Introducing Wlliam the '68 Amazon Estate

[Derek UK]

Comments quickly wanted from estate owners who tow caravans. Gilberry? As with the standard saloon rear springs, the estate ones are still quite soft so a bit of an uprating here might be worthwhile. They are easy to change, almost easy enough to swap over just for planned caravanning maybe.

Not mentioned so I guess you have a suitable tow bar tucked away?

I hope the holiday goes well. Pics are mandatory of course.....

[swedishandgerman]

Thanks Derek!

I've been onto our man Classicswede who is sending out a pair of twin rate rear springs soft at normal height but firm when loaded. I'm being tight when it comes to his suggestion on shocks; there are some good uprated ones at well in excess of double the price of the standard Monroe ones from Brookhouse. For the mileage I do and the fact that I am keeping the old car as close to standard as possible, I'm going for the cheaper option.

My rear springs have gone saggy anyway and the car looks lower at the back than the front. The shock absorber bushes are well deteriorated, so it's a job that was on the to do list, this journey aside.

A tow bar came with the car. I took it off thinking I had no use for it. I need to get an electrics kit.

[swedishandgerman]

I've completed a job that I've been putting off, but a good job done - upper wishbone bushes

It's a pig of a job, but one that I'd recommend to any Amazon owner

The standard material is completely insufficient and lasts no time at all. With all the pounding they take, they go out of shape. Next to the manifold the rubber deteriorates. Result is the front wheel camber is unsteady and straight ahead is vague and turn in is wooly

PU replacements are cheap enough and last well

Don't follow the instructions in the Haynes Manual which suggests to virtually take the whole front end apart. You just have to undo the upper arms and support the whole lot on a trolley jack

Taking it all apart is a doddle. Especially if the old bushes are as bad as mine. Putting the new ones back on is a fiddle to say the least. You have to wiggle them onto the stub until there's just enough thread to put the nut on, then tighten it all the way home. Allow 3.5 hours and remain calm!

After, I checked my camber setting which were both at 0 degrees. That's the Volvo recommended setting, so I'm sticking with it. Rob at a Amazoncars insists on a tiny bit of negative camber, but the hassle involved in changing the shims isn't something I can be bothered with

Couple other jobs done - the tow bar and electrics are done and I've replAced the front seat belts with inertia reel ones

[swedishandgerman]

Here are the old vs new

Just driven the old car and it's very much more steady and responsive to quick steering movements

[Derek UK]

"After, I checked my camber setting which were both at 0 degrees. That's the Volvo recommended setting, so I'm sticking with it. Rob at a Amazoncars insists on a tiny bit of negative camber, but the hassle involved in changing the shims isn't something I can be bothered with."

Just adding another of the thick shims (6mm) in each position gets you just about the right amount of negative camber. No I haven't done it but should be a pretty quick and easy job if the nuts don't give you any hassle, fit new ones anyway. Poly bushing the anti roll bar worth considering, even just doing the vertical link rods.

[222s]

To add more info to what Derek says, there's a graph on page 6 in the green book that shows the different thickness of shims required for a specific change in geometry.

[swedishandgerman]

I did it to my Amazon saloon when I sportied up the suspension. It looked a simple job but was a nuisance as you need a helper to take the weight so that you get the right gap to slot the shim in. The difference between 0 and a little bit of negative was not noticeable.

My helper - that's my wife - kicks up such a fuss when I ask for help with the car. I've had to be good and nice all day because later I'm requesting assistance with my 2 person method of filling an Amazon gearbox of which I'll provide details after

[swedishandgerman]

Ignore the above. She wouldn't help so I climbed in other and aimed the oil and the hole in the side of the gearbox and fired

Afterwards I hooked up the old cara and went for a burn and it's fine

[swedishandgerman]

After changing the oil the other day, I went in under to check for leaks. Or rather, check where the leaks are and I noticed it's leaking though the middle of the oil pressure switch

Am I right in saying it's just a normal Mini oil pressure switch?

Separately, it had an odd 5 minutes the other night when the amp light came on up to about 2,500 rpm. I checked with my voltmeter and it was very low. I've had a fiddle around with things and all of a sudden it came back on again at a healthy 13.4V and has been fine since. I'm hoping that in the fiddle around it sorted out a dodgy connection, so I have since cleaned up all the connections down there. With the imminent trip, I feel nervous about not knowing exactly what caused this! Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

[222s]

Originally Posted by swedishandgerman

After changing the oil the other day, I went in under to check for leaks. Or rather, check where the leaks are and I noticed it's leaking though the middle of the oil pressure switch

Am I right in saying it's just a normal Mini oil pressure switch?

Is that the one on the side of the block? Yes, the thread is the same as on a Mini / A series engine, but not sure about the trigger pressure.

Awful things - I got fed up with replacing the repro junk every three years* that I eventually converted to a pukka capillary oil pressure gauge. So much more useful than a 'your engine died three miles ago' light, as even when all is ok, they can still impart a lot of useful information.

*I believe that the close proximity to the downpipes is part of the problem.

Incidentally, the lack of oil pressure gauges is also one of my pet hates with modern cars...