Hi,

I've been thinking about how most Minis have tyres that are outside the steel body wheel arches, including many factory models, of course most also have additional wheel arches.
On reflection it seems unusual for a factory car to be like this, and just recently I've wondered about the implications of this, if any

Do any factory standard Minis scrub on the wheel arch lips when bottomed out?
Does an original drum brake, narrow wheeled Mini have enough suspension travel for the tyre to actually go into the wheel well?

no, the biggest wheels were on late Rovers that had 13x6 wheels also had the front of their mudguards trimmed away and travel limiters on the steering rack



no, it won't go up into the wheel well, the bump stop doesn't allow it

_________________
did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I thought that must be the case, because I can't remember ever hitting the lips in Susanna, even with her somewhat collapsed cones

Gotta wonder what the wells were originally put there for, mud clearance?

Cheers

The tyres on my S hit the metal band under the flares when I hit really big bumps. Only just as there are tyre marks, but I can never feel any issue when driving the car. My S is hydro.

_________________
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

You can put dampers for dry cars and helper springs for hydro cars in the front and rear respectively.

They could have put some sort of liner in there, like a modern car, but the construction of the mini would make this an extra step. It was an economy car after all. IMO I think liners on the wheel wells go a long way to preventing rust.

Bottoming does happen, have seen many cars over the years with a crease just above rear arch.

_________________
Why is it the things that make me tick, are also the things that make me go boom?