OK time for some dumb questions...you know...the ones I'm good at

I have a set of spacer drums....and an 850....which I want to covert to twin leaders or disks up front.....

Can you also fit spacer drums to the front Having grown up with cars where drums were king....I'm not totally convinced that a good drum set up with the right linings would be that much worse than disks. Hell, the racers in the 50-60s used to pull huge american iron up with sintered iron linings and drum brakes)

Now...the Mini has a wider track at the front than at the rear.....so if you fit spacer drums at the rear and stay with the normal drums at the front...I suppose you might end up with similar track front and rear

Spacer drums front and rear, should maintain the original track ratio....and.....just give you a wider more stable stance

Any thoughts on my ramblings would be appreiciated

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"Show me the Mini!"

I have spacers all round.
I think all Mini S's came out with them.
Yes you can put them on.
And the mini is wider at the front than the rear, keep that in mind.

Yes, willy is right (I never thought I would say that!) The Mini S came with spacers on the front.
I am not against the use of drums on the front and I think that there is a lot that could be done to improve them.
The twin leading shoe brake is an advantage over the leading/trailing shoe of the 850. Twin leading shoes have the disadvantage of being easy to lock up and hard to unlock.
I have a theory that you could get better brakes by going to twin trailing shoes and a booster. Lots of big pommie stuff did this before discs and it may be worth a try. (done is a safe enviroment)

Hmmm thanks Mozza....so does that mean reverse the existing twin leader set up, add a booster with some very descent lineings
(and Bobs your Uncle )

Ummm...and can you fit standard 4.5 inch, drilled, steel wheels to spacer drums

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"Show me the Mini!"

Yep, but be carefull! It may not be any good! The booster may not give enough power to overcome the trailing shoes.
One thing with the twin leading shoe is that they work better going fowards than backwards which is allright until you drive up a steep hill and have to stop at the top and the brakes won't hold and you roll down the hill again! If you try them the other way with a booster it fixes that problem!

I used to run twin leading drums on the front with a booster..

Didn't stop tooo bad...at first. Get a bit of heat in them though and braking efficiency rapidly dropped...

There is less feel than discs, but they do the job if it's all you need.

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

OK ..so Mini S came with front spacer drums....any other models at all??...I think I know where there is an SS that may be available....

and would still like to know if Cooper drilled wheels will fit over them without needing flares on an 850 body...

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"Show me the Mini!"

Mick,
Used all round on Clubby S, SS, & 998LS. Also rear of Cooper S.

You will have the same front track as a Cooper S does, so with S wheels it's as legal as a Mk1S.
But the wheels cost $$$ now.

Beware of Moke spacer drums- they look the same but are 3/4" wide instead of 1".

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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.

Agreed, they do the job.

I thought the wheel track front and back on a mini is the same? I run spacered drums front and back and the LS conteassas to keep them under without flares and front and back seem to be the same width?

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Mini wheel track dimensions

Mini
F - 47 + 7/16 inches (1m 19.8cm)
R - 45 + 7/8 inches (1m 16.5cm)

Cooper S with 10x3.5" rims
F - 47 + 17/22 inches (1m 21.4cm)
R - 46 + 5/16 inches (1m 17.6cm)

Cooper S with 10x4.5" rims
F - 48 inches (1m 21.9cm)
R - 47 + 5/16 inches (1m 20.2cm)

Everytime the rear is narrower than the front.

EDIT- I just noticed that in the "Big Black Book" they've made errors in their inches to CM conversions!!!!! Oh well, the ones above are corrected

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

Various errors in the Big Black Book! Maybe they were in a hurry, to get home to Mother England...

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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.