Slippery Anne Engine

[Mark Atkinson]

Hi Mark
Sounds as if it could be a lot, lot faster
than the original? Is this car for circuit racing
Or Sprints? Or Roadgoing!!!?
Bill G

Hi Bill, 

All the engine runs took place on a dyno, so as Ian suggests real world figures will be less impressive, also, while the 8200 rpm sounds impressive, the bhp drops into the 40s.  I have read that back in the day they managed 30bhp at 5000 rpm, but never managed the illusive 100mph the car was meant to achieve. My theory is that they got the aerodynamics wrong. Certainly the outer mould line looks quite good for aeros, but no effort was made to manage the radiator or cockpit airflow through the car, which must have had a drastic effect. The MSA rules may help me here, as I must fit both a firewall and a fuel tank area cover. 

Will it be faster? I think the car will be putting roughly twice the power down for any given revs, but, as the prospective drivers Peter and myself are probably adding more mass and drag than any of the original drivers, I am also slightly worried about damaging the cars 1923 rear axel, also, I only intend to use her for sprints and hill climbs, so may never get the opportunity to really stretch her legs. 

She is very much a racing car and will not be used on the road.

Regards, Mark.

---

Hi Mark, excellent pictures, thank you! How did you make the pop off valve on the end of the inlet manifold?

Simon

Have you made any mods to ensure the block stays attached to the crankcase?

Hi Simon,

The 'pop off' is actually just the outlet to the cars boost gauge and the block has a couple of extra bolts to keep things together.

Regards, Mark.

---

Fantastic project and a beautiful looking engine! Willing to share it's spec? John

Hi John,

The Supercharger is a roots with straight cut 3 lobe rotors and has a swept volume of 33.46 cu.in. giving 60 cu.in. of air at 5 lbs/sq.in. at 5000rpm, which is exactly the same as the reported output of the original.

The engine uses a 1 1/2" Phoenix crankshaft, Pigsty supercharger cam, forged pistons and rods, ball race main bearings and has gas flowed ports, Ricardo head and a bespoke water pump made to fit under the 1 1/2" bronze body S.U. float chamber and choke.

She should have a 30mm Cox Atmos carb, which felt like a big unknown to deal with. I do have one, but, as the Supercharger was an even bigger unknown, it was decided to get that working with the S.U. then, if it worked, to see if the Cox could be made to work with it. So I will only fit once I know everything else works.

The BLIC Magneto is an issue, after getting the unit back from the restorer, it proved to be wrongly timed and be low on flux, I sent it back for him to fix, but it remains mostly useless, so subsequent dyno runs to setup the carb used a borrowed unit.

Regards, Mark.

[Steve Bryant]

Mark , it's all such beautiful work.
Stephen

[Mark Atkinson]

Mark , it's all such beautiful work.
Stephen

Hi Stephen,

How is your build going?

Thank you for your comments, while I can claim the car as my own work, credit for the gear box must go to Andy Bird, the Supercharger was made for me by Mark in California and its demanding integration to the engine to re create Austin's first Supercharged 7 engine was done by Alex at Pigsty. 

Knowledge is such a precious commodity, which when driven by a passion for the subject in hand is a wonderful quality. I am very much new to Austin 7s, and it is only with the help and guidance of some very knowledgable and generous people in the Austin 7 community that  I have managed to make this car.
Dave Williams at the Austineers has been an encouraging adviser all the way through who usually has that rare early bit, while Alex is such a generous sharer of both his knowledge and time, he also has such fabulous skills, which are showcased with this supercharger installation.

There are of course some negatives, such as the Magneto restoration which so affected engine set up, but they have been few and far between. Compared to my experiences with other specialist cars, I would say that the A7 community is really well served.


Regards, Mark.

[Tony Betts]

Love the work mark,

From picture one, did you drop the engine on the lads foot. Before dropping it in the car.

Tony.

[Colin Reed]

HI Mark,
That's a great job you are doing and well finished, just a couple of questions are you running the blower at engine speed . and at what revs does the  torque level out.
Thanks
Colin
NZ

[Steve Bryant]

Mark , it's all such beautiful work.
Stephen

Hi Stephen,

How is your build going?

Hi Mark,
 the build is proceeding at a snails pace with mods having been done to the pressure plate to adjust the release arms and making new rivets to attach clutch linings etc. One rear wing is now totally restored with the other partly done. I took the plunge and ordered new rims and spokes to rebuild the wheels so that they will actually be straight and round as this was the last big expense I had to make. I also made a stud and nut modification for the sump pan to save the threads in the crank case from premature failure.

I can't wait until the engine is done and in the chassis so i can actually start the body build, but as they say "it's all good " .
Cheers,
Stephen