Good morning all. Once again my son and I made our pilgrimage to Spring Beaulieu. First of all many thanks to the users of this forum who stopped to say hello - without them the silence would have been deafening.
The usual old lags were there. It was good to see Jamie of the 7WS out for the first time since his indisposition, Tony Betts who tried to run me over (tip Tony, after I have paid you), Dave Wilkinson with his mass of parts and Willie McKenzie the quality of whose parts is amazing.
The number of unoccupied pitches suggests that interest in this event is on the wane, helped by over-officious organisers. Autojumbles need Autojumblers a basic business fact that seems beyond Beaulieu's comprehension. As for the public were there any other events taking place on Saturday? I heard of a wedding and a football match but did these affect the attendance? There were the usual tyre-kickers and ice-cream lickers in attendance, one of whom proclaimed that my lamps were made in China! The response that the last time I looked Staffordshire was not a province of China met with the reply - whatever..................

Best regards from Staffordshire the creative county.

Stuart

Here I will compile photos and videos of the Austin 7 out in the wilderness as opposed to tucked up safely in the garage with bits missing.

The first video is our most recent trip and the longest since restoration. 80 miles.  I know some of you may laugh but it was a big adventure for me and my daughters.

I know it's now available online, but worth asking in case someone has two...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-Aust...SwdIBa4FGU

My special will tramp like mad if I try and reverse in a rush - for example against the clock at a driving test.  From the thread on a recently purchased 1936 Ulster it seems I'm not alone with this.  Rather than add to that thread (I was going a bit cross eyed there) I thought I'd ask the question here.

Has anyone got to the bottom of the cause and fixed it?  

With my car the prop is the late type and rebuilt so no slop.  Short damper arms and done up tight.  Flat springs.  Boxed chassis but the body adds nothing to the rigidity which comes out at about "normal level of not very stiffness".  Engine is soft mounted.

If I'm gentle with it then its fine...

   
I wonder if anyone knows what type of hinge this is and where I can find a replacement?
 It is off the  rear luggage hatch and one has broken.
Appreciate any help.
David B

Is there a more detailed route posted anywhere for anyone wanting to observe the cars and get some photos.
Particularly looking at the section between Oxenhope and Ilkley.

I've just acquired a 1936 Ulster having no experience of pre-war cars and I have number of queries for which any advice would be welcome.
1. the car jumps out of first gear, which I was told is normal. Is this actually the case and if not does it indicate significant wear in the gearbox ?                                                                                                                                                                                     2. the car judders violently in reverse; clutch problems or engine mountings ?                                                                                     3. what are the correct tyre pressures ?                                                                                                                                           4. does anyone produce copies of the original owners manual or something similar ?

I think that's enough for now, though I'm sure there'll be more. All help gratefully received.

Lawrence Forrester

is it still available as a new reprint? 

I think the Cornwall site mentions John Barker, but I seem to remember seeing it on one of the clubs booklists.

Yesterday I did a 75 mile run in the chummy. It was a hot day.All was well for the first 30 miles but then the engine started running very lumpily and would not exceed 25mph in 2nd gear for a further 20 miles. On climbing out of lower ground onto the moors above Sheffield everything returned to normal. The same thing happened two years ago on the same run so I fitted a heat shield on the exhaust manifold and on the downpipe but these mods haven't done the trick. I checked and cleaned the distributor points,ap and all HT lead connections but all appear sound anyway. Any ideas re preventing this please? The chummy has a 4 blade fan and small SU carb and electric pump. Looked on the old forum but can't find anything.
Thanks,
Dave.