Steering Arm routine bring up

[John Raeburn]

Hi john,

an experience nobody wants to go through. I'm happy to here you wasn't injured.

Perhaps Austins, "design falt " worked in the way it was intended. Under load on a roundabout or in a car park.

If Austins design fault wasn't there it may have been far worse at 50mph.

May I ask if and when the arm was tested before it gave way. As these cracks let alone a failier normally take years to happen.

And also what checks you have planned in the future for the new arm, or will it be a fit and forget item.

I know the questions are controversial, but they are only in interest to how these parts were used in the past, and how they will be used in the future.

Tony.

Hi Tony,
No I was't hurt at all, but finding your self nearly upside down in a Seven does tend to focus the mind!!
Was the arm tested before it gave way? No not at all, in those days I didn't know that is was likely to be a problem, and you know I just replaced the broken one with another, assuming it to be a "One Off" incident, mind you that one lasted for years. But the thought of an arm failing at 50 mph. no thanks!
Davids replacement arm is a better design with a much larger radius, the same as on the Big Seven, and I have never heard of a Big Seven arm letting go, which leads me to think that Austin's knew that there was an impending problem,
but we shall never know for sure. 
To this day I still look at steering arms and think Mmmm.
J