Classic Motorsports

Innocenti Mini Cooper: Hot Stuff! Jun 22, 2008

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We took the Mini for a little drive last weekend, and while at a stoplight the guy in the next lane gave us some bad news: Our car was dropping coolant. The temperature gauge looked normal, but we still did a quick U-turn to head home. As soon as we finished the turn, the gauge started to climb. We stopped a few times to add coolant and made it home without pegging the needle.

We pressure tested the system the next day and found that the upper radiator hose was a tiny bit loose. So in addition to losing coolant, our system wasn’t fully pressurized.

We have new radiator hose clamps to install, and while we’re at it we’ll take a look at the whole system—fresh hoses and coolant plus a new thermostat. We’ll also replace the 7-lb. radiator cap with the 13-lb. one specified in the owners manual. (An online Italian to English translation site helped us with that one.)

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Comments

tedyirish:

Could you please send me a link to the owners manual website that you used for “Hot Stuff” details? Thanks. P.S. I own a 1973 Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300; red with black roof.
Aug 5, 2008 2:02 a.m.

David S. Wallens:

I actually have a hard copy of the manual. I got it from Walter Miller: http://www.autolit.com. And always cool to hear from another Innocenti owner.
Aug 5, 2008 9:38 a.m.

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We stopped a few times to add coolant and made it home without pegging the needle.