Mini World – July 2019

MiniWorld July 2019 47

should be no need to cut away

the front wings which you will

need to do with 6x12 wheels.

It is OK to lower a Mini in the

traditional way by shortening

the suspension trumpets. The

downside of this method is

that there is o en a lot of trial

and error required to get the

height just where you want it

and any adjustment requires the

suspension to be taken apart

again. The ratios of lowering to the

amount of metal to be removed

are about 3:1 at the front, and 5:1

at the rear, i.e. removal of 0.1” from

the trumpet will lower the car 0.3"

at the front, and 0.5" at the rear.

Take care, though, as the ratio

increases as you go lower. The

amount to be removed can

vary from side to side, and the

maximum amount that should

be removed from a trumpet is

0.312". If you are lowering a Mini

by anything more than about

0.75" you will need to fi t shorter,

uprated dampers. If you do not,

the dampers will bo om out at

full bump and eventually break

There are several adjustable

height systems on the market:

Hi-Los and Adjusta-rides are

the original types. Check that

the tyres do not foul the arches,

and watch that the rear brake

unions on the radius arms do not

hit the underside of the body

on full bump, although this is

usually only a problem with

narrower 10" diameter wheels.

D i  c h o i c e

I am fi  ing a replacement gearbox

to my Mini which I am told came

from an MG Metro. I am intending

to keep the 10” wheels and

upgrade to S discs. Could

you suggest a suitable

di and speedo drive?

Will the Metro parts be

OK or should I use the

original Mini ones?

Trevor Smith

The MG Metro gearbox is fi  ed as

standard with a 3.44:1 di but it

would be wise to check that this

is what you have. The 3.44:1 is

really the best all-round di to

use in a Mini and, for years, it was

fi  ed to the Mini 1000 and to the

Cooper S. If, however, you are

using your Mini for long distance

work involving a lot of motorway

cruising then a taller di would

be a good idea. Really it all

comes down to use and personal

preference. A twin-pin upgraded

di is a good idea but, if you are

keeping the standard  set-up,

use a hardened di pin. Use the

speedo drive from your Mini to

avoid any possible problems as

the gearbox is not known to you.

RUSTEX RUST

PROOFING

Right up until the 2000s, factory rust-proofi ng was very

poor on virtually all Minis so they went rusty. It was not

uncommon for bubbles to appear a er as li le as 18 months

and sooner in many cases. I bought my fi rst Mini when it

was 18 months old and immediately had to rub down and

respray the areas under the headlamps along the front wing/

front panel join. Luckily it was easy to match paint in those

days and I had gained a lot of experience fi lling and re-

spraying areas of my dad’s Mini since the age of about 14.

In the late ‘60s and onwards many people started to repair

rust on their cars and they also became interested in trying

to prevent rust happening in the fi rst place. Undersealing a

car was quite a common Saturday task. Common products

such as ‘Holts Undershield’, a rubberised coating, were readily

available at car accessory shops and some garages. Then

along came products such as Waxoyl, whose adverts of the

time claimed that there was no need to clean the car before

application – the product could even be spayed over mud!

Other DIY kits started to appear, one being Rustex, made by

Sound Services in Witney, Oxon. This contained box section wax

and underbody seal with comprehensive instructions, a hand

spray gun and various lances to reach inside the sills and box

sections. I can vouch for the fact that it went on very easily and

also that it did work, at least to some extent as I treated my Mini

back in 1974. Although there was some rust in the usual panels

when I started restoring my Rustex-treated Mini , it was actually

very minor when compared to most similar age Minis. What’s

more, the fl oors and inner sills were virtually 100% intact.

“The 3.44:1 is really the best

all-round di to use in a Mini

and, for years, it was fi tted to the

Mini 1000 and to the Cooper S.”

Rustex was a

popular rust

prevention product

in the 1970s and

it really did help.

The 3.44:1 is a

good all-round Mini

final drive ratio.

This one is fitted

to a twin-pin diff.