No restrictor washers in mine. I run front shocks & comp hydro rear bumpstops. No `riding the sea' feel in this one.

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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.

Agreed but I'm not advocating Drag Race stance...just not dead level.

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"Show me the Mini!"

Spark plug gaskets/washers are ideal

They do come up occasionally, I was lucky to score a new pair from Italy via EBay. I have also measured and profiled them. This information can be found on my Blog at http://www.jamesobartlett.com/?cat=92.

I have put them on my car, but since there was only ~5% difference in tension between the old and new, it made very little difference to the ride height at the rear. I have some washers to put under the front knuckles, and brand new suspension arms to put on. The current arms were 'fixed' by a Mini repairer since the knuckles had worn into the metal cup, but unfortunately, the car leaned even further forward than before. I'll get around to doing the front end hopefully in the next month or so, as I'm busy modifying the EFI setup at the moment.

Jim

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'68 Morris Mini 1310 A+ (Now Sold!)

I'm with the Doc and his ideal stance which is 2 fingers front and 3 fingers rear (tyre to guard gap), so that seems to fit with your comments as well.

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"Investing my Super in a Cooper" &
"Re-living my Surfing Past in a Woody"

A racer once informed me to pump up the hydro system till the front was the height I wanted it and then shorten the rear displacer rod. Did exactly this and it worked a treat.

The Doc showed me his two fingers once

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"Show me the Mini!"

My hydro setup has new knuckles front and rear + shocks at the front.
When you pump the hydro up, it does not retain a similar gap between the front and rear wheels.
At the rear wheels you can fit your fist in between the wheel and the guard, at the front there is 5mm between the wheel and the guard. The front guard will scrub on medium bumps. The car when driving alone or with a front passenger, is like being at sea and the steering feels a tad loose. If you have two people in the back seat, the suspension height is good between the front and rear guards - 2 to 3 fingers. It also does not feel like your at sea near as much and the steering is firmer. The rear helper springs are original to the car and are orange coded. Will new or shorter helper springs fix this problem?

The hydrolastic suspension on any BMC car was not meant to be the same "trim" height front to rear ( i.e. the height from the top of the tyre to the under side of the guard). They were always lower at the front.
Minis and other Hydrolastic cars were always nose-down (helped with their exceptional handling).

The workshop practice for pumping up hydro cars was to equalise the FRONT ride height (trim height).
The rear ride height (trim height) was set by the pressure in the system used to set the front height ( the rear height just ended up where it ended).
If you want something else then change the length of the rear struts.

Are there different length struts or do you have to modify them?
Will shorter/firmer helper springs make the ride firmer not the sea effect?

You might find if you pump it up a bit more the front might start to come up a bit more and improve the difference. I have found as you pump up the back comes up first then the front. 5mm at front sounds far to low. It would surely be sitting on the bump stops.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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

When I pump it up more, the front holds for a day or so, then drops. You can lift the front up by hand an inch or two then push it back down. With or without more pressure. The back is very spongy and bounces crazy by hand.

Sounds like the pressure is finding a way to leak back through the non-return valves...(maybe)

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"Show me the Mini!"

If the suspension is too low it will ride over bumps like a Yo-Yo - insignificant wheel movement to ride over bumps, even small ones.
You need wheel movement to move fluid around inside the hydro bags to compress the rubber spring part and give some shock absorber effect inside the bag.
Plus if its set too low the driver goes up and down as well and tends to force the seat into the floor pan and damage the floor.
I have seen quite a few Minis with damaged floors because the suspension is set too low, not due to ground clearance but the driver and seat being pounded against the floor pan.

For a Cooper S the front ride height is specified as 12 5/16" measured vertically from the axle centre to the underside of the front guard.
For the Mini K, Mini Deluxe and Clubman it is 13 1/4".
Both at 275 +/- 10 PSI.

RonR

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

If the suspension hasn't been used for a long time, the displacers might need time to settle.
Do both sides drop about the same amount or is it just on 1 side?
If one of the displacers or a joint is leaking slightly the fluid evaporates very quickly and is not easy to see traces of it left behind.
If one of the front displacers is leaking where the hose enters the displacer, fluid will spill into the hollow top part of the displacer and won't be seen on the ground.
Normally, the suspension pressure is about 285 (+/-10) psi (if you have a gauge). With a spacer in the front strut, that should be about 3 fingers between the tyre top and under the wheel arch at front. The rear will be 4 (+) fingers.
All this should be done with the car out of gear and handbrake off. Then rock the car side to side by pushing on the gutter and remeasure clearances. The car should rock side to side about 1-1/2 times. Cooper displacers are harder to push side to side and move slightly less (stiffer).

If you need the rear end to come down, the rear struts need to be shortened slightly. Don't cut up your original struts unless you have spares. They can be made up by a machine shop very easily.