19 replies to this topic

[mk=john]

Hi
I have installed the handbrake and cables to my Mk1 mini. I have attatched the fairleads brackets which attach to the body through the apertures at the rear of the handbrake lever.

However, the handbrake cables are touching the body, and I assume this is wrong.

The photo shows this. Is this wrong, or a common problem on early minis?
I have used the fairlead kits from Somerford Mini, which have the bitumen gaskets on either side.

Thanks
John

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[Elliskwleisk]

Sorry to bring up a very old thread, but I am having this exact problem. Does anyone have a solution for it?

[ibrooks]

I don't recall my Clubby having the metal cover and gasket under the car. If you remove them do the cables still hit the body?

 

Under tension those cables are going to try to form a straight line between the handbrake and the guide on the bottom of the subframe so the assuming the body is right (has the floorpan been replaced and the holes or the ridge aren't quite in the right place) then the only other things that can affect it are the position of the guide on the rear subframe (genuine or pattern part) and the position of the handbrake handle (again has the bracket been removed and re-attached whilst sorting rust maybe). 

 

Iain

[Elliskwleisk]

I don't recall my Clubby having the metal cover and gasket under the car. If you remove them do the cables still hit the body?

 

Under tension those cables are going to try to form a straight line between the handbrake and the guide on the bottom of the subframe so the assuming the body is right (has the floorpan been replaced and the holes or the ridge aren't quite in the right place) then the only other things that can affect it are the position of the guide on the rear subframe (genuine or pattern part) and the position of the handbrake handle (again has the bracket been removed and re-attached whilst sorting rust maybe). 

 

Iain

 

Thanks for your reply. I'm not quite sure what to make of this. When I removed them from the car, there were plates and gaskets either side and the handbrake cables were not rubbing on the body. So I assumed that I would replace it the same way. I also cannot fathom how on earth under tension, and therefore straight line to the rear subframe, how they would clear that ridge unless the subframe was 10mm lower. The subframe is a genuine item. It has "MOWOG" stamped in to it. I believe it was the original one because when I removed it, it still had the horse hair pads in place. The rear floors and tunnel are all original to the car and have not been modified or worked on in any way. Same goes for the handbrake lever mount, it has not been touched. I will check the guide on the subframe and ensure that it is not bent up in anyway. I am still unsure which configuration of fair lead plates and gaskets I should use. Everyone seems to do something different and say something different. Some have one plate and gasket on the top. Some have one plate and gasket on the bottom, Some have both. Some kits are sold as  singles, some as doubles. Here are some link to back up what I'm saying. The build thread that I posted a link of has similar confusion about half way down page 39.

 

Any more help, advice or information is much appreciated. 

 

http://www.theminifo...st-road/page-39

 

http://minisport.com...e-2-req-per-car

 

http://www.somerford...page=page&id=61

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item541627ca74

[Elliskwleisk]

Bump

[A-Cell]

Correct arrangement is for a metal guide plate top and bottom and also a bitumen pad top and bottom under the plate against the body.
The screws go thru from the inside of the car with the nuts underneath.

[Elliskwleisk]

Correct arrangement is for a metal guide plate top and bottom and also a bitumen pad top and bottom under the plate against the body.
The screws go thru from the inside of the car with the nuts underneath.

 

Thanks for your reply. That is exactly the set up I have went for, but it still doesn't work! 

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

So I removed the bottom plate and pad because in the haynes manual and on the diagrams on minispares etc, it only shows a top one fitted. But that didn't make a difference either. 

 

 

So I then trimmed the bottom plate slightly and inverted it. This stops the cable rubbing on the tunnel but I imagine it will eventually just chew right through the fair lead plate because it is only soft metal? I am also concerned that the cable is now rubbing on the front side of the slot cut in the tunnel that the cable runs through. 

 

 

 

Any other ideas? 

[Spider]

I doubt it will make much of a difference, however it maybe worth checking that the front mounts on the rear subframe are the right way up. It sure does appear odd, but looking at it, it does appear that this is how it always was.

[Elliskwleisk]

I doubt it will make much of a difference, however it maybe worth checking that the front mounts on the rear subframe are the right way up. It sure does appear odd, but looking at it, it does appear that this is how it always was.

Thanks for your reply. My rear subframe front mount has the long bolt at the top, short at the bottom. I believe this is the correct way. I don't think it would make a difference to the height of the cable either way. I just can't work it out. It doesn't make sense at all. I don't understand why that ridge is even there?! I also can't understand how everyone doesnt have this problem? How close are other people's cables to the ridge?

