Hi Guys, I am restoring a 1978 1275 LS and am not sure whether to fit new rubber cones or put springs in. I would like to stay as close as possible to original but it would cost less to do springs and last longer.

What do you think i should do?

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1978 Leyland Mini 1275 LS
Hi Ho Silver and hopefully away

What ever works best for you and your intended use for the car, its a mini not a Rolls Royce and unless you are going for Con courses restoration add mod touches if it improves the car reliability safety or performance. I know there are plenty who are hung up on originality, and hey if that is thing all power to you but me I drive my cars and if I can make it faster safer more reliable then why not

Rubber.

Lots of people will tell you springs are better, others will say new cones are better. I've never tried springs. I swapped out my old front cones for some second hand rear cones. Decent second hand cones can still be fine, and with the new shocks and hilos it's a nice smooth ride (for a mini, anyway). The second hand cones cost me $30.

Remember, the original cones have lasted this long - some minis are still getting around on 40+ year old cones. Good cones do last - just don't go for the $30 no-name ones. Get good new dunlop rubber cones, or go for good condition old ones.

I'm doing a resto now and swapped the front to rear and side to side. The front had sagged pretty badly as they do in a 38 year old car. Hopefully when it goes back together the car will sit slightly lower and level. I've never tried springs but I say stick to rubber.

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TOO MANY MINIS AND NOT ENOUGH TIME

Many years ago I had Japanese Delta springs. The thing I didn't like about them was that they didn't feel progressive like rubber and because they don't have as much natural damping as rubber I had to wind the shock absorbers up to the point of being pretty unpleasant and a little unpredictable to drive (and I really like driving go-karts).

I could have tried harder to make them work and I've since read that adding a front and rear ARB improves them a lot but then you've got to ask if you really want to spend a whole lot more money to 'improve' something that isn't broken... And I really like minis on rubber cones - just feels right - MS red dot ones are so much better than pancaked 40 year old cones too.

Let's not reinvent the wheel all these years later.
Do as Sir Alec intended!

Cheers

There are good rubber cones and there are bad ones.
Both Karcraft and Minikingdomonline sell good ones. Other shops here do too. Around $90 - $100 ea.
Avoid the cheapies, you do get what you pay for.
[edit]
I'd fit Hi-Los too. Again, there are good and bad. The ones Karcraft and `TheMiniMan' sell are CNC machined from alloy billet, here in Oz. Not cheap imported sand cast rubbish.

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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.

Thanks guys. I decided to go with rubber.

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1978 Leyland Mini 1275 LS
Hi Ho Silver and hopefully away

Good choice.
If you want a smoother ride then check out the Minisport Smootha-Ride kit.
My car feels smoother than a hydro mini.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S