+- Austinsevenfriends (https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum)
+-- Forum: Austin Seven Friends Forum (https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Forum chat... (https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=14)
+--- Thread: patina or polish? (/showthread.php?tid=5683)
Pages:
1
2
RE: patina or polish? - Ivor Hawkins - 17-02-2021
I’m of the leave it as it is camp, it’s a shame I’m having to repaint my box saloon, but it has had so much new metal welded in, including new door skins, I had little choice.
All my other Sevens have shewn the patina of age and in my view “look proper”!
Your two seater is an absolute beauty, get out there and spin those wheels!
RE: patina or polish? - sparkeysprite - 19-02-2021
Well I gave it a polish and think it looks fine so it'll stay with the patina. It's also managed the steep drive and has moved under it's own steam for the first time in 20 years! First 2 attempts ended in failure due to wheelspin halfway up the drive, but 3rd time lucky and it made it to the top! I've still not got the dynamo charging and the brakes are not good so not quite ready to do battle with traffic yet, but it was able to descend the drive safely again and I'm hoping for a proper test drive soon..
RE: patina or polish? - Robert Leigh - 19-02-2021
I'm glad you didn't hide its past with new paint; it looks delightful with a bit of history showing.
RE: patina or polish? - Nick Turley - 19-02-2021
Looks a nice car - I would concentrate on getting it safe and reliable then just use it.
RE: patina or polish? - Reckless Rat - 19-02-2021
When you say the brakes are not good, is that based on previous knowledge of A7 capabilities or just comparing it to later classics?
A7 braking is not what you'd call pin sharp, but even so it depends on everything being correctly set up and properly adjusted. You need a lot of pedal pressure to stop one quickly.
RE: patina or polish? - Ivor Hawkins - 19-02-2021
With careful attention to replacing worn parts and fastidious setting up, I’ve managed to get standard A7 brakes to work very well, but they’ll never compare to power assisted discs!
What a cracking car, drive it like you would ride a motor cycle, in other words defensively and you’ll enjoy rattling around in “boaty”
RE: patina or polish? - Robert Foreman - 19-02-2021
Your car has polished up a treat. It's far too good to go trialling in unless you limit it to the 750mc events like the Cobham trial.
RE: patina or polish? - sparkeysprite - 19-02-2021
I'm used to "classic cars" and had an RN saloon last year and the brakes on it were surprisingly good, so I'm probably comparing this car with a very good example. I've been struggling to get a decent balance between from and back - rolling back down my drive into the garage with reasonable pressure on the brakes the back wheels are locking up quickly and the front wheels still turning. In the garage, up on stands the front wheels will lock, but obviously not as well as the backs. I've tried the clamp on type cable tensioners on the front as a temporary measure, but I don't like them so I think I'll try and slacken everything off again tomorrow and start from scratch.
The way the front cables are adjusted at the minute makes the wheels brake when the steering is on lock so I don't think I can tighten them further, so maybe just release the back brakes a bit and have more pedal travel, but more even braking?
I've checked the linings and cams etc and all seem to be operating properly.
RE: patina or polish? - Reckless Rat - 19-02-2021
Set the fronts on their own with the back cables slacked right off. Then adjust the rears. You will be amazed how slack the rear cables need to be for you to get the right balance front and rear. Use a cable spreader on the rear cables for fine adjustment. You don't want too much braking at the back otherwise they will lock under heavy braking and you could lose control, as the car will try to rotate.
RE: patina or polish? - sparkeysprite - 19-02-2021
(19-02-2021, 08:25 PM)Reckless Rat Wrote: Set the fronts on their own with the back cables slacked right off. Then adjust the rears. You will be amazed how slack the rear cables need to be for you to get the right balance front and rear. Use a cable spreader on the rear cables for fine adjustment. You don't want too much braking at the back otherwise they will lock under heavy braking and you could lose control, as the car will try to rotate.Sounds good. I was doing it the other way around and it hasn't worked so I'll try fronts first tomorrow.