Strange in 2 ways!

Well firstly it was the headlight switch on a 67 morris. Made in china stamped on the back of switch to show quality....

was driving home last night and bam...... Someone turned on the dark.. Lights just vanished.. Switch/toggle thingo was basically flapping in the breeze... No location to "click"

Well today pulled it all apart and geeeee... The thing has that much movement it a shock ever reliably worked, and of all the things to fail its the actual toggle that has basically had the cheap metal worn away on the pivot roll pin!

Well off to buy another tomorrow! And breath!

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New from the UK and wanting a NICE little British car!

It's not only Mini parts. The six month old Chinese gearshift linkage in my VW broke this morning. Instant no gears!

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

British switches fail too. The headlight switch in my Moke was really unreliable, so pulled it apart, cleaned all the dead grease and corrosion out of it and re-assembled it - as good as ever.

I'm not going to be very happy if I have to do it again in another 35 years!

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

When the 1970 vintage headlight switch in my car got recalcitrant a year or 2 ago, I sprayed some RP7 in from the front and gave it a jiggle. Ir's been fine since.

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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.

What? These things actually break down? I don't think my 1969 vintage switches are going to go bust anytime in the next 40 years

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Part of the problem (for some ) is they fit uprated headlights and the switch was never designed to carry this sort of current.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

ditto.
I learnt the hard way in my swift. Put in an LED interior light and it cooked the courtesy light switches in the door for my troubles.

now I'm chasing an earth leak through the body, as the festoon glows dimly even with the doors closed and ignition off, draining the battery unbeknownst to me! melted insulation I bet.

I would have thought LED uses less current?

I thought that too. However the led assembly is considerably brighter than the festoon.

Either way I cooked the wiring somehow

Depends on how many LED's there were and what wattage they all added up to.


Dicko.

Just had this conversation with Dave Perkins the other day. My concern lies with things like ball joints, bearings and pivot pins etc. Its one thing if a switch goes its another if a ball joint lets go whilst leaning on it through a corner. I have been trying to collect new old stock items for just this concern. I dont know if my concern is unfounded but at least the old stuff has been tried and tested.
G.

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1970 Cooper S ex-Bathurst & ATCC
1964 Austin Cooper S ex-Group C race car
1967 Morris Cooper S ex-Group B
1962 Mini Speed sports sedan
1968-71 ex-Peter Manton Shell car

the new chinese ball joints have been snapping for ages

just ask Stew Mcquilken or Nathan Wilson & a few others have had major accidents because a ball joint pin snapped in the middle of a corner

& then there`s all the ones we see on customers cars that are already cracked half way through when we go to adjust them

just down-right deadly & it`s only a matter of time for someone to actually get killed because of it

i only have a few genuine old-skool ball joints left in stock & they`re mine,,, all mine ,,, Mmwaahhhaaaahhhaaaa

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Are there any good ball joints available new ? Might be a good manufacturing opitunity for someone to make good ones

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Lindsay Palmer
06 Mazda SP23
80 Alfa GTV (weekend toy)
86 626 Turbo (daily drive, now stolen)
71 cooper s replica
69 cooper replica
76 clubman
62 english 850
68 Mini Auto

Might be a good time for our Oz Mini parts suppliers to reveal where their balljoints are made...

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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.