she's right.

I haven't had a lot of time to work on further bag dissections/repairs, but its on the list of things to do.

Any-who, please ask away, I will try to check up on the site a bit more.... and please don't hesitate to send me a private message or email to jar me out of hiding. [email protected].

Cheers, Don

Do you re-identify the units after you restore them? How would one know what unit they have after it has been restored?

Don, are you set up to swage new ferrules to displacers for other peoples displacers?

I got one repaired the other day and I am looking for a better alternative for the future.

Nice work phillb, your cleaning tube is a great example of simplicity and function.

willy, if the bags don't have too much rust and/or paint over the side stamping, the numbers should be readable with date and 21A_ _ _ _. Thats the only way I know of, that is until I figure out a tool to open them up without damaging the seals to re-crimp... I can't recall where I grabbed the below pic from, but it was somewhere out there on the inter-web machine.


Image Copyright by: Someone awesome!!! (thank you for putting it online)

Morris 1100; Yes and no, I have had success re-crimping the bags with a stainless ferrule... Provided as long as its' only one side of the line. There is just enough old line to cut above the old crimp and re-crimp with enough length to reach the connections. Not sure if the line would reach if I had to re-crimp both sides. I have not had time to purchase and test a flex line and ferrule combo to replace the old flex lines, but there are several manufacturers out there with sizes that would work. No manufacturer I've found makes a herringbone look line that will perform at the pressures needed. That would probably be a custom make, requiring a minimum order of meters in the hundreds, if not thousand. Anything is capable, with my skills and someones' $$$!

Example of a stainless crimp:


Cheers, Don

Anyone designed or made a tool to crimp the hose onto the barb like the factory did?

Yes, I have. It made the crimp of the above photo, and it has the capability to reach down into the bags and crimp as the factory did. One of my rear bags I repaired on the bag side and has been doing the job now for close to 1000 miles.

Don and others FYI. These blue bags are from a 1966 Coopers. My later 67/68 Coopers S had silver banding.

Yes thats correct.

Reading through some old Technical Bulletins they had car owners complaining that the original bags "squeaked". It seems BMC experimented with different mixtures of hydro fluid to try and reduce the squeaking but eventually in 1968 they began to fit a new type of bag with a "dimpled" valve to eliminate the squeaking noise.

The new quieter Deluxe bags (from Car No. 30544 and Matic Car No: 512) were marked green and the new Cooper S bags were marked silver (from Car No: 3716) replacing the old blue bags.

...and who says they didn't care.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Ya I've restarted a dead post but a very good one. Out of interest how many units would neeed to be made for it to be economical? If they were all repro Cooper s bag then lots would sell I reckon.

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67 Deluxe under going full resto