Naming the car

[David Stepney]

My special was called 'The Lamp-post Special' after a remark in Bill Williams book saying that you can't build a special under a lamp post. (it was in fact built in a garage, but that's another story!)

[Mike Costigan]

... Pictures of the car appeared in the Cambridge Daily News after it was driven along the frozen River Cam in the hard winter of '63. I also owned an un-named 1930 fabric saloon at that address...
Robert Leigh

This is Charles Easter's Seven on the Thames at Oxford in 1963:

[AustinWood]

It's no coincidence Robert, We bought Brunswick, the fabric saloon, from you.

[Robert Leigh]

Sorry, I did not recognise 'Austin Wood'. Greetings! Incidentally I painted the lower half of Gloriana Brunswick Green because it seemed appropriate. I think I had bought her back by the time you bought the fabric saloon.
Robert Leigh

[Greig Smith]

Not actually an Austin 7 but Dad's '30 Triumph Super 7 RK Tourer.... was christened after a particularly trying Easter weekend of wrestling with ignition misfires which turned out to be a split in a sealing washer in the SU carb which caused flooding as the throttle was opened... A weekend of rebuilding the magneto & swapping over to the coil conversion and back to the mag again all 'for nowt' saw the christening of Ethelred and she's become rather well known locally. Dad bought her in April '62, she's a keeper. 

Aye 
Greig

[PedigreeChummy]

Just as an aside to this thread, what are your recommendations for applying a signwritten or pseudo-signwritten (decals or stencils etc.) name...
I live in France so "a bloke down the road in Braintree" is not what I am after, unfortunately.
I have considered giving it a go myself, given I have an (admittedly dim and distant) artistically inclined past.
Any tips?

Name of the car will be "Betty Blue"...for any afficionados of 80's French cinema.... probably applied above the fold of the louvred bonnet panel

[free_spirit07]

Oh no! - another "Betty" ;-) (& with the same steamy inspiration! ;-)) My wee A35 is Betty too though without the "Blue" as she is Speedwell Blue (a pale sky blue) so i figured the blue spoke for itself. Like you a bit of an artistic background so I played with the Flying A of the later Austins to create the art for Betty's decal under the driver's quarterlight window (as well as "The Flying Ant" on the rear window) - have done others by handcutting the vinyl but "lazy man's guide to enlightenment" with the trickiness of cutting the Flying A style lettering on this one made getting it computer cut far easier. "Happy", my Chummy, has her lettering modelled on the period Austin logo (again in vinyl - thusfar it has lasted extremely well with no signs of lifting.)

[PedigreeChummy]

Thanks Paul... any photos?

As for the steamy inspiration, I was going to say don't watch it with the wife if you are over a certain age... the opening 3 mins would have her purple rinse well and truly curling

[free_spirit07]

Sadly cannae do pics from my work computer - will flick some thru when I get a chance from home :-)

Aye those opening 3 minutes! 37.5 degrees in the shade alright! - nearly as exciting as an Austin 7 steering with it's rear going round corners on corrugated shingle roads ;-)

[free_spirit07]

Here ya go ......