Well, only worry if you break them! Even then I bet it's still cheaper to replace a bag or hose than it is to convert the whole system to dry...

If you are just going to go dry then you've just wasted 10 years of good fanging

Noone makes them anymore, however i can tell you that there are HEAPS of cars out there that have hydro so they are not as rare as say, Cooper S engines. Also bare in mind that there are 4 per car (although fronts are not the same as rears and S bags are different from K bags etc)

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Fair enough, there's no point in taking them off the car if they're not broken, but if you had the choice now of installing wet or dry suspension.....

I remember someone had a new stock of them, I wonder if they were NOS or re-made.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I don't think i would go to the trouble of converting wet to dry (especially for my first Mini.)

I really wanted to know the comparison between the two handling and maintenance wise.
You've all answered my Q's.

Now it's just a matter of going for the round nose or the clubman.
Problem is i like both!

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Santo

"The Lone Ranger"
HI-HO Silver......AWAAAAAY!

maybe stickying a bit of this might be good because I searched it and saw it had come up many times

The hydro bag has an internal shock built in but after all this time the valves have turned to crud. This is why you need to fit shocks.

The helper spring at the rear is there to stop the car from rocking back and foward (you should try driving one without the springs! A good trick is to pull on the handbrake and then reverse!)

NEW hydro bags are NLA, they have not been made by Dunlop for yonks.
However there are piles of S/H ones about from people putting rubber cones on. Most Mini places (eg Northern Mini Parts) have a pile, so go pick some good ones whilst you can.
Cooper S ones were firmer, good luck you might find some- but if fitting shocks up front I don't think it matters much after 35 years.
On the S ones the rubber cone part at top is about 10mm? closer to the metal ring of the displacer than all the others.
They were colour coded back then, but good luck finding any marks now...

Mine has Cooper S/Clubby GT ones up front, Chong's has Mini Ks. Both have front shocks & comp rear bumpstops now and ride is very similar.

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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.