What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Reckless Rat]

First of all I washed it all out, checked the column adjustment and then lapped the worm and the gear wheel together with some fine grinding paste until I was bored rigid, then washed it all out again. I then dismantled the cover plate to withdraw the drop arm, and found that it had some ovality, and there was some wear in the outer part of the cover plate bush. A nice beardy bloke from up Alba way sent me another drop arm and a new bush, which I pressed into the cover plate. I then took the cover plate to a local engineering shop where they reamed it to suit the drop arm shaft.

I put everything back together and half filled the box with some 140 grade oil and reset the worm/gear and adjusted the end play on the drop arm shaft (my box is steel and I have modified the button arrangement, which is now threaded UNF and can be adjusted from outside).

After checking that everything was working as well as it should I put it back in the car and gave it a road test. There is still a little free play in the straight ahead position which manifests itself as about 1/2" at the wheel rim, but the rest of the steering movement is smooth, but not sloppy. I could adjust out the free play but it just tightens everything up so I will live with it as it is.

The front tyres are Longstones, but are getting a bit worn so the contact area is a bit flat. Perhaps I should change them too when the beer token van next comes round. They are currently running at 30psi.