Replacement rubber cone produced from original factory tooling to the original specification, complying to the original Rover/BMC drawing and manufactured in the UK and easily identifiable by having the original patent number "763432" moulded in to the cone
The design and rubber mould is now over 60 years old but they were fitted to every mini variant ever produced on the assembly line or supplied as a spare part, despite others claims. (Taken from a general suspension design/invention by Moulton in the 1950's) Dunlop held the patent after making it small enough to fit the mini with the help of Mr Moulton's involvement as Moulton Developments Ltd, where he was paid for his services by BMC.
Most complaints about other inferior cones now currently on the market is they sink or sag very quickly. They should always be replaced in axel pairs or a car set.
Neither Moulton or Avon Rubber ever produced or supplied any cone springs for any Mini ever built by Rover from 1959-2000 or sold as their spare parts.
They are only available with a Metric threaded top cup nut and metal ring as original, all made in the UK. Metric thread started in march 1976 with rubber compliance change and tooling revamp with less chemi black making them softer. UNF thread now no longer available.
The compact design, durability/quality of the rubber cone helped make the Mini the classic that it is today. Designed in the late 1950's it was ahead of it's time but BMC/Leyland used so many different lengths of rear trumpets they must have had problems to overcome. The main problem now, is that some may still be driving around on cones that could have been built in the early 1960's with a UNF thread and need replacing as the design was good but not ever lasting.
The rubber not only heats up in use it also gets very hard losing its shape and sags loosing it's ability to hold the car upright. It is not uncommon to have a cone sag so badly that it lowers the car 2 or 3 inches and it handles terribly. Like all rubber products, they only have a certain shelf life and being
You will require a tool to replace this item which is
TOOL07 for metric thread only or the dual threaded tool is
660330 and seven full turns of the tool will be enough to compress the
FAM3968.
The Dunlop name was deleted from the original UK Dunlop tooling when the tooling was procured as Dunlop is still a trademarked name and the Moulton name was also deleted to save confusion but now has M Parts Ltd on the rubber in its place. Still uses the original fixed hexagonal nut on the metal top plate for fitting and are still the same correct height of 93mm when new.
If it has Alex Moulton or Avon VMS imprinted into the rubber it is not the original or genuine item as fitted to any production mini or factory after sales unit ever. These aftermarket cones are UK made by Avon VMS owned by South Korean automotive supplier Dongah Tyre and Rubber? This Avon type also has the threaded top plate similar to our FAM3968EVO plus the C-STR687/688 competition Mini Spares type which are only marked with red or yellow identification dots.
12" wheels were 9.75" from ground to sill at front and 11" rear
10" wheels were half an inch lower at front and rear but 1" lower on rear early cars.
These heights did vary on cones settling but for a new performance part made by the same company who manufacture our
C-STR687C-STR688 competition cones see
FAM3968EVO.