Hi Guys,
Got the Mini (Leyland Clubman 1976) booked in for a roadworthy this week, unfortunately I don't have long between the roadworthy and the rego expiring (couple of days), so I'm hoping to get it pushed through quickly.
Trying to get everything polished up before the day, all the globes have been replaced, new tyres etc, I just have a last couple of outstanding worries.

Ride Height - The sump is a bit low, around 85-90mm high, legal minimum is 100mm (located in Victoria BTW). Is there any way for a quick fix of this? Possible to adjust the stock suspension?

Front Seats - There is a lot of play in the front seats, when the uprights are locked in the rear position, pulling/lifting the seats will allow a couple of inches of movement before it hits a stop... I think this may be a common issue based on what I've seen in other posts, are they likely to cause a fuss over this?

Spare Tyre - Doesn't have a locking bolt/mechanism in the boot, I've been stung before on this with a previous car, the issue now is that there appears to be no point to attach a wheel fastener, did they come with one? If not, would the best solution just be to remove the spare for the roadworthy? It doesn't appear to be a requirement based on the checklist I looked at.

Also, are there any common points or issues these cars get picked up on? Trying to think of everything they are likely to find fault with.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Patrick.

ride hieght can be adjusted with spacers in uprights. Not 100% sure what you mean with seat. Spare wheel is fine without hold down, that's how the were.

Thanks mate, can you point me to a location to buy said spacers? or would it be just as easy to whack up a couple on the lathe?

Regarding the seats, when they are in the normal position, if I grab hold of the headrest say, and pull on it, the whole seat will pivot forward on the front attachment mechanism a couple of inches. Both of them do it, there seems to be no locking mechanism holding the rear of the seats down, they rock forward until they hit a stopper.

Theres not a lot you can do about the seats other than make them move a little less by putting some heatshrink over the locking peg that the catch grabs against.
Spare wheel is easy solved- dont have it in the car when you get the roady.
They cant fault you for not having one.

With the ride height, the spacers just need to go between the upper arm pivot knuckle and the alloy trumpet, 5mm spacer should give you an additional 15mm ride height.....better yet get hi-los.....infinite adjustment for $50.

spacers are just flat washers.

No clubby sedan came with a spare wheel clamp. They finished in 1967, maybe sooner. My 1970 doesn't have one.

re the ride height at the sump, IMO as long as it's not sitting on the bump stops it should pass, is this ever checked for a roadworthy?
Matics sat way lower than manuals did, I doubt they would pass 100mm when new.

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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.

Ask Frank Im a fan too lol

The drivers seat in my clubby had the same issue, it would move "up" about an inch before the catch at the back caught on the hoop in the floor.
The passenger seat was fine tho, a tight fit.

So to fix the drivers seat, we just knocked the catch into the correct position with a large persuader, then reinforced the weld area to ensure it didn't lose any strength.

good as new now (presuming as new they were a tight fit)

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

Don't matter to some of the Rocket Scientists doing road-worthys these days...

I suggest he finds a Mini friendly place to get the piece of paper...

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"Show me the Mini!"

Well, the car went in for a roadworthy and failed on a bunch of points:
-Reverse lights not working
-Door hinges loose
-Oil leaks from engine
-Front castor bushes worn

And the big one
- Rear parcel shelf has been cut by a previous owner to mount speakers...
They recommended I go see a panel beater down the street, so I spoke with him and he said it was ridiculous, and told me to go find another place to do the RWC who aren't so uptight about it.

Not quite too sure how to approach it from here, but I'm thinking I may leave it off the road for another month or two while I go over it and get everything polished up before maybe trying a new workshop.

Wow. Sorry to hear about the parcel shelf.
Half of the minis running around would have a few extra holes in the shelf.

I'm not sure how it works in Vic, but if the place you went to has recorded the fail points on the system the next bloke might have to ask you about them too?

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They said they took photos and filled out all the roadworthy forms, so it seems like you might be right. If thats the case it could prove to be a bit hard, the guy wasnt sure if I could just weld in a replacement parcel shelf or if it would need to be certified. Either way, its going to be a bit of a setback

I wonder what they mean by front castor bushes?
Yes I would take it to another garage and it is a bit disappointing that they took photos and made it hard for you to go elsewhere. I wouldn't go back to them on principal
I had my Cooper S knocked back for the width of the wheels which had been on the car for 30 years by the same garage I had been going to for the past 10 years. They lost me now, and we have 6 cars in the family.
On the positive side most of the items can be fixed without too much trouble, just a bit of time and parts. With the drum brakes I usually replace all wheel cylinders every 2 years and if no leakage then reuse the brake shoes.
Good luck

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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

If this happened to me...I would be tempted to find a Mini-savvy engineer and pay him to write a report disputing the crap this fool has laid on you...

I would then write to authorities above this jerk requesting a refund of my costs and suggest that I would be pursuing action against this completely over the top harassment.

[but, really, I would probably just vote with my feet and take it to a qualified Mini repairer and show them what you have been asked to fix and let them fight the good fight]

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"Show me the Mini!"