What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[John Mason]

Three generations of the Mason family attended Norwood Park (Nottinghamshire) Classic Car Show. Only two pre war Austin’s there my Ruby and a 10/4.

[Tony Griffiths]

Spent an afternoon with three distributors, three cars and combinations of HT lead and cap sets trying to get one of the cars to work on any of them (what that, factorial 6?). Of course, they all worked on two cars - but not the rogue one. Finally, by application of black magic, a DK4 that I'd just assembled from bits and pieces finally gave in and decided to play ball. Don't you just love this load of trouble at a low cost. Many thanks to everybody on the forum who chipped in with advice and help.

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[Frank Stoll]

After a rather wet spring, some horribly busy months, I now had the chance to take the car for a ride... This time the temperature turned out to be a problem. More than 34 degrees Celsius and busy roads in the various towns I had to go through, sometimes made the car struggle... The cooler forests and hilly landscapes with no traffic and slow speed suited the car much better... Nevertheless a lovely tour.

   

   

[Malcolm Parker]

I took the RL to our monthly old car meeting near Richmond.   Lovely weather brought out a good selection of cars, mine being the only Austin present.
           

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

My Special has an excellent Willie McKenzie rev counter and a home made rad cap thermometer. Both gauges I’ve come to rely on. So in using the Green C Cab van I feel a little lost, turning my hearing aids off doesn’t help judge engine revs nor the bubbling of a boiling radiator!

So I thought I’d install a couple of supplementary gauges.  


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I have a step up transformer to lift the 6 to 12 volts so fitting the rev counter was a relatively easy wiring job. It was just £14 from Amazon (Mintice 2” Tachometer gauge).  

Fortunately the van came to me with a stub on the radiator header tank that was closed off with a 5/8 UNF bolt, the same thread as the gauge sensor. So the temperature gauge (£17.75) was also an easy fit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323039365770?...media=COPY


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Both seem to be working well although as it is pouring with rain at the moment I’ve only tested them in the garage.

Cheers

Howard

[GM6VXB]

Now got the new rear springs fitted. The car does not sag as it used to. Also re-built rear axle in. Maybe still not quite right but no clunking noises now.

Spent some time today adjusting the steering box (lots of free play). Even after reading the instructions it went from no play but tight, to lots of free play.
Eventually found the sweet spot and about an inch movement on the wheel just moves the front wheels.
Also stripped down the front shock absorbers, cleaned, and re-assembled 'properly' (not as they were) and adjusted maybe a little too strong but will
'tweek' again later.
Went for a drive and was still like a narrow boat, wandering both directions over bumps and needing constant adjusting of the steering wheel. Had a look at
the tracking and over 2 inch toe in !. More work and now have the wheels slightly toe in (about 1/4 inch) and the car goes in a much better
straight line with much less steering wheel movement. Maybe have another go at getting it closer to neutral but will do a few more runs first.

Martin, GM6VXB

[Ivor Hawkins]

Always a good idea to check the castor angle, a quick visual check to make sure the axle/ kingpin is angled backwards, it makes a huge difference to the handling. There is plenty of guidance on setting it up and it’s an easy job…it transformed my Chummy, which tried desperately to jump over the hedge as soon as I hit a bump in the road.

[GM6VXB]

Ivor,
Castor and Camber are both pretty close to correct (Castor 4.5Deg, Camber 2.5 Deg).
Figures using a digital inclinometer and various straight edges.
Will do a full check again after I have covered a few miles.

[Dave Wortley]

Another thing to check is the location and tightness of the front spring u bolts. I tightened the ones on my box saloon and now the steering is much improved. I had to remove the radiator for access. You don’t want worn spring to axle links and bushes either.

[bob46320]

When really hot, we used to unhinge the bonnet and put it on the back seat , 40c plus !!