rear subframes - quality issues
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi Guys,
i just remembered a conversation I had with a mate of mine at university.
I was a 'proper' mechanical engineer and he was just a production engineer. Anyway , he worked for , I think, Gkn Sankey who I believe made the min i subframes.
He told me he once sat in a meeting which went something like this;
BMC; We've been having issues with rotting subframes. Specifically the protective coatings you put on them.
GKN; What protective coatings?
BMC;the brown ones - they start falling off after a few years.
GKN;They are there to stop them rotting between our factory and yours.
BMC; Oh. .... xxxx

I once had a rear s/frame snap in half whilst i was driving it. Quite scary. He told some other stories in the bar as well but they are probably better suited to late night viewing.

I used to talk to myself a lot until I realised I wasn't listening.

I had a rear subframe snap once. The tyre went hard against the shock.

It was in July 1979 in my '68 850 Super Deluxe near Finmere Oxon.

Some things stick in ones memory.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

The thing that shocked me was that the Minis made In Cowley, did a short trip down the road from the body shop on the back of a lorry to the assembly plant, in bare steel, rain or shine!!

Oh and has anyone else noticed that nearly all minis have about 5mm difference side to side of the rear wheels? Driver side further in and passenger side further out. I've had two 90's minis with the exact same thing, and a mate said the same on his 88

Edited by Sprocket on 9th Oct, 2011.

ive had a subframe snap too, i had just been hammering it around the country lanes on the way to the ex's pulled up at the only T junction on the way, a really long squeeky groan came from the back as i set of, the rear end sat down on the rear wheels and i didnt go much further

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

Scary sh!t...
Where does it break when it does; is there a weak spot where tin worms have free play when not propperly protected?

Dazed and Confused....

I made a trailer from an old rear subframe about 5 years ago. The other week it looked a lot lower on one side than normal, the frame had snapped on one side.

A fully loaded trip to the tip nicely snapped the other side, so at least it's level now!

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Mine snapped in line with the wheel, between the outer radius arm mount and the longitudinal beam. Where all the road crap sits.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

mine snapped directly bellow the doughnut

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

And on the 7th day........... God created turbochargers!