Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 162 Threads: 71
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Location: California USA
Car type: 1929 austin 7 chummy AD
i have a quick few questions, i have a 29' chummy and i have found that clutch pedal works more like a on/off switch than a pedal is it only supposed to move an inch? sometimes when moving it around if i move it out too quick (more like very very slow) the rear end jumps and kicks you in the back. any advice would be helpful. my other question is what number is the bulb behind the red glass on the switch board? i know it is a 6v 3w but does it have any special number for getting a new one.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 1,647 Threads: 23
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15
Location: The village of Evenley
Car type: 1934 Austin Seven RP Deluxe
Your clutch sounds absolutely perfect for any Austin Seven! They all have a very short travel and after you’ve been driving it a while, you will pull away in forwards or reverse as smooth as silk.
Joined: Jan 2019 Posts: 1,567 Threads: 20
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14
Location: Bala North Wales
Car type: 1933 RP Standard Saloon
Yes, the clutch pedal has very little working travel. On my RP is is less than an inch. Provided all is well with the clutch and you are VERY feather footed with it, the clutch should be actually quite progressive. But you have to be feather footed!
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 1,642 Threads: 93
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15
Location: Monmouthshire
An inch travel up in the North? Down here in the shadow of the Brecon Beacons we reckon the three eights is a lot of clutch movement!
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 620 Threads: 7
Reputation:
7
Location: queensland
Three eighths of an inch!! Waay down south here we dream of 3/8" , I tape an egg to the pedal and practice varying the pressure. Tell that to the kids etc.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 686 Threads: 112
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27-04-2021, 05:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 27-04-2021, 06:00 AM by Erich.)
You guys kill me. I'd like to know how you get 3/8". My Rep is 1/4". An egg on mine would be too much pressure. I have to put fairey wings on mine to practice.;-)
Seriously, before I bought my car, I had never driven a Seven yet had heard many horror stories. My first drive went without a hitch. It is a short throw, but mine, at least, is progressive within that range of engagement. And driving Chris Garner's saloon briefly in the UK last year, it was much the same.
Erich in Mukilteo(USA)
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 3,329 Threads: 372
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Car type:
A lot of this reduced travel is down to the 3 speed cars having repro levers which weren't designed for 3 speed cars. Time and lack of rigour in presumably the 60s and 70s has meant that the pattern has been lost from all forms of present reproduction.. so they are using 4 speed pattern levers all of which aren't adjustable like the originals were. So all sorts of workarounds/bodges are employed to get one back to normality.
Joined: Aug 2020 Posts: 68 Threads: 2
Reputation:
1
Location: Australia
Car type: RN box saloon
In my phase 1 Austin Seven driving in the Fifties, all clutches had little movement on the pedal and were not progressive. Now in phase 2 of Austin seven ownership my experience is as follows 1935 roadster - usual clutch operation, feather touch required. Sports car - nice progressive clutch - almost like a normal car. Current RN - not much travel but progressive.
It was about eight years ago I had to remove the engine /gearbox of the sports car for a cracked crankcase and wet clutch lining, I can't rember seeing anything different in the clutch assembly, so why did it work so well. We replace the worn levers in the pressure plate but I wonder about wear in the pressure plate?
