My project mini is now a rolling chassis ready to go get welded up and resprayed only problem being i now have no way of getting it to my mate about 40 miles away!
Would it be safe enough towing the mini with no engine in it provided i re-attached the brake master cylinder and bleed the brakes? It is a 1970 mk3 so has no servo.
Only other problem being the engine is out but the driveshafts are still attached to the hubs. will i manage to loosen the hub bolt without any special tools or will the wheels just turn?
I think you’ll struggle to tow it safely plus not sure of the legalities of towing it in that condition either. You would be better borrowing a trailer or an A frame or dolly to at least get the front end off the road.
Well i didnt think it would be very legal but i cant get a trailer from anywhere and the only person i know with a towbar just wrote his car off, which is typical.
Was thinking of hiring a van but one big enought to take the mini will be over £100 for the day.
Unless it is taxed insured and MOT’d* then none of its wheels can touch the road. Thats the law. The only option is a trailer and if a copper pulls you over without any of the above on a vehicle you’ll be up the creek with no paddle :sad:
As for towing without and engine then yes you would be fine providing the brakes worked. The driveshafts would be an issue if they were still fitted as they would be flopping around in the engine bay, your best bet is to remove them from the outer CV.
Probably better to for out the £100 for the van than the £1000+ fine and points you’d get if you tried to move it and got caught.
*edit - to be pedantic I guess you could say you can drive it without MOT or tax if you’re on your way to get it MOT’d - but been as though yours would struggle with the emissions test at the moment it doesn’t really apply
i’ve been towed in mine before with no engine fitted with no problems.
it was about 2 miles either way to our unit so i could cut and weld in my bulkhead box. just left the driveshafts all they did was spin round on the subby with no damage.
cheers for all the responses. I think my best bet would be to go to the local police station and ask them the laws on it and if i could class it as a trailer although im almost sure they’ll tell me its a no no unless i put my car number plate on the backof the mini and a tail board with lights etc…
The mini isnt taxed, mot’d or insured. Its tax exempt but then i still need a tax disc for it.
im just trying to find a cheap effective way of doing this as the money could be better spent on body panels.
get your local recovery company to tow it for you and say its cash and not fussed too much when its done on a said day, much better than risking your motor
I don’t know quite how it works in the UK with VAT and all, but here in Oz (we have a GST which is similar?) if you let your local towing/recovery co. know that you’re paying cash and don’t require a receipt, the bill might be a LOT less than quoted.
Firstly, even if it is a trailer it needs an MOT (trailers over 750Kg gross need a certificate now and there’s no grandads rights on this one).
Secondly, you aren’t allowed to tow one car with another for this reason (or this distance!). Towing is only to get a car out of traffic in an emergeny unless you tow with something such as an A frame which is capable of steering and stoping the towed vehicle without someone having to do it. And yes you would need a light board on the back. If you’re going a couple of miles down the road to the scrappy or whatever then fair enough, but 40 miles? Be serious.
I have to agree with what’s been said above. Talk to a local one man band recovery operation near your destination and tell them that you need your car moving but it’s not an emergency. Tell them that if they are ever on their way near your house and going back to base empty then you would appreciate a tow and pay cash. Anyone who carries freight for a living hates moving empty so this will interest them. Paying cash in hand might not be a brilliant idea though as if it’s not an official job then you won’t be covered by their insurance and I doubt you’d be covered by your own if they dropped your car.
from a legal side, its a [SIZE=14]big[SIZE=1] no no!!
from a safety side, its a big no no!!
its still classed as a motorvehicle under its definition that it is made, adapted or intended for such use…with or without an engine makes no difference.
as above, neither could you realistically tow for 40 miles without a proper setup…not as i recently came across an escort attempting to tow another escort using bed sheets as a rope… funny i know but still ruddy stoopid…
theres plenty of places that will do transport jobs, i got a quote just over 200 squids to transport the estate to cornwall from leeds…40 miles shouldnt be too pricey but a whole lot safer!!!
If your with the AA or RAC then ring them and say you just broke down for no reason and get them to take it home on their truck. If they notice there is no engine then act dumb and say it must have fallen off somewere and start looking in the hedge for it.
> If your with the AA or RAC then ring them and say you just broke down for no reason and get them to take it home on their truck. If they notice there is no engine then act dumb and say it must have fallen off somewere and start looking in the hedge for it.
and that will be the reason why it wont start
but still ruddy stoopid…