PROJECT MINI CLUBMAN PART 9
The Mini Clubman has always looked to me like it was sitting a little bit low at the front, and certainly it was lower there than at the back. This is not really surprising even with the low mileage, because during its lengthy years of storage the rubber suspension cones will have been permanently compressed with the weight of the car and the engine/ transmission pushing down on them, and time will always take its toll. As well as looking wrong to my eyes, with the automatic gearbox sump hanging down at the front and looking slightly vulnerable to sleeping policemen, it made sense to get this issue sorted.
Since I have never done this job on a Mini before, and also because you need a special tool to compress the cones, I booked the Clubman in with the experts – Steve Olive at the Sleaford Mini Centre (Tel:), who can do the job in his sleep. The hope was to drive there in the morning, watch the work being done, and then drive home in the newly-sprung car. With this in mind, I ordered up new cones, and also a few extra bits and pieces. Some of these were a bit of insurance in case they turned out to be needed, others because it made sense to replace them while things were apart just to be on the safe side – fortunately Mini parts prices are generally cheap enough to make that an option!
