2 replies to this topic

[clubmanchaos]

Hello, I have a 1971 mini clubman estate, and am looking at using it as a donor car for a 1981 clubman estate.

Will I be able to/how easy is it to fit a '71 front subframe to a '81 mini? Or am I better off just buying the correct subframe.

To throw another spanner in the works the '71 clubman is fitted with a 1275 metro engine.

[nicklouse]

The 71 should be twin bolt. The 81 single bolt. Not a straight swap.

 

whats wrong with the 81 subframe?

[Cooperman]

You can, but you have to fit 4 anti-crush tubes into the engine bay cross member to prevent the long bolts used with the twin-bolt turrets from crushing the cross member. So long as you have access to welding kit this is not difficult to do, especially if you can get a look at an earlier car first.

The earlier sub-frames had a different and better lower rear mounting which means new holes will be needed in the floor/front bulkhead, but this type of attachment is better as it puts the loads into the bodyshell in different way and there is no tendency of the bulkhead to split over time.

In fact, it's a good modification to make as the earlier sub-frames were better.