It is the time of the year that is not the best for classic cars. While I try to avoid driving on salty roads as much as possible – the Mini is my primary car and (almost) daily-driver. And considering it got much less TLC compared to my other cars, it is very reliable with very few issues that need to be corrected. Prepping it for winter was almost overdue.
The Yokohama A539 tires are performing well in rain, they are summer tires after all. Temperatures so far did not require Winter tires – but as those are legally required here I wanted to switch to the set of winter tires I have. As I did not want to store dirty wheels – I started by thoroughly cleaning the car and wheels. With the wheels off, it is also a good opportunity to check the brakes as well as checking and greasing up the suspension.
The Mini was my first complete restoration back in 2019. A bit more than 20000km were added since – most of those in Winter weather. Without having much experience then, I cleaned all parts with a wirewheel and brake cleaner. And then all they got was a few coats of Hammerite. Overall this held up quite well, but now rusty spots are starting to show up again. Even though I cannot address this now, I already decided that both subframes with everything attached will come out and get overhauled again in the future. But more important is functionality. The good news is that the brake components all working well with minimal wear.
The rubber guard paint used for undercoating when painting the car also held up well so far. The only issue I found was that I could hardly add grease on the right front ball joints. They will need to be serviced/replaced in spring. All rubber parts and Poly bushings looked alright – nothing to do here.
There are three minor rust spots on the metal that need to be addressed. One on the left rear quarter window, a stone chip that is starting to rust on the right sill and the right lower valance underneath the headlight. Once I can use my son’s Saab 900 again, I will get this sorted.
Fluids, valve clearance and ignition timing checks were all good. The alternator belt however needs to be changed. After recently watching another good episode of The Gentlemen’s Motor Racing Team I noticed I also have a small alignment issue. This most likely is also the reason why the belt occasionally squeals when I do a cold start.
So a few items have been added to my To-do list. Nothing is urgent and winter can come.
Fixing C6622 
Tim, you are a brave soul to drive that Mini in the winter. I’d be scared to death of all the salt. Everything gets salted here, constantly throughout the winter. If it ever rains enough to wash the roads…the salt trucks immediately coat them again. And, don’t even get me started on the brine solution they apply before the snow!
Have you ever tried any of those lanolin-based rust proofing? I’m curious how well they actually work.
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Tim have you tried four season tyres? I am on my third set of Vredsteins on our VW Tiguan and now first set on my Vito van. I have driven the Vito thro fairly deep snow and despite rwd and little weight over the rear wheels she never put a foot/wheel wrong.
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