Hi, I'm Jon from Adelaide. (This sounds too much like an AA meeting to me).

I have a bit crook lately and unable to work and needed a project. When I was much younger I had a pseudo Cooper S (mini deluxe with S brakes, 1100S motor, balanced, S crank and head, some sort of a hot cam, and of course the weber) and I am having a mid-life crisis so decided I needed a project. I bought a 1969 minimatic (hydro) which has only done 40,000 miles. Engine is good, gearbox has no reverse and usually seems to be missing a forward gear or two. This doesn't worry me because I intend on throwing away the complete front subframe with attachments and installing something from an engine builder (when they manage to get on to it). I am having a s/h dry manual front subframe powder coated, and the rear subframe will be new, new trailing arms etc. I have most of the parts just waiting for stuff to come back from the powder coaters etc.

The body itself has only a little rust, but has been involved in a nasty prang in the right rear corner (hence has a bent trailing arm) and has been poorly patched up according to my crash repair friend who is quite annoyed with what they have done, but he says it is fixable. It'll have a rear roll cage installed in December and after that will be stripped for my crash repair friend to tidy up... Should be fun.

If anyone wants a minimatic front engine/gearbox/subframe and rear wet subframe let me know.......!

Jon

PM sent

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Justin

Hi Jon, sounds like it will be a good one. Where did you get the new dry rear frame and arms from? I'm looking at doing a hydro to dry conversion too. Already mooded the front frame, but the rear one really should be replaced with the real thing.

cheers

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

Hi Slide, well i looked around for a rear subframe but no luck. I was going to use the one in the car; apparently dry and wet are the same apart from shocker mounting and location of brake lines which are trailing arm things. I needed a new arm anyway so rather than wait I bought a rear hydro to dry kit and a new rear subframe ($800 worth) from minispares. I'm impatient sometimes. So apart from brakes and hubs it's all new. The old one I am going to strip, powdercoat and sell to a lucky person. Or maybe I'll just hang onto it. I'll check to make sure it's square of course given the prang! Jon.

Hi Jon

Wow a matic with 40k miles. What a shame to change it all :'(

Matics are pretty rare these days

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Hi Bubbacluby, I absolutely agree. I had problems getting a reasonable body; this ones a bit bent here and there but only a little rust on the floor plan and only a little in the doors, and the body has not been painted so I felt more confident of what I was buying. It would have been cheaper and easier I'm sure to get a manual dry car. I do feel guilty but it is only a car after all (!).

Thanks Jon. I think the rubber spring base is different between the wet and dry frames which can cause problems if someone uses the back seat. If you look closely the dry frame, unlike the hydro, has a metal cone shape on the spring base that acts as a variable spring platform - progressively increasing the spring rate as more load is applied. Carrying more load in the back will have the tyres bashing the wheel arches if you're not careful..

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

Slide, hmmm...not sure really what you mean. You mean the hydro can hit the bump stops more easily with more load? I can understand this as they seem to be quite compliant compared to the rubber springs, hence provide a good ride. I'm not really looking forward to the firmer ride of the rubber springs but I want the simplicity of these..

That's about as long as they lasted!
Typically they where rebuilt around the 30k miles mark. There are reports of the transmission being rebuilt during the warranty period.

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Justin

Yes Bubbacluby. Certainly mine has its problems, but it is kind of fun wiggling the little lever up and down trying to get it to change one way or another, although sometimes I forget its not a 4 speed and go the wrong way. And its fun putting my foot out the door and pushing it backwards. But it's not that practical!

Jon

I dont understand. It is a 4 speed and they did have a reverse......

So you gearbox is totally munched that you don't have them anymore?

Time for a rebuild then, just like a manual gearbox that jumps out of gear.

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Yes, I realise that. I'll leave that to its new owner!