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Austinsevenfriends
What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Printable Version

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RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Tony Griffiths - 15-06-2023

On my 1929 Chummy, the 6-volt headlamps have a single contact bulb holder and to fit one of the new high/low beam bullseye bulbs, they needed changing. I bought a pair of new double contact BAY15D type holders from Classiccarleds.co.uk and set about fitting them.
I turned up a bar that was very close fit in the bulb holder and held this in a pair of very soft vice jaws - the bar preventing the bulb holder from being compressed and allowing me to carefully bend back the tabs holding the white "contact unit" (seen in the picture) and extract it. Of course, the unit is not a drop-in fit into the original holder but has to have two opposing bulges very carefully ground off - it's not a soft plastic but surprisingly hard stuff.
Once the side retaining tabs on the original single holder had been bent back it was extracted and the new unit dropped into place.
As sidelights are now hardly ever used, I decided to do away with them and connected the sidelight wire to the dipped contact and the headlamp wire to the main.
A quick juggle of the headlamp swivel bracket to get things lined up and out for a road test. To my surprise, and by good luck, the initial setting proved spot on. The beam - I chose the 3000K warm-white type - is good enough for country lane motoring with the dipped bean perfect - though the main does perhaps lack penetration. On main beam, once over 30 mph, the ammeter showed a positive charge.
Before doing this I'd experimented with a scrap reflector by cutting off the original bulb holder, reaming out the hole and soldering in a new, as-received, twin contact holder. This worked perfectly but, as I was reluctant to alter the original R47 reflector, choose a method that would allow conversion back to standard.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - andrew34ruby - 15-06-2023

(15-06-2023, 12:44 AM)Tony Griffiths Wrote: As sidelights are now hardly ever used, I decided to do away with them...

Tony, sidelights are a legal requirement. I know someone who lost in court because he had no sidelights.

If we ignore the law, it would also be difficult to park on the road at night. You might want to stop outside a shop for five minutes, or out of town you might need to deal with a puncture.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Tony Griffiths - 15-06-2023

(15-06-2023, 09:43 AM)andrew34ruby Wrote:
(15-06-2023, 12:44 AM)Tony Griffiths Wrote: As sidelights are now hardly ever used, I decided to do away with them...

Tony, sidelights are a legal requirement. I know someone who lost in court because he had no sidelights.

If we ignore the law, it would also be difficult to park on the road at night. You might want to stop outside a shop for five minutes, or out of town you might need to deal with a puncture.

A good point, thank you, Andrew, but somehow I don't think it's going to happen. I'll take the risk. The last time I visited a shop at night in my A7 must have been 49 years ago.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Mike Costigan - 15-06-2023

You might still get stranded after dark out in the middle of Derbyshire - sidelights are a lifeline in such circumstances!

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Tony Griffiths - 15-06-2023

(15-06-2023, 11:36 AM)Mike Costigan Wrote: You might still get stranded after dark out in the middle of Derbyshire - sidelights are a lifeline in such circumstances!

Good advice - I'll wire in a two-way switch to go from dipped to sidelights. Or, for a period look, a pair of clip-on WW2 headlight shrouds? On a connected point, the original-style rear lights can be difficult; the rims are either difficult to remove and replace  - or drop off - and the contact units are not exactly aerospace quality. One my '29, the previous owner had the bright idea of installing clips by each light to hold those super-bright bicycle rear lamps. Hence, if a bulb went and was proving difficult to replace, just clipping a bicycle unit in place was a get-you-home solution (at least, I think that's why he did it).

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Alan - 16-06-2023

I could be wrong about this, and I’d hate to encourage anyone to break the law, so check, but although there is a minimum power for sidelights, I’m not aware of a maximum.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Tony Griffiths - 16-06-2023

Breaking the law? From the 1970s to 1990s I had a part-time helper, a remarkable chap - "Smelly Derek" - a lorry driver who could turn his hand to almost anything - assembling watches, building a 5-inch gauge steam loco, designing and making the various special machines we needed, bricklaying, joinery and plastering, etc (some people have hidden depths). I needed him to drive so, of course, asked about his driving licence and whether was it clean, etc. Yes, he had a licence and had passed his test two years ago. "Two years ago" I said, "I thought you were a lorry driver?"
"Oh, " he said, "I've driven lorries for 35 years but never bothered with that licence stuff."
"Didn't you ever get caught?" asked.
"No, never, and eventually I forget all about getting one. It was only when my last employer asked for it that I decided I'd better get one".

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - David Stepney - 16-06-2023

By a process of ‘dead reckoning’ I have worked out that my car probably left The factory this day 90 years ago. Like most cars, it has two birthdays, it’s build birthday and 1st registration day, which for my car is 4th July (Independence day for someone!). So Happy (build) Birthday to FG 8659.

And it’s been to Wrexham and back today.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - Reckless Rat - 17-06-2023

Happy Birthday, FG.
And many more of them.

RE: What have you done today with your Austin Seven - David Stepney - 17-06-2023

(17-06-2023, 07:26 AM)Reckless Rat Wrote: Happy Birthday, FG.
And many more of them.

Thank you Bruce. And it probably will! It's in better nick than me and I am 17 years younger!