I had a stimulating chat with the commendably helpful staff at Shield Batteries of Bishop's Stortford ("Battery Charged is the on-line division of Shield Batteries and we are the last independent manufacturers of batteries in the UK, as well as the manufacturer of hard rubber batteries").
 
No doubt 'old hat' to some, but if you've been wondering why your increasingly costly battery dies every couple of years the info below (slightly paraphrased from original text for your convenience) may be of interest - particularly as some among us may be just about to lock up the garage for the winter:
 
"We ship out via FedEx and the acid packs are generally shipped in a separate box from the battery itself. 
 
A dry-charged battery is not live, so theoretically it can be put on the shelf and left for a very long time.  If you plan to do this, bearing in mind most sheds and garages tend to be a little bit dusty and full of spiders it would be a good idea to keep it wrapped against the elements.
 
Once the acid is added to the battery, it is then live and, as you are aware, will self discharge and will need to be kept charged.
 
Your best bet for that would be to have a 6V intelligent charger.  When the car is not in use, you simply plug in and forget.  The charger will kick in and out as and when the battery needs to be topped up. 
 
In addition, keeping the battery topped up like this will keep sulphation at bay.  Sulphation sets in when the battery is discharged and left / kept discharged (or not properly charged) – the sulphur that attaches itself to the lead plates crystallises and doesn’t reabsorb back into the electrolyte – thus compromising the battery. 
 
The pitch cracking on the top of the battery is usually caused by the battery being allowed to sulphate, which causes the plates to expand; as the top of the battery is the weakest part the resulting damage is cracking in the pitch.
Extremes of temperature can also result in the pitch cracking, for instance if the vehicle is left in a warm garage during the summer which becomes very cold in winter."
 
"As a rule of thumb the higher the ampere-hour rating the better, however I take on board your comment regarding the Dynamo. If you are heavily discharging the battery you may have trouble re charging it with a Dynamo. Having read the e mail trail it sounds as though you are not placing heavy demands on the battery, so the Dynamo should be capable of keeping the battery charged whilst using the vehicle.
 
I note Alan’s comments relating to a smart charger & agree that would be the ideal way of maintaining the battery charge & health especially if you are not using the vehicle on a regular basis."
 
The key message here is if you hope for your battery to last a few years, don't allow it to go flat and stay flat while your car is 'lying fallow'. Hope this is of interest.

What ho chaps

Has anyone any photos showing the lowering of the radius arms and the new locations please. I understand with a bowed front axle on an "Ulster" body/chassis (a Rod Yates body) then requires lowered radius arms.

Any assistance will be gratefully received.

Many thanks

regards

Arthur

Was it the 1935 or 1936 Berlin Motor Show where Adolph Hitler asked where the Dixi was, when visiting the Austin stand?
In the photograph showing Adolph Hitler shaking hands with Lord Austin there is, just visible, an Austin 7  'Speedy' which I understand still exists and was, or still is, in the safe hands of Stephan Schmitt.
Does anyone know the answers to these queries please?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09...-episode-2

(Just reviving my old thread from the old forum and updating slightly) 

The following is a post of my progress on recreating a 1929/30 Austin seven ulster (super sports) In New Zealand.  It is far from complete but I will try to update the posts as I progress.

I purchased the miscellaneous car parts while I was a student working in Christchurch. With no home or garage I stashed it all in a storage unit where it sat for a year. Fast forward two years and it is now being compiled into a reproduction ulster. That is the goal, but time, money and skills will ultimately govern the result.
 
As someone with no experience with Austin’s, this has been extremely challenging but equally rewarding.

      
An assortment of parts and the beginning of one hell of a journey.
The following pictures show the floor pan in construction.

   
   
Floor pan halves being folded up.

   
Bit of a test fit....

   
   
   
Floor pan edge being lifted showing tuck. Tucks are put in to help shrink the metal as it is lifted bit by bit until it is fully lifted up. The tucks are cold shrunk. It all looks a bit messy, but with some good dressing and planishing, it'll finish up well.

   
Just a few of the tools I have made/purchased. I don't have access to machinery, so I rely heavily on hand tools and the slower techniques... but as they say, there's no substitute to time and patience.

To be continued soon....(It seems I have reached the limit of photos for now).

I have nearly completed the next A7CA (Austin Seven Clubs' Association) Archive e-Newsletter which is due to be emailed out to subscribers in the next few days.

If you would like to be kept informed of the latest Archive news. developments and acquisitions but have not yet subscribed, please sign up to this free publication here:http://a7ca.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=e68574074b7b18affb3cb77b8&id=c96760f8ff

If you have missed the previous editions, and would like to see them, please email me on dunford1@aol.com

Hello All

I have recently carried out a compression test on my vehicle for no other reason than curiosity and wondered
if somebody would be kind enough to analyse the results for me please.
The engine is a '37 Ruby M2443** 2 bearing and I did the test on a cold engine.
Cylinders 1 - 4    80, 83, 85, 80  respectively.
As I said, I am only curious as to whether these results are in the right field because the car is running fine.

Many thanks for your time.

Graham.

I have a repor Rist horn on my car, a 1930 Ulster rep. I had understood from a previous post that Klaxette were also used. I have found both a Lucas Klaxon and a Klaxette in restored condition and wondering which would be appropriate for the car. The Rist definitely looks the part, but the sound doesn't quite live up to the looks.

 Erich in Sunny Seattle

I am missing one of the oilers for the rear brake levers.
They are called Winkley Oilers and whilst i can buy new would prefer an original.
Does anyone have one to spare?
They are such a neat way of oiling something but not letting dirt in.
John W (28 Chum)

Nothing really to do with Austin Sevens apart from the fact that I was invited to participate in a meeting of our local car & motorcycle club in a village called Bessèges for their annual Chestnust festival. In amongst the attendees were not one but two MOCHET Voiturettes (cyclocars) which I guess must be a pretty rare ocurrence to see two in the same place. They both date from the early 1950s and feature a mid mounted 125cc two stroke engine driving the rear wheels, which are closer together than the fronts. Bit similar to a Bond mini-car but the other way round and even more agricultural:



There was also a very tidy Facel-Vega convertible, also pretty high on the rarity scale (so I'm told):



Not much pre-war stuff on show apart from a Citreoën 11BL Traction , a 1930 Peugeot 201 (unrestored) and a little 4 seater from Angleterre...