What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Smiley]

Your journey sounds wonderful.

I once used an entire gallon of Oil in the RN between Gloucester and Bristol - the engine was very loose, it was totally rebuilt shorty after...

Hi Ruairidh, It goes in the engine.Your not supposed to put it in the tank  
If you find yourself in this neck of the woods again give me the nod and 
perhaps we could meet. (Junc 9 M5).
Smiley.

[Michael D]

Oh Squeak how philosophical... yes .. the traffic of life is full of chicanes...the young ones of today will be the elder of tomorrow and yes.... 'truly reckless' was meant respectfully.

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@ Mike Costigan.. just for my understanding and statistics so that I'll know what I'm up against when we can finally take the Rosengart out for a more serious drive 'round the block.. how. long did that 130 mile roundtrip take you? Coffee and Pies not included that. is...
We're considering going to Carignan (F) with some Dutch friends next May and that event includes a 'tour' (plus a 'regularity run' in the streets but judging by some films shot by friends who were. there last year it comes awfully close to narrow-streets- racing between strawbales with no room for overtaking.. think I'll pass on that)

[Mike Costigan]

... just for my understanding and statistics so that I'll know what I'm up against when we can finally take the Rosengart out for a more serious drive 'round the block.. how. long did  that 130 mile round trip take you? Coffee and Pies not included that is...

The route consisted of approx 40 miles of clear main road running, and 25 miles of back lanes and congested city traffic. The journey there took 1 hour 55 minutes, including approx ten minutes of completely stationary traffic, whilst the return run took just over two hours without the traffic jam - go figure! Coffee and mince pies added a further couple of hours 

If you are not used to Sevens, on a long run I would recommend a 5-10 minute break every hour; I could have pushed myself a bit further than the two hour stint, but probably not by much before nature called!

[Zetomagneto]

... just for my understanding and statistics so that I'll know what I'm up against when we can finally take the Rosengart out for a more serious drive 'round the block.. how. long did  that 130 mile round trip take you? Coffee and Pies not included that is...

The route consisted of approx 40 miles of clear main road running, and 25 miles of back lanes and congested city traffic. The journey there took 1 hour 55 minutes, including approx ten minutes of completely stationary traffic, whilst the return run took just over two hours without the traffic jam - go figure! Coffee and mince pies added a further couple of hours 

If you are not used to Sevens, on a long run I would recommend a 5-10 minute break every hour; I could have pushed myself a bit further than the two hour stint, but probably not by much before nature called!

That sounds like a good time, average 30 MPH ish

[Reckless Rat]

Averaging 30mph in a standard seven is good going. If you're in hilly country you're going to be averaging 20-25mph. When I brought the RP down to France it took me 10 hrs from Sheffield to Folkestone and I clocked 280 miles avoiding motorways.

[Mike Costigan]

I think average speeds depend more on traffic density than hilliness. I regularly make the run from my home to Tony Griffith's home in mid-Derbyshire; it is exactly thirty one miles and includes travelling through the centre of Chesterfield, with plenty of significant hills en route. My normal timing is 55 minutes on a good day, up to 65 minutes if I hit heavy traffic in Chesterfield. The car is totally standard with low comp head, updraught carb and three speed gearbox, and I don't normally travel at over 45mph, usually a bit less.

If I lived in the South East, I suspect I would struggle to manage a 20mph average (and of course my 'significant' hills are probably mere pimples compared with what Reckless has on his doorstep!).

[Dave Mann]

Michael, the 270 mile journey from Stockport to Doune, Scone or Guildtown for the SA7c rally used to take us 10 hours start to stop including meal stops, calls of nature, etc. This was with two RN saloons and included about 50 miles of motorway (M60 round Manchester, M6 round Penrith and Carlisle) the rest was mainly back roads. I soon realised that driving a saloon rather than a sports model (and some moderns I drove for work) was much more comfortable particularly if you fit 1.5" spacers under the seat front supports which raises the front of the seat and lowers the rear. This lowers your line of sight below the wiper motor and supports more of your upper leg reducing the numb bum problem.

[Michael D]

Wonderfull reading.. doing an average of 30 mph in a seven must mean you are keeping momentum (in German: " Das Auto im Schwung halten') aka keep kit rolling; apply brakes as little as possible etcetera?? Methinks I'm not going to use any motorways in here in the Netherlands as lorry drivers doing a steady 80 kph would be on my tail all the time, which will bring stress to dangerous levels not mentioning cruising at. 80 kph also seems rather demanding for the Rosengart's little engine. We've just decided not to fit the HC head as upon comparing the cubic capacities with the standard head it turned out it would mean a 33%. increase in compression and thus considerable more load to the bottom end of an engine that may have been rebuilt by a previous owner but to a standard we can not establish.. (whooooopssss ........there go the conrods...)
We've already understood that driving this car demands concentration and that may be a bit tiring but when taking backroads we. hope to encounter plenty of little village bars where to stop and give suit. to the call of nature.... In the past one of the adages of long distance drivers was "Drive two hours then have a 15 minute break".....I'm not quite sure but if memory serves me right, way. back in the late sixties / early seventies when going on vacation from Amsterdam to Ostend (Belgium) we had some four stops....

[Mike Costigan]

The key to Austin Seven travel is indeed maintaining momentum: be prepared to increase speed downhill in order to crest the next rise without loosing to much speed, anticipation, especially of traffic lights and be prepared to slow down in anticipation of the lights changing before you get there ... On the journey above I doubt if I used the brakes more than three or four times in the 65 miles.

Longer journeys will inevitably involve a reduction of overall average speed because of stops, but a running average of 30mph shouldn't be an impossible target.

[Reckless Rat]

In the summer, I did a run from home to a little village in the Lozère called Cubières with a view to doing a raffle. The idea was that people would be given the distance and some information about the car and then they had to guess how long it would have taken me to drive there. The nearest would win the prize.

The distance from here to Cubières is 65km (just over 40 miles) and includes several long climbs at Portes, Genholac and Cubières. Starting point is at 280m above MSL whilst Cubières is around 1400m.

I would have got there a little sooner if I hadn't been baulked on the last climb by a Belgian with a caravan...

How long do you reckon? RP saloon, 4 speed crash, HC head. One up.

Seen here at "Chez Huguette" in Cubières. She's the Bar/Restaurant owner and the older sister of a friend of mine. He was born in the house. (That's his nephew in the picture)