A SPECIAL (S) thought!

[Paul N-M]

I am strongly against segregation, special building has been the mainstay of the A7 world since the inception of the seven, the factory build their own as did the likes of GE and others. The Austin 7 clubs largely grew out of the 750MC movement and many people still involved started out as young men building specials, I include myself here, and I still build specials. I have not seen a perceived hostility toward special building here, yes there are many of us who do not want to see restorable cars broken up to make specials, but there are plenty of parts still available to the prospective builder. There are many traps and lines of mis-information to trip the newcomer, and a lot of us have fallen into them over the years, the thing I see regularly here are experienced members sharing the benefit of their knowledge and experience, not hostility. There has been a lot written about the seven over the years, but people need to look at the context of the time when it was written, if you are building a special you do not NEED to fit Hydraulic brakes, Telescopic dampers, convert to 12V etc, etc, however you may wish to and that is your choice. Personally I think the line starts to get crossed a little when people start to fit modern Japanese engines into an austin seven, but that is my opinion others may think it is a great idea. As mentioned earlier you don't have to read the thread if you don't like it, like wise if you are going a route of building a Caterham with an A7 body you would expect some comments and raised eyebrows.
Zetomagneto is right on the money in my opinion.

Although I am an out and out special builder many threads on this forum have been of value to me that have had nothing directly to do with special building. To me it would be a great shame to have sub divisions. We can and should all appreciate each others particular A7 interest/s and contribute when we have something to share or ask for advice. The forum as it stands keeps us informed about the wider goings on in A7 world wheather of immediate interest or not. To me that is one of its strenghts, a comunity of A7 enthusiasts.
Our strength is that comunity.

Paul N-M