Jack rear of car up, and place securely on axle stands, positioned to allow maximum access to rear subframe/rear radius arms area. Remove rear exhaust hanger to exhaust clamp or un-hook rubber loop on late type cars. Using suitable saw, cut off centralising tab from bottom center of subframe rear cross member. Remove rear wheels and brake drums. Remove upper most and rear most brake back plate to radius arm nuts and bolts. Read more

FOR USE WITH STANDARD TIE BARS ONLY

This bar has been developed to complement those road cars fitted with post 1990 rubber springs. Being the softest compound yet used on the Mini in an attempt to improve comfort, they allow more body-roll. This bar will not only reduce body-roll, but also slightly reduce dive under braking and squat under acceleration. The bar is aimed at the general daily driver. For more progressive drivers it is highly recommended that its used in conjunction with rear anti-roll bar kit C-AJJ4009. Read more

Vertical rear moulding for the Estate and Traveller rear side windows.

14.4375” or 367mm With the double row channel grooves facing upwards. This is a side view elevation. This channel will require the ends to be cut exactly as above to the original angle of 20 degrees and the correct length as shown which ensures the best fitment. As the material is not the easiest to cut cleanly it is recommended that a new hacksaw blade or good quality snips are used and the channel grooves are packed with wood splints. Alternatively, you can use your old original sample as a template. 14A7631 – FRONT VERTICAL MOULDING HAS SQUARE ENDS, 340MM LONG Alternatively, use your old original sample as a template

It's criminal. Folk spend fortunes putting together super-sonic motors, only to skimp on the oil they use. Why? Oil's oil right? Wrong. Even if it's a standard engine, it deserves TLC considering it's extremely hostile working environment.

Oil is literally the engine's life-blood. The opening few sentences are astonishingly true. Oil isn't there just to prevent all metal components within an engine fusing together in the first few seconds of running, creating a total melt down of Chernobyl proportions. It's an intricate blending of chemicals to protect the engine as a whole.

The most commonly uttered statement about engine wear is most wear occurs within the first 10 minutes from start up when cold. True if cheap chip fat oil is used.In performance and race engines, a considerable amount of wear is created by heat, load, speed, and pressure. Again, cheapy oil won't give protection here. Read more

Here's something unusual that cropped up a little while ago that I've never commented on before - main oil gallery plugs/bungs.

I'd been conversing via e-mail with a guy that was experiencing weird oil flow/supply problems with his performance street engine. Initially he'd been blaming it on the supposedly superior oil pump he'd bought. He sent it to me; I inspected it and found it to be in perfect health with no signs of causing the issues in hand. Firstly there was a claimed total oil drain down from the pump causing lack of initial supply on start-up for a few seconds, and then repeated crank bearing failures when used in anger (i.e. at high rpm for protracted periods). Unless there is something drastically wrong with the oil pump and fitment - cracked pump body, non-flat mounting surface, mounting bolts too long, split gasket, etc. - it will not drain down simply because the inlet and outlet ports are above the centerline, near the top of the pump as it is mounted to the block. Read more

During a recent discussion with a few overseas Mini brethren - who were experiencing various engine-related problems - something cropped up that I have always taken as granted (in the sense of ' a standard for the application'); the matter of consistency in measurements.

Now we're not talking about the sort of measurements you make with a ruler, since discrepancies of a small nature don't tend to matter a whole lot. No, we're talking about the sort of measurements made with fine measuring instruments such as micrometers or vernier calipers.

Now, the discussion that was going on was with reference to the best clearance to run between the bore and piston for a given piston type for race or street purposes. I hade quoted figures that I generally use for both situations for forged and for cast piston types. Read more