Please just let it go. The story never changes. No matter what the subject is. You good hearted writers are spending all of your time on this troll, when there are real people out there. People who would listen and learn. People how are inspired to learn more. Most people only view so they can see the wreckage, once again it,s like reality tv. It,s not real life. Sure MM has not stopped this show ,why should they! Look at all the view counts. Great for them. So many good guys have left, so many won't comment. I am having a hard time of this,life here used to be fun. I need help with my mini, NO I need help reading about stupid people. Too strong, well I,am Canadian. So Sorry.

Seems like you are confused again tb. Hi lo's are what you install for adjustable suspension springs are the suspension they are not the same thing.
Why don't you remove the upper arms like i suggested in a post way back and install the donuts and cones that way ?

Good idea sir jeg, and yes the cone on my mini has been 39years old as well as the bump stop, it only goes to show that the quality  of the bump stop rubber surpasses the quality of the rubber cones because my rubber cone is now flat but the bump stop is still firm as hell , and its actually where the entire weight of the front end sits 24hrs a day 7days a week. 
The old VW spring is what i was thinking to modify, the vw spring is skinny and long, if i cut it into half it will fit perfect , its better than the hi lo spring , red hi lo springs break apart i dunno what kind of spring is that, first time i hear about spring that breaks into half. Waste of money. But surprisingly, mighty mouse said he had his hi lo spring for 10 years now, i just cant believe it. Or maybe its true because he doesnt drive his car that often, everytine mightymouse post somethig here, its all about fixing and upgrading his mini,he has probabably replace every single  bolt and nut in his mini to stainless . i havent seen any single post of him that telll stories about him driving it that far.  Maybe the spring lasted 10 years because he doesnt drive it at all.,  well that doesnt work for me, i drive my mini very often, it has more time rolling on the road than just sitting in the garage.

Look, do what you want.

Since you haven't remove the old cones, don't bother trying to replace your rubber cones - it's not necessary and you've got that 'slammed' mini low-rider look that's important.  Don't bother replacing them, not with new OEM-spec., not with Moulton Smooth-a-Ride, not with metal springs.  Just drive your mini - and yes, you can drive it faster than 50 mph, in fact, it'll probably be good for it to open it up a bit.  Besides, real low-riders don't go fast, it's all about 'style' and 'attitude'.

If, like you suggest, your existing cones have 39 years on them, what's a few more years going to hurt.  Go to the off-road center and pick up some polyurethane bushings for the lower arms to match the ones you installed on the tie rods.  You might even find some in red.  Harder bushings must be better for stability and longevity.  roven not to be the case, but for you, anything's possible.

Maybe you can find a spring from an Olds Cutlass on the side of the road that you can cut in half and install instead of the rubber cones.  It'll be cheaper than doing it right. 

Put one under your mailbox also, it's classy.

Well said!

Wow. 

REALLY !!!!! Who are these THEY people you speak of ??????? More trolls or you tube "guru's" you seem to hold in high esteem ?

I'm getting the original rubber cone,and i will use the trumpet that i have right now, i don't want to buy that hi lo's thing anymore., they say driving the mini with hi lo will make the handling so squishy.

I'm just worried that if i install a $150 worth of Moulton cones, and after a month of driving it goes flat again, remember, the weight of the front of the mini is 333lbs(that's according to mr. Thorpe) one side and 666lbs on both sides.  and also , you have to take into consideration that the 666lbs pressure is being applied upon the 2 cones 24hrs a day and 7 days a week, even when the car is parked inside the garage, i mean it will get flat in no time, i was just laughing when jeremy thorpe said that the mouten will last 15years , or pushing 20years. i'm like, really???? having that pressure applied to it all day all night??????   gash-dam!!

Remember, you can't just take a bolt and keep screwing it in. The tip of the bolt would just go through the cone and damage the trumpet or go down inside it. keeping you from getting it out. The tool (bolt) must be threaded into cone only about 20-25mm and then PULLED upward. Then you need room inside or above the engine bay to swing a long wrench.

