This is an interesting project. That (running!) American Austin 1931 roadster could be in the UK for £5000 & probably with all the spares
If the link works! Dam it didn't work!
Posted by: Tiggy - 08-02-2018, 10:20 AM - Forum: Events
- No Replies
Starts: 16-06-2018
Ends: 17-06-2018
Ashby Magna Midsummer Vintage Rally
16/17th June 2018
Holt Lane
Ashby Magna
Leicestershire
LE17 5NJ
The rally has been on the site for around 20 years now but prior to that it was at Highcross, Claybrooke, and was started by some very keen enthusiast's.
It attracts all ranges of people who wish to visit a more traditional event.
The weekend has all manor of attractions, from tractor displays, vintage & classic cars, full scale & miniature steam engines/lorries, fly fishing, working dogs, re-enactments, and much more.
The main arena see's the centre piece of the weekends events, where the displays take place. There is all sorts going on throughout the day, including the invitation steam, which gives the public the chance steer a full sized steam engine.
Saturday sees the 'famous auction' taking place!
Over the years thousands of items have been bought and sold. Previous years lots have included tractors, vehicles, engines, agricultural items and general items. 10.30am start, viewing on Friday & prior to the start
There is plenty to see and do for all ages, including a small fair, trade stalls and our craft tent. There is an array of food outlets that cater for all food tastes and for when you just want to take 5 and relax with a cold refreshing alcoholic drink, pay a visit to the on site fully licenced beer tent.
But drink responsibly, and please don't drink and drive!.
Hi all, Steve D here from Brisbane Australia, long time reader, first time writer. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some pointers with an issue I'm having. I've recently rebuilt an A7 engine (2 bearing, oil jets, 30’ oversize) and it's letting too much oil past the rings. So much that it’s blowing a lot of blue smoke, fouling even the hottest of plugs, leaking out past sparkplug #2 and when I inspected the pots you can see the oil ponding on the top of the piston (see fig 1). Having the nickname of “old smokey” is not something I aspire to! I used the split skirt pistons that had been in there before the rebuild as they seemed fine, nice fit and no nasty marks. The bore was honed and I installed a new set of rings, one oil at the skirt's base and another oil ring and two compression rings up top (see fig 2). Before the rebuild there was no excessive smoke, the rebuild was due to a bottom end bearing failure. My theory is that oil is bypassing the bottom oil ring via the split in the skirt and to an extent the same for the upper oil ring as the blunting hole at the top of the split extends nearly to the top rail of the upper most oil ring (fig 3). The worst case scenario would be if the blunting hole aligned with the ring gap. In this case there is nothing to stop oil migrating from the inside of the piston to the 2nd compression ring. So, if the pistons are the same before and after the rebuild why is there a problem now? My theory is that because of the rebuild a greater volume of oil is being delivered to the crank and as a by-product more is being splashed up on to the cylinder walls. What could cause a greater volume of oil to be delivered; 1.New oil pump internals; 2.Cleaned out 90 years of gunk from the oil galleries; 3.Replaced what I thought were damaged oil jets but upon reflection I think they might have been deliberately closed off; and; 4.Replaced the spring and ball oil pressure release mechanism. The engine did not have oil baffles at the start and thus they were omitted for the rebuild. So my first question to the group is, does the above theory hold any weight or am I heading down the wrong track? If the above is true then is a good start to install a set of oil baffles between the block and crankcase? Or maybe I should try to lower the oil pressure by backing off the adjusting screw? Cold starts shows 20psi, hot running is regularly 15psi and this is way in excess of the 1psi noted in Austin 7 companion. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
The short chassis AG tourer I have acquired appears to be a bit of a "hot rod" (well warm, anyway!)
It has a 4 speed box with unknown rear axle, but probably original, & 17" wheels. The speedometer has been changed from the original (that I do not have) to a 2.5"(approx. dia.) Smiths MA 42873/1000. 5 to 77 mph unit that is a bit beaten up, but seems to work.
The dash has been modified to take this smaller diameter unit.
Does any one know if it is likely to be suitable?....and does it matter!
David
So now I can see the regulator, I can understand why it will wind down (gravity assisted!) but only partly up. Both the quadrant and the cog it meshes with are very worn. Comparing a spare ?Austin-Healey Sprite regulator quadrant (which I feel certain was common to many BMC vehicles), it is pretty much identical - and indeed could be used to replace the original item. However the original cog is of a different diameter so would not mesh.
Would appreciate any advice here please. Don’t really want to go the way of a rubber wedge to hold things up!
