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I am going to look at my first Austin 7 on Sunday. It is a 1936 Mk 1 Ruby. I have been doing my research over the last few months and printed off lots of useful information. The car in question is from a well known Austin 7 dealer that was recommended to me, so the car should be ok.
Is there any tips that you guys could give me for things I should be looking for that I might otherwise miss?
Many Thanks
Wayne
Joined: Mar 2018 Posts: 694 Threads: 33
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Location: Lot region FRANCE
Try to have a drive in another A7 before you go. Otherwise, will it start on the handle (It should). Leave it running most of the time you are looking over it. Lift all carpets rugs etc and look at the floor. Get underneath and have a scout around. Give it a good rock side to side and listen for creaks and knocks. If a sunroof, open it fully and inspect the tracks, open windscreen and wind windows up/down. Look at old MOTs, any invoices. Give it a road test, if never driven before, don't be surprised by a clutch which has very little movement. An A7 is nothing like a modern car.
Make sure the seller is genuine !!
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 3,329 Threads: 372
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Car type:
don't take money!
and then go and look at another one similar, and then another one after that!
And find out through the local club whether there are similar cars coming up for sale through established members, perhaps.
The dealer car is probably great, but dealers will always have another car along if the first one goes. And you may possibly get a cheaper car privately if you put your feelers out.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 682 Threads: 17
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Location: The far North East of England
Car type: 1934 Austin 7 AVH Van (in bits & incomplete!), 1936 Morris 8 Series I Tourer
19-07-2018, 01:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 19-07-2018, 01:29 PM by Jeff Taylor.)
If the dealer in question happens to be Nigel Snow, he's been dealing in Austin 7's for decades and is very well regarded - I remember meeting him back in the early 1980's !
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You won't go wrong with Nigel, reliable and honest.
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I made the trip up to Lincolnshire on Sunday to see the Ruby. The car was very nice and Nigel was very knowledgeable. A concern that my wife and I had was the overall speed. We ended up on a main road and with cars whizzing past it was quite hairy for the wife, she was in a bad accident a couple of years ago and is still quite nervous as a result. What tweaks/modifications are available to extract a little more acceleration and top speed. I have seen another car advertised that has a 3 bearing engine with a phoenix crankshaft fitted, is this a better starting point to get what I am looking for?
Wayne
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Location: North Herts
Wayne - Without wanting to put you off in any way, if you want a car to completely cope with modern traffic and which your wife will feel safe in, don't buy a Seven. You can mod it all you like but really it is not going to be happy at much more than 45-55mph and if you go anywhere near a motorway you will have inevitably have artics passing you. And if you were able to mod it to the extent needed, then would it really still be a Seven?
The reality of a Seven on other types of road is that you will always have impatient people trying to get past you and on some roundabouts at busy times on A roads you will find it a challenge to beat the acceleration and speed of modern vehicles. Some of us deal with all this and drive as defensively as possible, weighing risk against reward. Others choose not to. It's a very personal choice.
Buy an MGB and you'll have plenty of fun with it - your wife will be happy and you'll easily cope with modern road conditions.
