80 years of bodges?

[PhilM]

During the overhaul of the distributor of my 1936 two seater project I came across a couple of "mods" which caused me some amusement, as far as I was aware the car had been put away 19 years ago in a more or less running state. the more I look the less likely that seems.

When i first took the distributor out of the dynamo housing the drive gear pin looked a little odd.



It would seem that some time in the distant past somebody did a bit if improvisation.



Galvanised roofing nail to the rescue! I guess it did the job tough, maybe one of those "get you home" temporary fixes which became permanent.

Also on removing the base plate the advance weights had been reassembles incorrectly.



Both easy fixes i guess but it does make me wonder what other gremlins are lurking in the as yet virtually unexplored mechanicals.

Both the distributor drive gear and the dynamo to distributor drive gear are badly worn, can somebody please suggest the source of a pair of good quality replacements?



Many thanks,    ..... Phil.

[Chris KC]

http://www.distributordoctor.com/distrib...-dogs.html

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Phil,

Tony Betts sells the gear for the end of the dynamo.

[Mike Costigan]

... as far as I was aware the car had been put away 19 years ago in a more or less running state. the more I look the less likely that seems...

That's one of the beauties of the Austin Seven - it will keep going, and still give good service, long after another car has expired by the roadside. I recall a friend's experience back in the 1960s with an Austin Ruby, which he had bought as temporary transport whilst he overhauled his daily-use Frazer Nash. Once the 'Nash was restored to its daily use status, Derek decided to give the Ruby a quick overhaul - he was amazed to discover over a dozen faults, each of which would have stopped the 'Nash dead in its tracks, but the Ruby was still apparently running perfectly.

[Nick Salmon]

Seeing those gears reminds me of a friend of mine some years ago who purchased an A7 from a dealer who shall remain nameless. From the outset it ran like an utter pig and when we finally took off the front end of the engine the timing gears were so worn to razor sharp edges that you could have shaved with them.