changing subframes
Turbo Mini Forums

got myself a new shell the only problem is that it was a hyrdolastic one with a twin bolt front subby.

Is it possible to convert it to single bolt and will it be strong enough?



I've heard you can sleeve the centre hole so that it wont fold in on itself when you tighten up the bolt. What do you reckon? or should i just keep searching for a dry twin bolt subby?

Nick :)

id say that ud have to strengthen that box section part to stop it collapsing when you tightened it up id do your best to find the proper subby as its solid mounted aledy etc.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

I would keep looking for an early subframe, the twin bolt ones are also shaped differently so they bolt straight to the floorpans as well, better than using a later one and the solid mount brackets. Have you tried Mini-Mail, they stock a good selection of second hand stuff?

can you not convert the actual subby to a dry subby using the GAZ coil over set with full mounting kit ? just take the hydro elastic hosing off ?

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MikeRace, Mini13

cheers for the advice dudes :)

Ill keep me eyes open for a subby, im in no rush to get it done at the minute. id like it ready for the riv run but retro cars is my deadline.

this is my first bare shell build up, im fairly competant with the mechanical side of things and this is my chance to get some practice on bodywork. im looking forward to getting stuck in with it now aswell :)

i`ve been offered a wet subframe, anyone know if you can convert them to a dry setup without using coilovers as i dont really have the £££ for them.

i have just rang a mate with an old rotten wet subby, does not look like you can do it ? never mind, could you not plate the box section with say 1/8 or 1/4 even steel the latter would be overkill possibly, but once it was done you wouldnt have to worry about scourcing older type subys in the event of a crash or what ever ? iam just throwing ideas at you here mind later dry subbies are easier to scource second hand too i know of 3 in a scrap yard local to me, not sure of their condition, but the shells are right offs...but just goes to show they ae still around ( JUST )

Edited by Richie on 12th Dec, 2005.

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MikeRace, Mini13

Wet to dry is a piece of piss, just bend the tags that hold the hydro elastic units out the way!

Edited by Gibbo on 13th Dec, 2005.

what about the trumpets ?? (dunno propper name 4 em the bit that sets the height) i thought that hydro elastic dont have em, and the ride height is set via how much fluid is in the system ?

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MikeRace, Mini13

if mini mail have got them i can pick it up for you and meet you half way somewhere on the m5 if you fancy it

cheers for the offer nic, ill have to see how all this converting a wet frame to dry goes first though. ive been offered a wet frame for £25 so i might just get it and have a bash.

the main problem is that ive never worked on a car this old before, and ive never seen a twin bolt subby be it wet or dry. need to do some searchin on tinternet and try to find some pictures and stuff to see the difference.

no problem, let me know

on pre 76 the front mounts are different on the front as they are solid mounted not rubber mounted, rear legs are longer as they fit to the lower part of the floor, and the tops are different, alot of work, and the older style will give a better mounting so worth having the pre 76 instead of converting a later one

not sure about converting wet ti dry though

Bud i have had another look at the subby, in my opinion, it cant be changed to dry, If gibbo can show us then fair enough, but i really cant see it

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MikeRace, Mini13

well i've got my eye on a dry twin bolt subby on ebay at the minute, its gonna cost me £90 with delivery unless gibbo can show us how its done on a wet frame as i can get one of those for £25.....bit of a difference eh...

wet to dry can't be done according to vizard book, says change subframes front and back.....also top arms on front and radius arms on rear are different

Metro turbo weekend driver,Mini turbo in the making again!

Sorry my first post was so short guys, I typed a tidy post first time but it wouldn't send.

My car is a Wet car using a dry setup so it can be done.

I'm assuming that you have the rubber cones, and trumpets etc from a dry subframe.

Remove the hydro displacers from the wet frame and sell on ebay etc.

Next, there are metal tags that hold the displacers in place. These need to be removed, if they haven't rusted out already!

You then need to ram the rubber cones into the place the hydro displacers were. They can and do fit. But is a bit of a squeeze untill they sit inside.

You then need to compress the cones with a compresser tool, but I fitted a set of HiLo's and wound them down to min height and managed to get away without one.

The main difference is the top arms. The angle is different. You can swap these for the dryones, but I heard that the wet ones alter the spring charictoristics for the better, and were once a sort after mod.


If you run into problems let me know, I can take photos of my car if your really stuck.

Also don't just take my word for it. Google this question its bound to have been done a 1000 times before.

I'm sure if you go on miniclassic site and look at there FAQ there's an old thread on there.

well another chap has told me i can do the same, just needs something modifying/hitting with a bfh so the donuts can sit properly, and a metal tag cutting off.

should be picking up a wet subby off a mate in worcester this weekend so i'll see how it goes :)

damn shame my car isnt together and im not at home this weekend, i would fo popped over to say hello

cool, well if you ever wanna pop up to wolves you'll find me and T2clubby in my garage most weekends working on our cars, as usual!