Ignition Shield

This may seem like a silly question, but I would welcome tips on what other owners use as an ignition shield on their Elf or Hornet. I know I could fit the standard shield as fitted by Rover to the Mini, however I find this a bit clumsy to look at and hides too much of the engine! the Cooper 35th Anniversary clear plastic one would be nice but is like hen's teeth.

I know Austin Rover did a smaller one years ago that screwed on to the inside of the front panel that protected the distributor, however I haven't seen these available anywhere.

Many thanks

Paul

I have been thinking of a clear plastic one in the past but thought it would go quite shabby quickly?
A fellow miniaddict member uses a "marigold" domestic glove (and a bright yellow one at that!) It works a treat but then,his is an ordinary mini so it's not seen as prominantly as the Elf and Hornet. You can obtain household gloves in black so maybe???????????

I don't have any trouble as such, I have cleaned the leads and sprayed them with DW40 on a regular basis. Seems to work

Thanks for that, we do have another Mini for regular running, so the Hornet is only likely to be going out on dry days but you never know in this country when you'll get a sudden downpour

I got caught out on the Edinburgh City Bypass with a Mini last year in such circumstances and it wasn't a pleasant experience . Luckily, the damp start/WD40 did the trick so I'll just make sure I keep some in the boot.

I have been told NOT to use WD40 in the locks as it dries out into a powder eventually (don't we all!) and can clog up the locks?

As the Elf is slightly different to a normal Mini when the bonnet's open, I fitted a steel plate (about 5" square) that deflects most of the wetness away from the dizzy. In addition, I adopt the same solution on all my Minis, which is 8" cut from an old inner tube, slipped over the dizzy cap, and gathered round the leads with a tie-wrap. Works a treat!

If you still use the side exit dizzy cap mini spares sell a cover for them and the coil
[url=coil cover]http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=33225&title=COIL%20RUBBER%20COVER%201959-19...[/url]
[url=dizzy cover]http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=32920&title=DISTRIBUTOR%20RUBBER%20COVER%20...[/url]

these are pretty effective, but a can of wd40 is always to hand. Personally I have a sheet of steel attached to the back of the grill with a few holes cut in for air flow, but covers the dizzy etc. Effective but not pretty, but I doubt you will be you will be going where we do - I also seal the leads into the cap with silicon sealer and before every event spray with wd40.

Hope this helps

Gordon