New chap in town with a Cambridge Special project

[Pete236]

Afternoon everyone,

A new guy here, from the Berks/Oxon border.
A youngster too, not long got passed 30 years of age, but I've been around cars and 7's in particular since well before I was born.

With the lockdown in place, I've finally been able to get going on a long term project. A Cambridge Special that my Dad bought and stripped over 45 years ago!

We've found most of the bits, and I'm mock building it up at the moment, to work out what goes where, what bits we are missing etx.
My plan is then to make lists, take pictures, make labels etc for everything. Make up all the brackets and floorboards that we need, rough out a wiring loom, fuel lines and all that jazz.
Then a slow strip, restore parts as needed and put them on the shelf, so eventually there is a full kit of bits ready to go back together....

However, I know this is easier said than done! My day job is as a restoration engineer (the companies title - I'm just a mechanic really!) with a pre-war and classic car company so I know that nothing ever goes as planned! 
But I'm treating this little project as a way to keep my hand in for when we eventually get back to work - and the lovely thing is, my boss approves too! And thanks to modern social media, the lads I work with are all chipping in with advice and ideas too.

My knowledge of 7's is very limited, so please be prepared for some daft questions - but I hope to learn as much as I can, and hopefully one day I might be able to help others too!

Here is the beastie as she should be..
   

And this is where I am at right now:
   

Cheers,
Pete.

[Chris Garner]

Splendid view of a Cambridge Engineering I.F.S. unit. ( £16 17s 6d in 1963! )
Great project - great fun.

[Charles Levien]

Hello Pete,

Amazing to see photo of my first car — that’s my old pal Tony Nicholls standing next to it. I was a member of 10th. bat Parachute Regt ( TA) at the time and you can just see the para regt badge on the wing stay. Where did you find this photo?
It’s a 1934 chassis if I remember right. I was in touch with a previous owner Graham Yates until a few years ago. He had a ambition to rebuild the ash frame and restore the car but obviously this plan came to naught.
I see the registration number is blanked out — any particular reason for this?
Should be pleased to have a chat with you sometime — I have two sevens, an Opal and a Paxton special
Let me know through the forum if you would like my contact details — I’m in Norfolk.

Charles

[Pete236]

Thanks for the welcome Chris, one would be hard pushed to make the front suspension for that sum these days, even with CAD CAM and plasma cutters etc!

Charles, it's lovely to hear from you. I'll reply properly later, I'm just hanging the rear axle up at the mo. The Graham Yates in question is my Dad, and we did meet briefly a few years ago when I picked up the remote gear change linkage and some dummy spinners from you!

[Charles Levien]

Hi Pete,

Of course I remember you and your visit here to pick up a few bits and pieces, some years ago now. Forgive my senior moment in not recognizing your name! 
It’s great  to see it heading for restoration — hope this goes well and I look forward to seeing the re emergence  of a super little car. 

Charles

[Pete236]

Hi Charles,

Apologies for my short reply earlier, I was well in the groove and cracking on nicely!

Dad has been rummaging and has pulled out all the photos of the car that he has, some of which I would guess came from you. The picture I put above is one of those, and we have a few more, including a couple of the ditch! I tend to block out the reg. numbers on pictures that I post, after I had a trouble from a busybody on a Landover forum who accused me of stealing and 'ringing' my Series 2a bitsa.

As we stand at the mo, we have a body from Stuart Roach's father which Dad got made when he 1st stripped the car. It's survived pretty well, having been through 2 house moves and 40 or more years!
Dad collected at least 2 sets of all the special Cambridge bits, and another set or two of everything else, so we have plenty to choose from. And with so much available new now, we really can pick and choose the best bits.

I don't really have a deadline as such, but soon after its running, I'll be making tracks for Norfolk for a reunion.
She won't be tucked away and hidden, she will get used - but perhaps not as adventurous as some of your exploits Charles!

One thing that I am curious about Charles, is the origin of the yellow paint. Is there a story behind the yellow?
And of course, any stories, photos etc that you can think of, I would love know. I hope you're keeping well and busy!

Pete.

[Ian Williams]

Fantastic, I love stories like this, so nice that the car is in good hands, and Charles please do regale us with some tales of your exploits.

[Charles Levien]

Fantastic, I love stories like this, so nice that the car is in good hands, and Charles please do regale us with some tales of your exploits.

Hi Ian, I am likewise delighted that the car is in good hands and am looking forward to Kop Hill next year. I’ve been a few times in my Paxton — there’s usually a good showing of Sevens there.
Exploits?  I got the Cambridge in 1962 I think, before I had a licence. I was mortified when I failed the test in  a modern car and to speed things up I elected to retake the test anywhere in the London area. We lived near Osterley, Isleworth at the time. I got a slot a couple of weeks later in South Croydon. So I removed the L plates and drove round the South Circular on the appointed day. The car had no indicators and I had a hunch that might come up as a question during the test so I learnt the correct sign to give a policeman on traffic duty when turning left. 
I parked outside the test station, removed the L plates and pushed the car a couple of feet forward to cover the inevitable oil patch. A young man in a sports jacket emerged to do the test. I remember his broad smile when he saw the car — this was a good start. And sure enough that was the question he asked me! He passed me immediately. I was so chuffed I started off home without looking at the route and after ten minutes found myself heading for Brighton. I swept into a pub car park to do a 360 but when I straightened up to rejoin the road the car carried on round — the peg had run out of worm gear. I had to jump out and yank the wheels straight.
The first Beaulieu rally a year later was an amazing event and opened up a whole new world — I have had a Seven pretty much ever since.
Oh, to answer your question Pete, I didn’t paint anything yellow - must have been a subsequent owner before Graham got it. I did get through a lot of Solvol Autosol however.

Charles

[Dave Mann]

Ah the Cambridge IFS unit which although a bit heavy gave steering with no wander. The owner will no doubt find an alarming amount of wear in the spring pins which have no provision for lubrication. I replaced mine with provision for lubrication

[Pete236]

Good evening Gents.

A wee bit more progress has pretty near all of the chassis and running gear bolted together. We have a full box of gears, and by winding the starting handles we have a turning rear axle too!

Now would be a good time to pop down to Wickes and get a few sheets of hardboard to template and plan the floor boards.....
But never mind, that will have to wait.

Next will be ordering in bearings, spring shackle pins and bushes (and a good point well made Dave Mann, grease points are on my shopping list. But I'm wondering if oil would be more appropriate, if the bush had a relief for oil and the shackle pin had a drilling, ala Rolls 20hp)

The spring hanger at the front is monstrous heavy, I would guess 5lbs more than the gearbox! When I've got it leaned upz I'll see if I can loose a bit of weight here and there without compromising integrity. I'll certainly tidy up the edges where it was gas-axed out of the sheet of steel!

Charles, I don't think I knew about the driving test - that's great! It must have made a lovely change for the examiners as a car enthusiast, to have a real car as opposed to the more modern offerings I'm sure he was used to. I'll be honest, the thought of driving a 7 in London doesn't appeal to me in modern traffic!
That's interesting about the yellow though, I will have to do some more digging into the car's history and see if I can find the origin of the yellow. I'm pretty sure that I'll not keep the yellow, but I might hide/keep the odd bit here and there for continuities' sake.

Just to prove my long association with pre-war motoring, this is myself perched in one of Dad's other projects - a Riley Special that sadly is no longer in the family.