I noticed last week that repro wingnuts for the twin SU airboxes were being made available again. I couldn't help but pick a set up to throw in the parts box.

We all know that you can make a set in a pinch by cutting down clubman wingnuts, but they don't look right, and aren't that common anymore either. Not a sustainable practice anyway.

The news however is both good and bad:

The good news.
Yes they look fairly OK. They are much stronger in the "wings" however, and so show this in being quite thick. They also look somewhat like a cross between the two types of wingnut found on our cars. So yes they fill a need.

The bad news.
They are cut to cut to suit the 6mm shorter english airboxes. So unless you have a late GT airbox, or an english airbox, then its a struggle to get them to engage. Mine didn't want to engage at all.


Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men...

To the left is the two types found on twin SU airboxes. The short repro is on the right.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

Bugger..............I should have waited 'till you did a trial fit. I'm not so anxious about waiting for my delivery now.

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1970 Mk2
1968 Mk1 project

Yeah, I didn't find out till the otherday....

Its not insurmountabe however. If you manage to source a pair of 850 carb throats, many of these came with the vent port reliefs machined into both sides. Or you can get a standard throat and file a relief port out yourself (or use a dremel).

From there, you can cut the long air cleaner mounting thread down to suit, but make it 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch longer than the throats on the carb are now.

Not a very difficult job at all.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

The wing nut screws into a threaded rod that's attached to the throat. Does that rod screw into the throat? If so wouldn't a simple and robust solution be to make a longer threaded rod to replace the original?

See here also - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=81473

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

If you want your car to look original don't bother as they are not correct

If you don't want your car to look original don't bother as the work to make them fit is not worth it

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1964 998cc Cooper
1971 Mini K x 2
1972 Clubman GT

I've had a chat to the maker. He's able to have them made up to a longer length.

He will let me know when they're available again.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

The seller was good enough to send me another set, this time a little longer (12mm).

These fit pretty well, but are now a little bit too long needing only 6mm. Never mind...they fit just fine going down the full length. The next lot he is making up will be the 6mm longer type.

The repro is on the right. Original on the left.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

My UK spec tube nuts are still sitting in the delivery envelope at the front door. Rework nuts look good, nothing a hack saw and tread file won't fix. Sign me up Mick

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1970 Mk2
1968 Mk1 project

Guys how about a long nut on the top of the thread in the box and a short piece of threaded rod into the long nut and then the repro wing nut onto the thread that sticks out of the long nut. You wont see it once it is assembled. Use locktite on the bottom bit though.
So top to bottom:

Wingnut (perhaps shortened)
Threaded rod
Long nut
Threaded rod in box

Alternately can you put a longer bolt or rod in the bottom.

I haven't seen the inside of these boxes so my apologies if my advice is of no use.

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Cheers
Alec
1275LS - July 78 - XNFAD18Y/102918

I can't see why anyone would want to use them, they are not even close to being correct and look god damn ugly along with it

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1964 998cc Cooper
1971 Mini K x 2
1972 Clubman GT

I dont have a second set for the my other cooper's airbox. And if you think these are ugly, they're head and shoulders prettier than cut down clubman wingnuts. They look awful...

If you had a few spare originals...I would be keen to put them to use..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

with all the whiz bang machines we have at our disposal today, I don't see why actual identical reproductions aren't available..... another thing to add to my list of things to make I guess

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

OMG once it was hose clamps....now it will be wing nuts being pooh-poohed by Concours d'Elegance chappies

[I may need some Mick...oil get back to thee]

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"Show me the Mini!"

Sorry to bring up an old topic...

I've got a couple of air horns/elbows to suit my twin carbs. They look to have the right length of thread coming out to do them up onto the air filter case

And here is the collection of wingnuts. Left to right they are 30mm, 26mm, 26mm, 32mm, 55mm, the far right is the one from my HS4 filter case

The "pointy" one on the left is the only one thin enough in diameter (8.9mm) to go through the lid of my Mk2 air filter case (holes are 9.3mm). The two 26mm ones are 9.4mm in diameter.

So... are the 26mm ones long enough if I decided to embiggen the holes in the filter case, or will they be too short? The 30mm one fit on fine with a good couple of turns with the rubber seal and washers. It is a Mk2 filter case, the majority of the body is 48.6mm thick

Originality doesn't matter too much (A Mk2 filter case on Mk1 carbs on an 1100 in an 850) but it'd be good to have matching ones at the very least.

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Do you really want to butcher up a hard to find part rather than just buy some repro nuts?

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