My Other Classic

I've been busy for the last couple of days changing a rear subframe on my classic Mini. For those that know how bloody awful this job is, you know my pain. I'm going off Minis fast at the moment!!

Jusy thought I'd share!

Oh yes .... I share the pain but Minis are great so that pain will pass!

I was one of the rare group of people who has never owned a Mini, don't know if thats a good or a bad thing, but any talk of changing anything where you need to be under that car is something I know about, so can certainly share your pain in that respect!

Well in 1959 the idea to replace a chassis with two rigid frames was a good one and presumably as they were bolted to the body there was some intention that they should be removed. However, given a few decades of rust and rot the bolts usually shear off and everything is full of crud as they are a great trap. Finally, everything else in the vacinity (brakes, exhaust, fuel lines etc etc) have to be removed and obviously they are are also probably rusty and covered in crud as well. AND really finally what do you jack on if you are removing the rigid part of the car ... by the time you get to a rusty subframe then so is everything else.

Apart from that .... easy!!!!!

This ^^

Also take into account that BMC (in whatever guise) could not build a straight car, so the new subframe did not fit and took a certian amount of trimming of the bushes to make it close enough!!

Now I can't get a manifold gasket for love or money!! Need to get the car MOT'd by friday for a show on Saturday and I'm getting pretty hacked off!!

Go in home
make a cuppa
chill for 10 minutes then go outside again

should be calm enough to cause maxium with a very very big hammer!!

I owned a Mini for 3 hours once. Couldn't get on with the "knees around ears" driving position so I got rid again.

tux wrote:I owned a Mini for 3 hours once. Couldn't get on with the "knees around ears" driving position so I got rid again.

Yea, it's not too bad if you have custom seat runners and a steering column lowering bracket, but I know what you mean. Also helps I'm under 6 foot, but my father-in-law has one and he's 6'2!

It's a bit of an addiction actually, I hate working on it; it's bumpy, noisy and uncomfortable; doesn't tick over; it's thirsty; can't really fit the family in; costs FAR too much money to maintain and modify (there's always something to do!); and it rusts like nothing else... HOWEVER when it's off the road for more than a couple of weeks I start longing to drive it again!

I had one for 3 days once and it nearly killed me twice, ought for £15 and sold for £50. Shows how long ago it was you can barely buy a pile if Mini rust for under £500 these days.

A mates dad years ago had a green one like Mr Beans, used to go on the pub crawls in it - never know to this day how we used to get 6 people into it bearling in mind my size and the others were not that much smaller!!