Hi all
The door catches on my Pearl have seen better days, anyone know if and where Replacements are available, or does anyone have a pair they could spare?
I have now bolted down my Rod Yates body to the chassis to begin checking the fit of all the other panels then engine and gearbox fit etc.
Once this has all been check fitted, it will all be dismantled and the chassis blasted then painted, then the chassis fully refurbished throughout.
I am initially fitting and running the Reliant set up whilst I rebuild the original A7 engine/gearbox at leisure.
I have 2 Reliant engine/gearbox combinations plus a bare block and head, so with the latter it is easy to move components about on the chassis. The sump will have to be cut and modified to fit forward in the chassis and I intend using the chassis bolt holes for the original engine, for the Reliant, so will fabricate suitable mountings etc.
Have any others done similar please? I know that some have, indeed I spoke with a chap at the Beaulieu 750MC meeting, but failed to get his name and number.
I would appreciate photos of such an installation, particularly where the sump has been modified thus allowing the engine to sit forward. It is also a question of getting the height correct being that the engine from sump bottom to top of SU carb is taller than the original.
So, lots of play time ahead! I shall re-install the original engine/gearbox, carefully noting position of everything relative to the new body etc, then do similar with the bare Reliant block with plate and gearbox on the back. I expect to have to have a new propshaft made up, but then I deal with Bailey Morris for shafts for my three wheelers anyway.
Many thanks in advance, this is a magnificent forum and my first real foray into vintage stuff.
I wonder if anyone recognises this blue saloon? It has had quite a lot of work done on it, such as hydraulic brakes, up-rated headlamps, indicators, battery under the bonnet and a modified engine (late Ruby head, SU carb, 'bunch of bananas' exhaust, SU fuel pump, etc). The floor-pan has probably been replaced because the rear foot-wells and battery box have gone. The light blue upholstery is in very good condition, as are the headlining, sunroof and carpets. It has been in Warwickshire for about 10 years, and the A7CA Register indicates that it was previously owned by someone in the Solent A7C.
The lift a dot thread prompts me to ask this question.
Can anyone point me at a diagram as to the way of folding the hood canvas on an AG tourer (6ft3" Chassis, Chummy style steel body & doors) And how does it stay folded? Is there a hood cover to make it look tidy?
The A7 Companion shows how it is done on a Speedy, a cabriolet & a "two seater sports model", but no tourer - interestingly it shows where to stow the sidescreens,(right at the back, folding the rear seat -back out of the way) sadly the bit of wood with its cunningly drilled holes shown is long gone on my car. On the other hand that must have been for the long chassis cars with their massively increased space in the back (HO HO!) My seat back is fixed, only the squab lifts out.
Also how are the hood irons held down? I imagine a strap, but is it loose or fixed to something? I have some side curtains that appear to be almost unused, just grubby. I have yet to make a trial fitting (can't have all my excitement at once!)
Picture shows how it arrived from USA with liberal use of string!
The bearing faces of the stub axle and beam axle need to be flat and square to the king pins. Due to king pin wear/wobble over years these faces become unequally worn. They should be resurfaced. Probably only a couple or so thou metal removal involved. What tool to be used?? I am told a spotface cutter on a pilot is the item required. The A7 companion mentions a D cutter. The cutter is in the form of a cylinder with cutting teeth on one face and it has a hole in the middle through which a pilot fits with the cutter being able to be fixed to the pilot. This allows the cutter to be put between the stub axle eyes then the pilot to be put through to be running in the bushes. I found such a pilot/cutter arrangement but pilot alone was in region of £70 and cutter £130ish!!!!!!!! Does anyone know of a cheaper version suitable for A7verners?
A local elderly engineer has made me an alternative version......a cylinder of metal 1.2685' dia. with 5/8" hole and rod of 5/8' steel. The cylinder is put in place and the rod pushed through the king pin bushes and cylinder and the cylinder held onto the rod by a grub screw. The faces of the cylinder are parallel and square to the pilot rod. Grinding paste is put on the cylinder face and using a slow speed hand drill the cylinder pulled against the axle face to grind away a small amount and so square up and clean up the bearing surfaces. Simples - and cost £12 for him to make for me. I will shortly be trying this method.
The A7 has a flanged bush in the bottom of the stub axle to take the king pin (phosphor bronze?). Between that and the axle beam eye there is a thrust washer. The Big 7 is similar except no flange on the lower bush so the thrust washer runs directly on the stub axle and beam axle eyes. The big 7 beam has a recessed area around the bottom of the eye into which the thrust washer partly sits. Big 7 king pin is 5/8 inch dia.
I would obviously like the least possible wear to the stub and beam axle faces. Washers can easily be replaced
The big question is what should the thrust washer be made from????
There is information that they should be hardened steel.
The ones that came with my last set of KP and bushes were a tuffnol type material!
The A30/A35 Austin swivel pins (also the 5/8 inch dia. like the big 7 king pin) also have thrust washers and are same size apart from being 1 1/4 OD instead of smaller (I recon 1 1/8 for the big 7 beam and stub spot faces but easy enough to turn down the OD by mounting them on a bolt in a drill and filing the edges).
Bull Motif can supply the A30/35 thrusts but theirs are made in brass.
I am sure I read somewhere that hard and soft metal rubbing together then perversely the HARD metal will wear away quicker?
So - hardened steel, brass, phosphor bronze, Nylatron, tuffnol, ?, ?. What and why?
The last time I did the king pins I put a thin washer in the big 7 beam recess with araldite so the thrust was wearing against the washer and not the beam (washer could be replaced eventually). I will also araldite a thin washer onto the stub axle lower eye.
The position of Secretary to the Austin 7 Clubs' Association will fall vacant in April 2018 when the current incumbent, Hugh Barnes, stands down under the Constitution Term Limit rules. Nominations for a successor are sought. Under the Term limit rules, the appointment will be for a period of 3 years, with the possibility of renewal for a further 3 year term. After a maximum of 6 years in post, the post holder must stand down. As an aside, this rule is now in force for all of the 9 Officer posts in the Association. The duties of the Secretary are to offer support to the Association Committee (comprising representatives of the 18 Member Clubs) by organising the quarterly Association meeting with the production of an agenda and producing minutes in a timely manner. A precis of the full minutes is also produced and distributed to Club Magazine Editors for inclusion in their own local magazines. The Secretary is also responsible for the Association Public Liability Insurance, renewed each February, and acts as the liaison point with Hiscox for matters related to the Association Austin 7 motor Insurance scheme through Richardson Hoskins. The Secretary is also responsible for communications to all Member, Associate and Overseas Clubs and, as such, maintains an address/contacts file within the Secretarial gmail account. Changes to those details are provided to both the Association Webmaster to maintain the Association website and the Association Magazine designer for the quarterly magazine. The qualities that one would look for in the new Secretary would be someone with an eye for detail and be keen to see the continued growth of the Association. There will inevitably be considerable involvement in the team planning the 2022 Centenary celebrations. The Secretarial email account is always busy so daily access to that and having some IT skills would be helpful. All Secretarial files are now held in a 'Dropbox' account and can be shared with others where necessary and will be handed on to subsequent post holders. Considerable support from the old to the new Secretary is offered. Informal enquiries are encouraged from anyone with an interest and should be made to Hugh, by emailing:
I am sure this has been discussed before, but I am looking for info on what I may have done wrong on fitting.
This joint has only done about 500klms. Have I had the bolts too tight or loose? Are there different qualities? The drive shaft appears to be straight.