I have a MG TD (yes, Shock! Horror!), as well as numerous Austin 7’s. I recently read a thread on the MG Enthusiasts’ BBS about values of old cars. I quote (with all due rights reserved etc.):
“The popularity and value of any pre 1960s car is on the decline. I have been trying to sell a 1933 MG J2 for over a year and very few people are interested. Compare this to Ford Escort Mexicos and Mini Coopers which a few years ago you would find in a scrap yard and they are now advertised at £50,000! This applies to all sorts of things. We had a superb roll top desk which at one time would have sold for £1000. It was too big for us so I asked a local auction house to sell it. They said transportation would cost more than I could sell it for! Eventually I sold it on eBay to a single bidder for £80. Compare that to UK G Plan and Ercol furniture from the 1960s which sells for a fortune.”
I have recently noticed that the Austin 7 market is beginning to soften in the UK slightly. Coupled with this, my local Austin 7 club (BA7C) is now mostly populated by retired, grey haired gentlemen of a “certain age”. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for the club to run its day to day business and events are poorly supported, viz. the BA7C rally 2017 attracted less than 50 cars, compared to Longleat and Spye Park in the ‘seventies and ‘eighties with 200+. I can relate to the furniture comment as well, I am interested in long case (grandfather) clocks. I recently bought a perfectly original 30hr “cottage” white dial clock dating from 1780 or so on eBay for £100. A few years ago, this would have fetched £1200 from an antique dealer and £500 from a second hand furniture shop. Nowadays, such items are difficult to give away.
Another MG BBS contributor from the USA states (again I quote with all rights reserved): “Generation X and Millennials have less interest in cars than Baby Boomers, especially older cars. The number of new license application is declining although the population is still increasing.
Many current owners of collector/antique cars reported they no longer enjoyed driving their older cars on congested highways with overly aggressive drivers.
There was some speculation that the collector car industry (and associated parts suppliers) will continue to collapse and might not be viable in 25 years. This could be exacerbated if new safety and clean-air regulations prevent older cars from even being registered.”
Maybe it’s time to reduce my collection of cars. I don’t want to but I also don’t want to lumber my executors with a load of old junk they have to dispose of if the future. What do the Austin 7 cognoscenti think? Discuss.
I might be a buffoon in my thinking and I've obviously not been too observant of late (been tied up in my day job), but I've been led to believe that the radiator surround that I'll be fitting to my Ulster Special should sit inside the shaped cow horns?
Whilst the curvature seems right for this, surely this isn't correct or is it?
I can't see that the radiator surround/shell that I have, a newly made one can allow the cow horns to sit inside, since the shell has stiffeners at the points where it would naturally sit. Also it will foul on the bolts that hold the cow horns down...though I could use countersunk bolts, but this was clearly not the appropriate remedy.
Can some of you put me out of my agony please, and set me straight.
I know I've been chastised slightly for this (no more comments on this please) but I'm using a Ruby chassis and I've bought what I assume to be the correct shaped cow horns.
I could post pictures later.
Many thanks.
Arthur
(07-02-2018, 10:30 AM)merlinart Wrote: What ho all.
I might be a buffoon in my thinking and I've obviously not been too observant of late (been tied up in my day job), but I've been led to believe that the radiator surround that I'll be fitting to my Ulster Special should sit inside the shaped cow horns?
Whilst the curvature seems right for this, surely this isn't correct or is it?
I can't see that the radiator surround/shell that I have, a newly made one can allow the cow horns to sit inside, since the shell has stiffeners at the points where it would naturally sit. Also it will foul on the bolts that hold the cow horns down...though I could use countersunk bolts, but this was clearly not the appropriate remedy.
Can some of you put me out of my agony please, and set me straight.
I know I've been chastised slightly for this (no more comments on this please) but I'm using a Ruby chassis and I've bought what I assume to be the correct shaped cow horns.
I could post pictures later.
Many thanks.
Arthur
Of course, it is possible...(I've not yet trial fitted the side panels forward of the main body) that the radiator surround/shell simply bolts to the body sides projecting forward of the cow horns?
1930 Mulliner Box saloon with suicide doors.
Sorry to ask the answer to what I feel sure is a simple question. How do you remove the winder handle? Do you carefully prise it off, and therefore is there a spring clip either on the handle or the spindle. Thank you.
I was given a book recently entitled "Austin Cars" published by Pearson and written by T.B.D. SERVICE? The book has an inscription on the flyleaf which I find charmingly nostalgic, sadly the car does not appear on the Chassis Register or registration number check, it may of course not have been a 7.
I really hope Chunky and companion really did enjoy many "Happy days" in the car!
I read the section on 7 engines and came to the paragraph about engine noise and vibration, which seemed concise and definitive, which went on to describe diagnosis. It mentions how to check for end float noise on the dynamo gear and instructs one to remove the cover plate and press a tommy bar against the drive gear. Could this be an explanation for the curious plate on the timing gear housing I wonder?
