Looking for advice on whether fitting shocks/dampers on the front will improve ride quality?

My '69 K still has hydro suspension, and I've noticed that when I hit a bump at speed - the car seems to jump around the road. I have standard bump stops on the front and competition bump stops on the rear. I was thinking about fitting front shocks to help reduce the problem - but before I did - wanted to get some thoughts on whether that would do much.

If it is a worthwhile upgrade, can I drill the top suspension arm in situ?

Put a set of standard shocks on the front. KYB or similar. You don't want or need adjustable. You are just augmenting the now stuffed hydrolastic damping.
I've run a pair of Pedders red for 35 years, they still work great. My Mini rides better than my Jeep Cherokee XJ or my wife's Fiesta. Handles great too.

I have competition bump stops on the back, and standard ones on the front.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Is it at the factory specified suspension height?

Check very closely for worn steering/suspension components.

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1986 Mayfair (998 auto), 1974 S, 1974 Van, 1972 PMG Van

Too many minis

Shockers are a good addition, as per the good Dr's comment.
Jumping around can also be caused by worn suspension and steering components.
Bushes, ball joints and the steering rack are all items to have in tip top condition for a good ride.
Also make sure the knuckle joint and cup are in good nick. If worn, your ride height will not be up to scratch.
Same for back end - trailing arm bushes good and knuckle joint bits.

Car is about factory spec height - I use a rough estimate of 2 fingers between the guard and front tyre.

I'll check to see if there's any play in the suspension.

I set my height to 3 fingers, when it get to 2 fingers I pump it up. Better ride.
2 is pretty close to the bumpstops for the crap local. roads.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

That is way too low as far as I'm concerned. The factory spec is closer to a whole hand.


I'm not saying that shocks are a bad idea but people go to crazy amounts of effort to mask issues with worn components and incorrect alignment.

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1986 Mayfair (998 auto), 1974 S, 1974 Van, 1972 PMG Van

Too many minis

I’ve been in Phill’s hydro Cooper S many times and I can always tell when he has the front shocks installed. The ride is much more level with the shocks installed, especially under acceleration

The hydro bags are supposed to have all the dampening built into them, but as they’ve got older and worn I’d guess many don’t work as well as they used to. Flushing them through with new fluid and setting the ride height as factory may help to a certain amount. I would imagine having the shock absorbers fitted could also take some of the load out of the bags and prolong their life

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You're quite right... measuring from centre of the wheel to arch is around 30cm .. which is well below standard 34.3 cm or 31.7 cm for a cooper s (excuse my metric measurements).

As it sits now, its not far from bump stops at all - so that would explain the car jumping around.

I'll pump it up a little and re-assess from there.

Yes, and yes.

Have done the conversion, drilled the top arm in place. It was all straight forward, completed in an hour or so. Make sure you tap the bracket nuts prior as well. Fit the comp rear bump stops.

Ride was much improved for me from what was factory settings. Less jumpy/skitish, not nose diving on heavy braking, more predicable through corners, generally feels more connected.

This was also fitted with adjustable arms/tie bar etc which means the setup can be matched to the ride height much better.

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1966 Mini Deluxe - “Gabby” 34 years under restoration and counting...
1970 MGBGT
1959 MGA

Absolute music to my ears

I'll repump first, then go from there... adjustable lower arms and tie bar rod have been on the wish list but need to focus on sorting out the needs before getting to the wants.

My front subframe was straight and the camber equal both sides. So I used fixed -1.5° arms. Less to go wrong. I thought the minispares adjustable looked flimsy for a road car.
Minisport UK ones are more solid, my son runs those.
I do have adjustable tie bars.

Edit
My top arms were too hard to drill on the car. Some are pretty soft but not these.
I used M8x100 grade 12 socket head bolts instead. I made 2 steel bushes 8mm bore x 3/8 OD for the shocks.
Still working fine after 30? years.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I had the rear comp bump stop first, plus refurb of all suspension rubbers/knuckles etc
Then did the adjustable arms/tie
Then the shocks

Driving the car for a few mths in between. Each change made an incremental improvement for me.

Having read and spoken to people who raced with hydro - they are also are suited to a certain style of driving. Having it float through a corner in a full power slide Nick swift style i think was the norm. So the other factor here is i think my driving style and handling expectation is not suited to that - i wanted something more connected. But i think it has still retained some of the softer ride elements with this setup.

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1966 Mini Deluxe - “Gabby” 34 years under restoration and counting...
1970 MGBGT
1959 MGA

Don't ignore the benefits of a good wheel alignment .... which, unfortunately, is not really possible without aftermarket adjustable bits. Track variations (ie wheel offsets) also have quite an effect.

Cheers, Ian

Really appreciating all the comments.

This afternoon I went to pump up the suspension.. then the schrader valve broke in the 556 coupler. While its roughly the correct height, the pin is now exposed and I dont trust that Murphy wont strike and have one side completely deflate.

Long story short, I just order a new 556 coupler (ebay) and a new valve + front shock kit from mini spares.