[Spider]

 

My rear subframe front mount has the long bolt at the top, short at the bottom.

 

 

Yes, that is correct.

 

Dunno, it doesn't make sense, however all else being equal, if that's how they go, then that's how they go. They never fitted anything else in between that I know of, but keep in mind, this is BL,,,,,

[Ethel]

It's not been repaired with panels designed for a later Mini, with a single cable?


I'd be inclined towards a bit of localised hammer action and/or thread on a bit of nylon airline

[A-Cell]

Looking at my 1989 Portuguse moke the swage in the tunnel is further rearwards than the picture you posted. Centreline of swage is 5 inches rearwards of centreline of the fair lead fixing holes. The cables go downwards at a small angle towards the rear subframe so the further away the stage is from where the cables pass thru the greater the clearance from the swage in the tunnel. Even at 5 inches the cables only have minimal clearance ( about 1/16 inch). I don't have access to a round nose mini at the moment to check if the layout is the same, but I did not experience any problem there in the past with them.
Hopefully someone will check a round nose one. If it is the same then it won't help you, unless you are prepared to modify the BIW
In the meantime if it were me I would fit the fair lead plates in the correct orientation and as Ethel has suggested, ding the swage to achieve some clearance and thread on some nylon tubing.

[Elliskwleisk]

 

 

My rear subframe front mount has the long bolt at the top, short at the bottom.

 

 

Yes, that is correct.

 

Dunno, it doesn't make sense, however all else being equal, if that's how they go, then that's how they go. They never fitted anything else in between that I know of, but keep in mind, this is BL,,,,,

 

 

 

It's not been repaired with panels designed for a later Mini, with a single cable?


I'd be inclined towards a bit of localised hammer action and/or thread on a bit of nylon airline

 

 

Looking at my 1989 Portuguse moke the swage in the tunnel is further rearwards than the picture you posted. Centreline of swage is 5 inches rearwards of centreline of the fair lead fixing holes. The cables go downwards at a small angle towards the rear subframe so the further away the stage is from where the cables pass thru the greater the clearance from the swage in the tunnel. Even at 5 inches the cables only have minimal clearance ( about 1/16 inch). I don't have access to a round nose mini at the moment to check if the layout is the same, but I did not experience any problem there in the past with them.
Hopefully someone will check a round nose one. If it is the same then it won't help you, unless you are prepared to modify the BIW
In the meantime if it were me I would fit the fair lead plates in the correct orientation and as Ethel has suggested, ding the swage to achieve some clearance and thread on some nylon tubing.

 

Thanks for all your replies chaps! 

 

All of the rear floor panels are original - the floors, the heel board, the boot floor, the tunnel, etc. The subframe is also the one that I removed from the car and I believe to be original. The handbrake lever is also the lever that I removed from the car. The only parts that are new is the cables them selves! And the fair lead plates and pads.

 

Its problems like this that really kill my motivation to carry on with this project. I don't mind crappy jobs that I delay but know how to fix. But things like this that make no obvious sense and I can't see a logical and original way of sorting, drive me insane! 

 

I may try bashing the ridge up slightly, but I am reluctant to do so because I shouldn't have to do that, something else is not right. Also, the nylon sleeve that you's speak of, I'd have to cut it down the seam to fit it over the cable and I am concerned that it wouldn't stay in place. Also, wouldn't it just wear through the nylon? 

 

If someone with a twin cable handbrake round nose wouldn't mind having a look at their car and report back to me, it would be greatly appreciated. 

 

One other thing, when I removed the handbrake and cables while stripping the car, there was several inches of slack in the cables in the exhaust tunnel. To the extent where they were actually crossing over each other and touching the other side of the tunnel. However, when the handbrake was applied, it worked? How would it have worked with so much slack? I'm just trying to work out if these cables are too short basically. 

 

 

[cjdillonnz]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I’m about to start my handbrake assembly so I was looking for tips first. Just wondering how you got this sorted? We’re they too short? As I think there about 4 or 5 different cables available.

[Ethel]

What age Mini? Just 2 set ups as far as I'm aware: separate cables for each side or a single front cable  that pulls a rear cable. The number and location of holes in the exhaust tunnel will tell you which you need. Saloon cables are shorter than vans and estates, but all rear cables are the same.