The old cone is hard as rock and compressed, but you might have to pull it up 1" to 2", IF it separates from the trumpet. They do get stuck together very hard and do not come apart without damaging one or both, sometimes never.  so you will need enough room to get the knuckle out of its seat at the very least. It to may be seized on the trumpet.
You have to have a tool strong enough to withstand pulling with that force AND having you banging, prying and using all your bad words down in the tight confines of the subframe tower. If your tool comes apart. so will any fingers you have in there.
So far, figure on 30 minutes to 1 hour, each side. Not 30 seconds.

The new cone is a different matter. it is more compliant (softer), but it is full size. You have to compress it more, maybe 3" to 4". That takes a lot more winding - figure on about 5 minutes each, to start. Then you can put in your nice clean trumpet and nice new knuckle joint, into your nice clean upper arm with new bearings and shaft. The tool must hold while you do all this or you'll lose what fingers you have left.

Use cheap ideas and lose your fingers. You may have to change your screen name - it is hard to to pull a trigger with no fingers. Then again, maybe not, because typing will be impossible without any fingers.

Buy the tool.

The Bible also says not to use the name of your Lord in vain... no matter how you spell it ("gawd" "gadam" etc.)
Just sayin'

Hahaha sir Dan, i can assure you, i can be trusted. But im not into borrowing material things, i want to borrow ideas which i use to immitate things from. 


Bible says, Love unconditionally.

Nobody's gonna lend you anything until you start being less paranoid and start telling us where you live (generally) and communicating more openly, like filling in your profile and opening it up a bit. I would lend you mine IF I knew who you really are, where you lived, and if I could trust you to return it as soon as you were done. 
But it wouldn't be practical anyway - I'm in Canada and the freight, import/export costs etc would be more than the tool.

Thanks sir jeg,, if theres somebody who lives closer and who's willing to lend their compressor id apreciate it, i mean same here, i have a clutch housing remover bought it for 50 bucks, im willing to lend if anyone needs it, preferably around the US. 

Edit - have you even taken your old rubber cones out yet? 


In Vizard's classic 'How to Modify Your Mini', he provides a dimensional drawing for the cone compressor tool, should you choose to build your own.  Of course, David Vizard is only an ASE certified engineer, you're a shade-tree scooter jockey. 

So, yeah, go ahead nipple-boy, use some bathroom caulk to attach a bit of wheelbarrow tire to you rubber cone, re-invent the wheel and let us know how it turns out...  

Take some pics too, maybe you can inspire someone to take the same shortcut.


Borrowing the proper tool won't cost anything but the cost of postage.  Dan has one, I have one, I'm sure someone else has one also.  Maybe if you ask, someone will offer to let you use theirs - you'd need to return it of course...

Just as I suspected trigger troll. Just as I suspected...

The only main purpose of the cone compressor is to pull the donut upward to give enough space for the trumphet to squeeze in and also the upper arm to get bolted on the frame, how long should i hold the cone compressed? maybe what,30 seconds??, and how far should i pull it? what,2inches?  easy pissy!   there are tons of long grade 5 bolt at home depot, i have a 90amps welder from HF. 
And also, the cut rubber tire concept that i presented to you guys the other day might actually work, for the record, i will not just put the rubber pad in between the trumpet and the cone, i will actually make a little grove to where the tip of the trumpet will sit and also the cone on the other side, and shall be put together with silicon rubber sealer to make it stay in place and not fall apart.

but I'm still thinking, got a little busy at work today. 

PS.  this thread name hurts me every time I see it. I swore off donuts about 4-5 years ago when I was "awarded" two stents in my heart. But I can still smell a Tim Horton's old-fashioned plain (my favourite) at better than 60 feet! Coffee just ain't the same without it.

Sigh... me too. I just hope he doesn't kill himself when it comes apart, bounces off the ceiling and comes down like a crossbow bolt into his head. (... his next name "Bolt-head"?)

Time for afternoon coffee!

My experience of all thread from the hardware store is it's best described as putty steel. I personally wouldn't use it for this job. If I was in a pinch, I'd find a grade 5 bolt, weld a piece of round bar/tube to the head, and weld another larger fine-thread bolt to the other end of the bar (to use as the compressor). And I'm a pretty good welder... All said, the real deal tool sounds better all the time. 

I have a real feeling Tony is not going to surprise us, and that he will indeed continue to bodge and justify. We'll see.