What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[David Stepney]

To continue the tale of the RP, Wednesday was rather a write off and I didn't manage to get back into the garage until the evening. However, I managed to get the bottom end completely reassembled and fitted the head and manifold, set the tappets and retimed the ignition.  Then I tried starting it! Would it go? Would it hell! I must have checked and rechecked everything half a dozen times and even had the carb to bits just in case. Eventually the battery went flat. By this time it was almost midnight so I abandoned the whole job and went to bed.

I was out yesterday, so recommenced work this afternoon. Still the engine would not start. However, I put the radiator on, whilst contemplating what I had done wrong. Checked everything again. Flattened the battery again. Waited a couple of hours for the battery to charge up and went out at about 7 pm for another go at it. Guess what? The little car started straight away, so I ran it for twenty minutes or so to get it warm, then put the clutch cover on and the mats back, and put the bonnet on. One last check that all was in order and took it for road test over to a friends house. The car appears to be running as it should and started readily when required. And I now have that rarest of things - an oil tight engine, although how long that will last is anyone’s guess. So, hopefully it is now fixed and ready to resume its duties.
 
Can’t understand why it had a fit of the “I don’t want to’s” though.