1929 Austin Seven Van "Bella"

[Derek Sheldon]

[attachment=2455]LR4 chassis

[Ally Monce]

As Lewis Carrol wrote “curiouser and curiouser “ as you can see from the photographs of my Rosengart , yours appears to be a bastardisation of Rosengart and Austin. The way I see it is .that you have two choices if you can’t fix what you have. Austin parts are more readily available, Rosengart parts will look more like you have. The dynamo housings are interchangeable as the hole centres are the same. You would then need an Austin fan assembly , having said that yours looks Austin.

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Reckless, bang on the nail. It is a French number and from Calvados. Haven’t finished restoring it yet, have a British number plate to attach.

Hi Derek OK thanks yes I think Bella has been bastardised to a great degree .The dynamo lies parallel to the engine and is driven by the fan belt (not at 90 deg) .Having now seen a better photo of your Rosengart set up I think I may modify to that however as you are the expert would it be easier to go Austin parts if a cannot repair what I have .The bottom line as I see it is that I will have to remove the assembly to find out how it is put together,Yes I have the A frame configuration on Bella with the transverse spring so is it an Austin chassis??.cheers Ally

[Jeff Taylor]

That's more like it Derek, so it's probably a Rosengart chassis under Ally's van - hadn't realised they were so differently constructed to an Austin 7 chassis.

[Derek Sheldon]

https://pin.it/sv7o5rue3t2bg4

Jeff try this

[Martin Prior]

This is going to give me sleepless nights!

The chassis is not Austin Seven, Rosengart, Morris Minor, or Morris Eight (although the radiator cowl is).

The engine appears to be a mixture of Austin and Rosengart parts.

Derek - is the gearbox a Rosengart unit?

I seem to remember that in one of the seller's photos from a couple of years backit appeared to have a Rosengart radiator behind the Morris cowl. 

The front axle is a mystery.

The photo below is from 2013 and shows the interior (from http://vintageman.zenfolio.com/p686224276 - hope it's OK to use it).  Anything familiar there?

[Derek Sheldon]

This is going to give me sleepless nights!

The chassis is not Austin Seven, Rosengart, Morris Minor, or Morris Eight (although the radiator cowl is).

The engine appears to be a mixture of Austin and Rosengart parts.

Derek - is the gearbox a Rosengart unit?

I seem to remember that in one of the seller's photos from a couple of years backit appeared to have a Rosengart radiator behind the Morris cowl. 

The front axle is a mystery.



The photo below is from 2013 and shows the interior (from http://vintageman.zenfolio.com/p686224276 - hope it's OK to use it).  Anything familiar there?

It looks like a early Austin switch panel. Doesn’t look like a Rosengart box.

[Ally Monce]

This is going to give me sleepless nights!

The chassis is not Austin Seven, Rosengart, Morris Minor, or Morris Eight (although the radiator cowl is).

The engine appears to be a mixture of Austin and Rosengart parts.

Derek - is the gearbox a Rosengart unit?

I seem to remember that in one of the seller's photos from a couple of years backit appeared to have a Rosengart radiator behind the Morris cowl. 

The front axle is a mystery.

The photo below is from 2013 and shows the interior (from http://vintageman.zenfolio.com/p686224276 - hope it's OK to use it).  Anything familiar there?

Hi Michty Me!! as they say in Scotland Yes that is Bella with the plaque on the dash before her all over spray job to hide a multitude of sins and I got mugged,own fault really as i bought it without seeing it.Would I still buy her probably not as it is "too wee" for my 17stone with beer belly!!! so I could be persuaded to part with Bella. Please dont all rush at once!! cheers Ally PS I can arrange transportation !!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Ally - where are you based?

[Martin Prior]

This is going to give me sleepless nights!

The chassis is not Austin Seven, Rosengart, Morris Minor, or Morris Eight (although the radiator cowl is).

The engine appears to be a mixture of Austin and Rosengart parts.

Derek - is the gearbox a Rosengart unit?

I seem to remember that in one of the seller's photos from a couple of years backit appeared to have a Rosengart radiator behind the Morris cowl. 

The front axle is a mystery.

The photo below is from 2013 and shows the interior (from http://vintageman.zenfolio.com/p686224276 - hope it's OK to use it).  Anything familiar there?

Hi Michty Me!! as they say in Scotland Yes that is Bella with the plaque on the dash before her all over spray job to hide a multitude of sins and I got mugged,own fault really as i bought it without seeing it.Would I still buy her probably not as it is "too wee" for my 17stone with beer belly!!! so I could be persuaded to part with Bella. Please dont all rush at once!! cheers Ally

Don't give up, Ally!  I'm not that far short of 17 stone and use an A7 as daily transport!

Bella certainly isn't what you were led to believe and if you bought her from the guy that I think you did, he is a motor trader and has obligations as such, but you probably don't want to go there.

If the car runs and drives well, I'm sure that there'd be plenty of interest in it as a nice-looking oddity.  It would be impossible to guess what she's worth, but I'm afraid that it's going to be a good way short of a genuine 1929 A7 van.

[Ally Monce]

This is going to give me sleepless nights!

The chassis is not Austin Seven, Rosengart, Morris Minor, or Morris Eight (although the radiator cowl is).

The engine appears to be a mixture of Austin and Rosengart parts.

Derek - is the gearbox a Rosengart unit?

I seem to remember that in one of the seller's photos from a couple of years backit appeared to have a Rosengart radiator behind the Morris cowl. 

The front axle is a mystery.

The photo below is from 2013 and shows the interior (from http://vintageman.zenfolio.com/p686224276 - hope it's OK to use it).  Anything familiar there?

Hi Michty Me!! as they say in Scotland Yes that is Bella with the plaque on the dash before her all over spray job to hide a multitude of sins and I got mugged,own fault really as i bought it without seeing it.Would I still buy her probably not as it is "too wee" for my 17stone with beer belly!!! so I could be persuaded to part with Bella. Please dont all rush at once!! cheers Ally

Don't give up, Ally!  I'm not that far short of 17 stone and use an A7 as daily transport!

Bella certainly isn't what you were led to believe and if you bought her from the guy that I think you did, he is a motor trader and has obligations as such, but you probably don't want to go there.

If the car runs and drives well, I'm sure that there'd be plenty of interest in it as a nice-looking oddity.  It would be impossible to guess what she's worth, but I'm afraid that it's going to be a good way short of a genuine 1929 A7 van.

Yes Martin,south of England chappie who would not follow up on my request for spare parts ,not to be trusted!! anyway I shall get Bella up and running some time .Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread It is appreciated .Will let you all know when Bella runs again cheers Ally