Chrome handbrake lever

[mab01uk]

Other thing we used to look for was the copper header tank and strap from AD016 cars, looked great polished up and helped stop overheating - still a useful mod today

Yes that expansion tank and strap was always a useful mod and cured many Mini overheating problems. I mounted mine up on the bulkhead. Reading books about the Works Minis recently it seems they did the same but mounted the tank in the passenger foot well. I think later ADO16 and other BL cars like the Landcrab that also had them (different size?) went over to plastic tanks which were not as sought after as the early copper/brass tanks polished up.

[Exminiman]

Other thing we used to look for was the copper header tank and strap from AD016 cars, looked great polished up and helped stop overheating - still a useful mod today

Yes that expansion tank and strap was always a useful mod and cured many Mini overheating problems. I mounted mine up on the bulkhead. Reading books about the Works Minis recently it seems they did the same but mounted the tank in the passenger foot well. I think later ADO16 and other BL cars like the Landcrab that also had them (different size?) went over to plastic tanks which were not as sought after as the early copper/brass tanks polished up.

Still got a couple of copper tanks somewhere.... - yes the white plastic ones were not the same.

Like you I mounted them on the bulkhead - I assumed that they had to be higher than the rad cap ? - surly (Shirley) they do don't they ?

[111Robin]

Other thing we used to look for was the copper header tank and strap from AD016 cars, looked great polished up and helped stop overheating - still a useful mod today

Yes that expansion tank and strap was always a useful mod and cured many Mini overheating problems. I mounted mine up on the bulkhead. Reading books about the Works Minis recently it seems they did the same but mounted the tank in the passenger foot well. I think later ADO16 and other BL cars like the Landcrab that also had them (different size?) went over to plastic tanks which were not as sought after as the early copper/brass tanks polished up.

Still got a couple of copper tanks somewhere.... - yes the white plastic ones were not the same.

Like you I mounted them on the bulkhead - I assumed that they had to be higher than the rad cap ? - surly (Shirley) they do don't they ?

On the ADO16 they're mounted down below at the bottom of the front panel. They don't rely on gravity it's the syphoning effect that makes it work.

[Exminiman]

yes, your right, just looked at a few photos, had it in my head they were on inner wing ......

[Peter Laidler]

Did we ever establish exactly what cars were fitted with the chrome handbrake levers. My S has got one and I'm at my whitz-end with worry now! Wot....., with Beauliey coming along soon I'm expecting to be chastised for not only having the wrong colour white, but a wrong colour handbrake too!

[mab01uk]

Did we ever establish exactly what cars were fitted with the chrome handbrake levers. My S has got one and I'm at my whitz-end with worry now! Wot....., with Beauliey coming along soon I'm expecting to be chastised for not only having the wrong colour white, but a wrong colour handbrake too!

Based on my scrapyard visits in the 1970's looking for chrome handbrakes, etc, I would vote for Elf/Hornet and the upmarket versions of the BMC 1100/1300 having them but I rarely found any examples of the S in the scrapyards I visited, at least not before they were striped of everything unique to the S.
If it is confirmed they were not standard on any S, then you probably need to park out of sight in the public car park or if you are brave enough to drive into the show area, best cover the handbrake discreetly with a coat or something to prevent it glinting in the Beaulieu sun and giving the game away. Hopefully if it is bright and sunny enough for wearing sunglasses few will notice the wrong colour white either!

[Peter Laidler]

That's put my mind at rest Martin. Until a few minutes ago I was bordering on suicidal......