What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Very nice Howard.

My father organised a BA7C run for 50 years, I think they used a pub at Erwood...

[Howard Wright]

Very nice Howard.

My father organised a BA7C run for 50 years, I think they used a pub at Erwood...

Hi Ruaridh

The Wheelwright arms I think.  Right next door is the Chapel Manse. Liz’s Uncle Alan was born there. Erwood is famous in these parts for leading a successful campaign to keep the public conveniences open.  The villagers keep them absolutely spotless now and advertise them on signs either side of the village.

Cheers

Howard

[Steve kay]

At the risk of sounding like an anorak, or bog spotter, the A470 seems to have extraordinary provision of conveniences, for ageing gentlemen drivers or those needing to wash their hands after roadside repairs. From Talgarth, past Erwood, Builth Wells, Rhyader, slight diversion into Llanidloes, then Caersws, to Dinas Mawddwy and Garnillwd. Sadly after that, Porthmadog requires payment, unless you walk down the Ffestiniog Railway platform to use the gents.

[Parazine]

Very nice Howard.

My father organised a BA7C run for 50 years, I think they used a pub at Erwood...

I took my first Chummy on its inaugural outing after a rebuild, on the Brecon Run in 1989. The engine mounting bolts became loose before we left Gloucester, the starter switch shorted out on the A40, somewhere west of Monmouth and the carburettor jets were constantly being blocked with bits of paint, flaking from around the petrol tank filler cap. There was no hood or sidescreens and the car only worked on full throttle, anything less and the 14mm plugs in the high comp head instantly oiled up.
I rebuilt the starter switch in the car park at the Saturday lunch stop with a piece of plastic sandwich box, cut up to provide insulation and cooked some spark plugs on the single gas burner we carried for making coffee.
When we got to the campsite at Erwood (opposite the pub as I remember??) on Saturday evening, I found that my tent didn't have any pegs with it!
We managed to borrow some pegs and had several well earned pints that night. The car made it through the weekend by cooking plugs and cleaning jets and got us back to Wiltshire somehow.
The Chummy must have been in better shape later that year when I drove it to the Alps and back, although the engine did have to come out on a French campsite on that trip!

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[Dean Waller]

Well that sounds like a classic A7 days driving!

[Howard Wright]

Expletive…..

I started to dismantle the offside rear damper on the van this morning.  And the spring pin sheared when I tried to remove the bolts holding the link on.  I also noticed the brake peg doesn’t look to be threaded in the hole very far. As it happens neither rear damper we’re doing anything being quite free to waft about up and down.  Grrrrr.

Howard

[Reckless Rat]

ouch!

[Steve kay]

What I did yesterday was to keep an eye on the Auction of Eric Guest’s collection of Austins.

 It will not be too great a surprise that this is now very much a buyers market. Big elder cars fetch a reasonable price, the 1912 15 made £19,000 and the fully working 1920 20 made ££13,400. Smaller machines less so. Various Seven owners met at Chateau Impney and Much Marcle have all decided that their collection and restoration days are behind them, no more projects needed. Not being at Pontrilas I do not know who was there.

 Some senior forum participants will remember that Ruby CLJ628 did the John O Groats-Lands End, still in good nick it fetched £3,500, the buyer could have driven it home but possibly not to Scotland. 27 Chummy has had a great deal of work and looked lovely, new electrics and recent magneto. Any of us would have fired it up and done sharp intake of breath on hearing timing gears, but not the biggest job to put right. Made £7,700. NG4810 is a beautiful barn find 33 box saloon. A couple of us, if we had been able to spend the time, would have done a through record particularly of the interior detail,  worn and moth eaten but appearing to be exactly as it left Longbridge. Please please can an early response be from someone who has bought it to spend time putting it gently back to original. Made £2050. 

Tens not fetching much, a very useable Litchfield took £2,200, and a well looked after 33 chrome rad tourer with good recent hood made £5800. If certain usual suspects had been standing about, the one machine that would have caused the pockets and change tins to be emptied and shared would have been the 1937, wholly genuine, complete Ten van kit of parts. Disc wheels, original body on the proper chassis in vgc, made only £1500! Unless certain forum contributors could not believe it at that price, any admissions later today?

 Big thirties saloons not at all expensive for those who want them. Figures are hammer prices. All of which rather confirms that our Sevens are  not investments, but exciting machinery for touring the countryside, breathing on to go faster up hills, or prepare for the trialling season. Or keep us warm and occupied in the workshop as those long winter nights get closer. I do hope that the new owner of NG4810 gets in touch, there is a forum of supporters and a splendid bunch of cherished specialist suppliers to help with your painstaking restoration.

[Ivor Hawkins]

Brilliant report Steve, I agree with your summary of the market, the market for a lot of thirties cars has fallen off a Cliff. I’m a member of the Austin Ten Drivers Club and the story is the same, in fact, Seven man Wayne Horn has an original ten for sale, looks like a good solid car and runs nicely with a tatty, original interior ( a point in its favourI think!) that two years ago would have made six grand, he’s asking less than half that and if no one buys it he will have to break it for parts.

If you don’t mind Steve I’ll post the ten results on the ATDC web site ….but back on thread, I have stripped the front end of the box ready to whip the engine out, fifty years ago th3 engine would have been out already!

   

[Howard Wright]

Hi Steve and Ivor

Good report Steve, with some disappointing results for the vendors but great news for buyers. A Chummy for less than 8 grand!!

I’d be interested in the state of play with regard to parts?  I’m an avid follower of eBay and I think I detect quite a rise in the asking (and achieving) prices for quite mundane spare parts.  I know some of it is down to the eBay environment (unnecessary bidding wars etc) but even so parts prices are definitely going up.  I hope to go down to Beaulieu in a fortnight’s time but with short arms and deep pockets I’ll probably come back with very little!

Cheers

Howard