is it worth taking the subframe out when restoring a mini? i'm not sure whether to bother or not
cheers nathan

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1969 mini k

depends on what your talking about. what kind of resto are you doing? ground up? yes. if your doing a quick resto then no. are your frames in good nick? is the metal work surrounding them ok? etc etc

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

yeah its pretty much a ground up resto, but its not to a show cond it's just for my first car when i get me liscense. the frame seem to be fairly good but im not the best to judge that and i dont think there is much rust around the frames.

thanks nathan

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1969 mini k

I would take the back one out, even if only to remove, grease and replace the 4 front bolts. These tend to rust in... so be careful with removal.

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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.

take them out easier to replace things and you can make them pretty at the same time

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busier than a 0ne legged man in a butt kicking competion

I'm facing this die lemma right now....the thing is.... a lot of Minis have had a minimum or very little maintenance over the years. When you tear down the suspension you usually find a whole bunch of stuff that needs to be fixed....it ain't that hard because Minis are only little (right?? only ten feet long!!).

Hydro makes it a little harder....but I recommend you drop the subframes if you feel up to it. In my case, the rear one was hiding chronic rust

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"Show me the Mini!"

do it once and properly.

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

Yeah I agree with above.

I first off didn't, wanted to keep my car rolling, but in the end the front came out to put discs and a motor on, and the rear had to have all the bolts replaced, all new suspension, brakes (although I only knew that one brake cylinder on the rear was dead after failing the brake test at my roadworthy) so basically save yourself some alter mucking around, take 'em out replace brake parts (drum parts are pretty cheap) reaplce or regrease bearings, check, rubber boot and cup on suspnsion 'knuckle' check rubber donut, just things like that, much easier off the car and you can repaint them nicely!

I made the mistake of not taking the rear out and it backfired on me as it all needed replacing anyways.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

Thats the best bit of advice for a resto... Dont take any shortcuts, do it once, do it right.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

friggen hate it when people say that

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any parts for a 76 clubby pm me or ring 0405 329 326

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44717

or just find a couple of subframes and do them up when there finished put them in

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busier than a 0ne legged man in a butt kicking competion

And hope they fit.
Sometimes the front frame can be a pain if the car has been hit. I know that my 'S' is a bit crooked in the right front and the dry frame that I stuck in was a pain to get lined up.

i agree... do it once... do it right.... the second time around....

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2nd time lucky....

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

Hah yep, like the paint on my car 2nd time lucky....

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T