Hi,

I have a round nose mini with a 1275cc engine. I am looking at fitting an oil cooler to the engine.
Is it necessary to flatten the panel as per the Cooper S for mounting or are there other options?

The reason why I am asking is that my car is going in for paint this weekend and if I need to modify the panel, I would prefer to do it prior to paint.

Thanks

Roc

Flatten panel? Cooper S's had a angled grille brace rather than a vertical one, that was the only body difference to run an oil cooler.

Not necessary if you are wanting it for performance. Adds weight and "looks" that's about it, modern oil is not going to fry. I hope it's a brand new cooler, don't be tempted to use s/h ones as they can be full of gunk. IMO more hassle than they are worth.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Thanks Lillee. Though I think that the diagonal brace is welded onto a vertical lip, on Cooper S' the lip is bent horizontally so the oil cooler can sit on top of it.

You could make brackets especially, but its easy to fold the lip back. I used two pieces of timber about 50mmx20mm and the width of the oil cooler plus a 1/2 inch either side.
Bolt the timber together using 6mm bolts and spreader washers. Slip the lip between the two pieces of timber and bolt up tight. Grab the timber with a pair of multigrips or similar and roll back. The lip will form as you bend and leave a nice rolled edge as the lip transitions back to vertical at either end.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

Thanks Mick, I actually haven't got an oil cooler yet, though my car is going for paint this weekend.
Do you know what the length of the oil cooler is??

Thanks

Hi Roc,
The central part of the lip was folded flat on a Cooper S, just wide enough to take the cooler. There are also two brackets that brace the lip, down to the bottom edge of the front vallence. However, it would be easy enough to make something to hold a cooler without modifying the front panel. I guess it depends whether you want it to look like an S or not.

Regards
Al

Stock units were 330 at their widest point.

You will also need to buy, or fabricate the lower brackets which come up from below to support the cooler. They will need a small screw hole drilled in the lower lip of the apron.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

It will also fit on the front rail of the subframe - no body mods needed, but if you do want to fix it to the body, yes, you will need to flatten the centre section of that turned up lip behind the grill.

BTW, you really don't need an oil cooler for the road, just another place to leak, but if you really want one, then by all means.

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This is one I prepared earlier.
I have since fitted the angle bar.

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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