I’ve just started to strip down my recently acquired 1936 Two Seater (Opal) in order to find out the condition of the car before I embark on a rebuild.
One of the first problems I’ve encountered is the bottom radiator fixings, these have come adrift from the bottom tank. I am new to Austin Sevens and I have no idea what these bottom mountings should look like but it looks to me like an old repair has failed. The studs appear to be modified coach bolts complete with square nuts. On one side where the radiator has been vibrating against the broken stud, has worn through the skin of the bottom tank.
I would be grateful if somebody could let me know what the original setup was regarding the bottom fixing and offer an opinion as to whether this radiator is salvageable.

Many Thanks,   ..... Phil.

   

   

Apologies if covered before, but many cylinder blocks now have small cracks radiating out from the centre head stud. The general consensus seems to be use another one if you have the choice.

I'm curious, has anyone actually suffered an engine failure as a result of these cracks?
And if yes, what happened? (Water in the bore? Stud pulled out? Or something more dramatic...?)

Anyone found a way to repair them?

Thanks
Chris

It is my sad task to announce that Peter Relph sadly passed away yesterday, 12th October. Peter was a former editor of the Grey Mag and also of the PWA7C magazine. A long standing and staunch supporter of the Association, member of Pre War and the VSCC, he was a lover of all vintage machinery especially Austin Sevens. He will be sadly missed by many people. RIP Peter.

Chris Garner
Chairman - A7CA.

Hi,
    not sure if anyone would be interested but there are a pile of A7 bits at PSP Auctions Buckingham MK18 tomorrow.
Looks like mostly engine, front and rear axle, take a look.

Still looking for a Ewarts Main and reserve push pull petrol tap.

Good morning.

Can anyone confirm which model of trafficator is fitted to the Ruby? Is it the SF34?

Assuming spare lenses and other components for these to as elusive as I think that they are, does anyone know whether the arm, cover and orange lens from the Morris Minor SF80 type can be fitted?

Regards,

Jamie.

Hi all,  are there any books on Gordon England Austin 7 ?

I'm seeking some guidance about a slightly unusual situation regarding a registration number transfer. A double transfer, in fact.

Some time ago, I owned a Morris 8 and sold it after a while in favour of something else. The new owner kept it for a few years, but when they eventually sold it, the car went abroad. In order to prevent the complete loss of the original registration upon export, the foreign buyer suggested that they retain the number. This they did and simply put the number onto their modern car.

Fast forward to just a few days ago and I have kindly been offered the opportunity to buy the number from them, as they are in the process of selling the (modern) car that's currently wearing it. This idea is very attractive to me, as I have a Ruby that has worn an age-related plate since being dragged out of a barn 35 years ago, and I naturally like the idea of giving it a number that has been in my possession in the past.

The seller has offered to arrange transfer directly to the Ruby, which is fine, except that I am concerned about the possibility of unnecessarily losing the present age-related number in the process. As it was issued such a long time ago, I don't think it has non-transferrable status, but I'm not sure if it's possible to tell from the V5C alone. The other concern is whether there are any conditions to removing the present number from the Ruby and putting it onto retention in my name. Of course, I've been reading up about this at the DVLA website, but I'm still not really clear about the whole thing. I remember that in the past it was necessary for a vehicle to have an MoT before the number can be removed. If so, that could be problematic, as the car is presently not roadworthy, although it is taxed and insured.

Has anyone else had recent experience of a scenario similar to the above? Many thanks.

I have always been intrigued by the Birkett statement in the green book suggesting long, narrow bore 7/8" ID tailpipes were best. This old forum 2014 thread is worth re-invigorating:

http://pub25.bravenet.com/forum/static/s...8&cmd=show

Ray White's comments on replacing the large bore rear pipe of his Swallow with an 1" bore (and finding it improved) contrasts with Sandy Croall's observation that when his LWB rear pipe fell off, performance improved (it became akin to the SWB system).

Any more recent experiences from those experimenting with standard manifolds and engines? Were Austin exhausts overspecced in diameter?

Would anyone object to an Austin 10 question? It's just that I'm struggling to obtain information via the relevant club and forums, and feel that the Austin 7 folk are more inclined towards technical discussions, so might be better placed to advise. I do own a couple of Sevens, by the way!

The car is a 1934 10/4, a late chrome rad model. I'm nearing the end of a clutch rebuild, but there's one point of detail that isn't quite right and I don't want to put it all back together until I'm 100% happy with it all.

The three clutch toggle levers have hardened steel pins, similar to a 7, but of smaller diameter. The ones on my car are badly worn and must be replaced. These are tricky things to get hold of, but I did find one supplier. The original pins have a radius on each end, which ensures that there are no edges that would protrude from the toggle lever post. This is important, in order to prevent any possible fouling of the recesses of the pressure plate. However, the replacements lack the radius, although they do have a slight chamfer. I've tried putting one of the pins in my lathe and using a small sharpening stone to form a radius, but the metal is just too hard to make any real progress.

One suggestion is that I try making a set myself, out of silver steel. However, I'm not sure that my lathework skills are sufficient to get the pins just right, plus I've not worked with silver steel before. I presume that heat treatment would then need to follow, for hardening, but I have no prior experience of this.

Any advice, please? I've attached a couple of pictures, one showing the new and old pins, and the second illustrating how the edges of the pin-ends protrude slightly from the post.

Many thanks.