The later UK minis had weather strips on the rear bonnet lip as well as at the front somewhere to prevent the entry of water into the engine bay. has anyone used anything similar on Aussie minis (I currently have a rubber strip in the bonnet channel under the scuttle panel but its not very effective in heavy downpour.

Places like Clark Rubber have a huge selection of weather strips of all kinds - was wondering whether anyone has used any for the mini's bonnet?

you can use excess door rubber (the push on type) the same way you use it on the doors you can use it in your engine bay, i did it ages ago, not because of water issues but because the bonnet was making noises

*edit* actually got some stuff from clark rubber, very similar to the door stuff

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Wouldnt the door rubbers be too thick?

They came with a seal but most are missing long ago.
HYA3925 Bonnet drain channel rubber 1960 to 1971.
HYA4688 Bonnet seal, rear edge, Clubman 1971 onward.

The Clubman type is like a door seal that clips onto the channel but the seal lip points straight up, shaped like a "h"
The seal on my Cooper S is just a square rubber in the bottom of the channel and the bonnet sits down onto it.
I would go with the Clubman type.

One of the most effective things I have found to use on a Mini to keep water off the distributor when it is raining is ... Find any empty plastic 5 ltr oil bottle preferably Black. (Penrite oil ones are great) Cut the side out of it leaving an edge all round about 20 to 25 mm high. It will look a bit like a tray, punch a couple of small holes in it and zip tie it to the inside of the grill just in front of the Distributor it makes the best shield for rain and works a treat. Costs nothing either.

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Water onto dizzy is not a problem with the Pulsar dist. setup, now that I've replaced my leads. After puting the new leads on I was hosing the engine down (away from the carb) and it kept running perfectly. But that area at the back houses not only the carby's air filter and inlets but also my two fuse boxes etc.

BTW an oil resistant rubber glove will work even better at keeping water off the dist. than any bottle.