What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Roland Alcock]

Day 3, Car 3, same pub.
Run out of cars now!
Any of the cars appear serviceable for New Years Day meet at Much Marcle. 

[jansens]

I miss proper English pubs. The closest I had was in Auckland but alas, I don't live there anymore. Wellington has a ton of craft beers but to be honest I find most over-rated and some are just ridiculous. The approach seems to be chuck a bunch of random flavours in it and see what the craft beer lovers like. I still always prefer a normal bitter.

Back to Austin 7s. With me visiting family for Christmas then family visiting me here all done now I can finally work on the car for the next week before going back to work. So today I made a windage tray. I need to size the baffle to the alloy sump I am getting so it's only temporarily attached for now. I will also solder some cupro-nickel pipe to the oil pump inlet to move the pickup to the middle.





The tray is 2mm steel. The idea is to keep the oil in the lower half of the sump rather that it forming a 'cloud' in the crankcase which apparently creates drag on the crank. Not sure it's noticeable on an A7 engine to be honest but on high HP engines they definitely help. It also adds a little stiffness to the crankcase and the vertical baffle stops the oil sloshing about on hard cornering/acceleration and braking. The slots are in line with the oil jets so when the crank isn't in the way the oil squirts straight through them. The bent up lips help catch the oil and direct it down. Sometimes I do wonder why I do these racey mods to a car that won't be raced! I will just have to drive it in an appropriately sporty manner.

Tomorrow I want to add timing marks to the flywheel then bolt the gearbox on finally. Then the engine is ready to put in the car so I can start working out where to put oil filter, run lines, route the exhaust and so on. When the radiator is out I need to patch that (I drilled holes in the top tank to knock out a massive dent in it), paint it and it's mounting brackets then that can be reinstalled.

Been working on this car for 7.5 years now having to learn EVERYTHING as I go. Hoping 2019 is the year I get it drivable!

Oh, as a nice end to the year I got a refund from our government ACC (accident compensation corporation). Basically it's like a compulsory extra tax to pay for health care. Seems I overpaid at some point so I got a $440 dollar refund. That will nicely pay for an Innovate wideband air fuel meter with a bit of money for (proper) beer left over!

Simon

[Michael D]

I like what you're doing... racy mods may also be advantageous when not actually racing. There's nothing wrong about having a sump baffle; even at 'non-racing-speeds' larger quantities of oil will slosh around also at moderate G-forces. Keeping 'em at bay is a good thing. And by the end of the day it's YOUR car so if you want it to have racy mods because they add to your driving experience and fun that's OK.

[Terrytuned]

Simon regards oil pump pickup pipe I have always fitted a filter (see photo) after seeing an engine wrecked by a small piece of metal sucked into the oil pump.
                      Terry.

[Steve Jones]

The baffle looks simple but effective, Terry. The need for a baffle in the sump was something that had passed me by until the VSCC Snetterton Sprint on the 100 Circuit last September. On the second lap and coming out of the long left hander after the start I noticed the oil pressure had dropped to zero. Much instant bottom clenching but thankfully it immediately came back up again! Checking the oil level after the run confirmed it was as it should be so we looked to solve the problem on the day by over-filling with another half pint or so which worked.  

I suppose another solution would have been to slow down on that bend but that's not something that works too well really is it?

Steve

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Last trip of the year, Loch Garten, Nethybridge, Grantown for fish and chips then home.

4 blocked jets!!

   

   

   

[Reckless Rat]

Bonne Année, meilleurs vœux mes amis amateurs des "septs"...

Another nice day today so I thought I'd give the RP its first run of 2019. I didn't want to go too far so had a run to the top of Mont Bouquet a few miles from here. It's not that high, only 629 metres (2063') but the climb to the top from Brouzet Les Alès is a killer. The RP can do most of it in 3rd but second is needed for the steeper bits, which according to a cycling website the climb is 4.6km long, with an average gradient of 9.5% going to 16.4% on the steeper bits. Now, compared to some of the bigger hills around here it's nothing much, but it gives the car a good work out and the view from the top is quite impressive.

The view northwards is somewhat obscured by trees, but there's a cracking panorama due east & south. You can see Mont Ventoux and the Alps and like today when the sun is in the right place, you can see it glinting off the Mediterranean down in the Camargue.

I did take a pic from the top but the camera doesn't really do the view justice:



On the way back down I stopped to take a shot northwards towards the massif of Mont Lozère (higher than Ben Nevis) with the valley of the Reckless Ones just below it:



(There is at least one poster on here apart from me who has been there and done it)

[Mike Costigan]

Nipped down the Fosse Way for lunch with the PWA7C: beautiful sunny day, lots of Sevens out enjoying the weather:

   

   

[Biddlecombe]

I took a friends 20 year old godson for a run in Vera. He had never been in a pre 1990 car
 I was so pleased how enthusiastic he was. He was so very interested  and surprised that the ride was better than expected. These guys need our encouragement and time, I feel they will be the ones to keep our fabulous hobby  going. Thanks Laurence.

[Steve kay]

Engine and gearbox back in and initially seeming to run sweetly, took the Ruby for a couple of test runs round the block. Not a single person flagged me down to say "My granddad had a car that looked just like this one"
Now what's  I can see on the workshop floor previously hidden by the car? Ooops, a Ruby front axle. Tomorrow I shall scorn any body work, strap the axle to the luggage rack and whizz it down to the town to start its journey East of Offa's Dyke and North of Hadrian's Wall. Is the Alba address actually just North of the Antonine Wall? I suspect we will be told!

   

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Oh dear how has the car fallen over, or is it the image, sorry not sure how to correct it.