This FAQ is provided as a guide and is by no means a definite description on the subject.  MiniResource and its staff will accept no liability for any damage or injury sustained whilst following this guide

Storing your mini for the winter

The storing of your mini over the winter months is a recommended procedure if you don't need it as a daily driver, such as a show car or a bit of weekend fun.  By correctly storing it, you will preserve its condition for many many years.  Most importantly you will not expose it to the highly damaging 'salt' or 'grit' that is put down on the roads over the winter months which can sit in your wheel arches and accelerate the rusting process.

So.. on a dry day, usually at the end of the show season, and when you see the first bit of 'salt' on the road its time to put your mini to sleep.  Try and run the petrol tank down as low as possible in the coming weeks so you don't have stale petrol in the tank when you come to take it out again. This is usually in October or November.

First of all start with a nice clean and dry garage. I pulled the car out and gave it a good sweep out before starting so no dust that was settled on the floor is kicked up when walking around if necessary.

Now whilst its out of the garage remove the tax disc and holder, store the holder safely in your house and if necessary send the tax disc back to the DVLA (in the UK) using form number V14 Refund/SORN Application available from your DVLA local office or the Post Office to get the remaining months money back.

Next remove the windscreen wipers, this will stop the rubber on them becoming brittle and cracking by being folded one way for a long time.  Most wipers simply pull off the spindle, my aftermarket chrome set use a little clip on the underside to release them.  Once removed ensure you wrap them up in an old rag to save them getting damaged.

Next step if applicable is to treat all the interior leather with a good quality protector, I used Autoglym.  Simply wiped over then lightly rubbed to a shine using the cotton car polish clothes in the left of the pic.

Don't forget to just pop the rear windows open, this allows the inside to 'breathe' and the air to flow, which helps to reduce any potential mould growth inside.

Now's time to reverse the mini back into the garage, once in park up in gear and with the handbrake on for the moment (will take off once up on axle stands).  Loosen the wheel nuts slightly so that they are not difficult to take off when the wheels are in the air .

Jack up the front of the car and place the axle stands underneath the strong sections of the subframes.  Jacking was done using a hydraulic trolley jack using care to jack on the strong sections of the front subframe, usually directly below the suspension struts.  The axle stands were placed just in front of this, along the horizontal section of the subframe, and padded with cardboard so the metal heads of the stands don't damage the subframe or remove the waxoyl coating.

Putting the car on axle stands will stop the tyres flat spotting over the coming months and save you having to roll the car forward and back to stop this.  It also reduces pressure on the suspension.

Jacking up the rear was done using the trolley jack with a long piece of wood on the head which when jacked ran across the back beam of the rear subframe, thus allowing you to put both the rear axle stands in at the same time.  I place my rear axle stands on the large flat section of the rear subframe usually directly below the suspension strut.  I've used wooden blocks here so that the metal edges of the stand don't damage the rear subframe.

Now take all the wheels off and clean the inside of them thoroughly and finish with a polish.  This will stop the brake dust getting bedded into the alloy, note the pic is just 6 months and about 1500 miles.  Store the wheels face up one on top of each other against a wall so that they are unlikely to get knocked over and the face damaged, cover with an old sheet to stop them getting dusty and anything falling on them and causing marking.

The next step is to remove the battery, as this will have to be kept topped up with charge through out the winter, you should not let a car battery to totally discharge as it can cause damage to the plates.  If you have a electrical point near the car then no need to remove the battery but in this case I had to. 
So firstly remove the boot carpet and the battery over by un-clipping the strap.

Now loosen the brace holding the battery against the side of the battery box by using a spanner on the nuts, only a little then you can un-hook it.

Undo the battery connections and pull to one side, I have used the plastic cover on the positive terminal at the back to shield the terminal so it doesn't bend back and touch the battery post.  Lift out a store where you can trickle charge it now and again.

The final steps are to release the handbrake that was applied for jacking purposes, ensure you don't lean too much on the edge of the door frame as its only on axle stands, and then cover up.

Job Done! until usually about April the next year.

Note :- on some earlier carb models it has been recommended to put a squirt of oil in the cylinders so they don't corrode, but I don't do this on my injection mini.