Maintenance Guide: Austin Mini

From Classic Car Life

Maintenance Guide: Austin Mini

The Austin Mini was one of the most widely produced cars in Britain in a many different forms including a van, an estate, a pickup truck and the most recognisable saloon. Like most classic cars, the Austin Mini does require some basic maintenance to keep it in good, roadworthy condition. Read on to find out more about maintaining the Austin Mini and replacing classic car parts on this old car.

Maintaining the Austin Mini

• The first thing you have to remember with the Austin Mini is to regularly check the oil levels. The A-series engine is prone to the odd oil leak and make sure you always keep the engine oil at the correct level. Because the engine sump is combined with the gears, you also need to keep an eye on the condition of the oil and change it accordingly. To top up the oil in the Austin Mini, pour it in through the rocker cover on the top of the engine.

• Although the cooling system on these classic cars is usually very good, it makes sense to check it every time you check the oil and top it up accordingly. In the summer months, you can get away with just using water if you have to but it is recommended (and essential in the winter) that you use proper engine coolant fluid with anti-freeze in this old car. Remember to be very careful when taking off the radiator cap if the engine is hot, water boils at a higher temperature under pressure and it is likely to spurt out and burn you when the pressure is released.

• Remember to check the air filter on these classic cars fairly regularly, if you are using the standard paper air filter, it will need cleaning more regularly. Cotton gauze air filters, like those made by K&N last much longer but still need a clean periodically with specialist air filter cleaner.

• Make sure you check the brakes to ensure they are fully functioning and that there is plenty of meat left of the brake pads and discs (if your car is fitted with disc brakes). The break fluid reservoir is at the back left of the engine bay near the clutch master cylinder; make sure that both of these have the correct amount of fluid.

• Other maintenance on the Austin Mini, like all classic cars should include things such as the tyres. Make sure that the tread depths are legal and that there are no signs of perishing. The standard mini exhaust can be prone to rusting so keep an eye on this, it will probably need changing every 5 years or so, if not sooner. Stainless steel exhausts are excellent classic car parts as they do not rust.

• The distributor cap and HT leads will not last forever on these classic cars. You will notice however when these classic car parts start to fail as it will result in a noticeable misfire or the engine won’t run at all.