Export Ruby Differences

[Ritchie Wilson]

I would imagine that most Rubies in New Zealand would be export versions with the 4-bladed fan and air cleaner.
They have a tail light on the right-hand side of the spare wheel cover rather than in the centre, as in Britain.
I wonder what other changes the NZ version had,
And what type of tail light would have been fitted. 
I have one spare-wheel cover which has the rusty remains of the tail light attached, and it is a D type rather than the expected Pork Pie variety. Which would have been installed originally?

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I do not know specifically about NZ cars but these things were fitted to other “export” Ruby types:

Carb air filter
Sports fan pulleys
4 blade fans
Spacer block on top of front spring with correspondingly longer u bolts
Spacers between rear wheels and drum with corresponding longer wheel studs
16” wheels

I have a question mark over larger sports sumps, oil pick up, dipstick and sump bolts.

Also a question over them being fixed head as apposed to sliding roofs.

The examples I have seen also had the single D lamp to one side.

Others will know more for sure, good luck.

[Robert Leigh]

Am I right in thinking that UK market cars only had sliding roofs on the de luxe spec. I feel sure that early basic Rubies had the smoker's hatch. Were export cars also 'standard' or de luxe?

[Bob Culver]

My RP sold here as a de luxe with all the features (and more; heavy bumpers front and rear) but  had (fortunately) just the smokers hatch. The convention may have been continued. Is it evident from old advert pictures? Cars  here tended to be used as everyday year round transport so any troublesome roofs soon got patched over, sunroof or closed. There would be few persons left in NZ with memories of the cars when still common and in everyday use, or who have closely observed enough cars to figure if originally with sun roof. I suspect any such cars would have been short lived in Wellington!
When I was a small boy we were driving thru the Manawatu Gorge when a pile of rocks tumbled onto the road ahead. So my Dad fitted a steel roof. Somewhat more impressive events eventually closed the route. May still be on Google. I can still recall seeing an upturned railway engine which fell  into the river after hitting a slip.

[Ritchie Wilson]

Thanks Ruairidh
I see in the Source Book a steel roofed lhd export ARQ. All the ones I have seen in NZ have either had a fabric roof or a replacement compound curvature aluminium covering held in place by a multiplicity of small self-tapping screws.
There isn't much about export models in The Original Austin Seven.
All the sumps I have seen - admittedly a limited number - have been pretty shallow.
Where did you get the information about the export models?

And Bob, my sister and I went on an excursion train through the Manawatu Gorge last year and the extensive damage to the road on the other side of the river was most evident. From your story of the wrecked loco it may be that the rail link is on borrowed time also.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

My information comes from the remains of one I own, a couple I have seen and photos I have been sent over the years.

[Ritchie Wilson]

Thanks again Ruairidh
I thought that I might have missed the section in the Source Book where this was mentioned.
The wheels of Mk1 Rubies here are usually 17" with the small Staybrite centres. I would have said that all the Mk2s had 16" wheels with the larger wheel centres. I don't think I have ever seen a 17" wheel with the large centre.
Rinsey Mills seems to be saying that all home-market Rubies had 17" wheels. Is that correct?

Hijacking my own thread - The 1939 Ruby had some similarities with the Big Seven I understand.
Were the headlights the same? Were the headlight glasses more rounded on the last of the Rubies?

[Bob Culver]

It is getting off the topic but Google photos of the gorge and the train derailment may interests some. It eventually dawned that with recurrent slips someone would get killed so road now abandoned. I was only 3 when the train went down but it stayed there for a long time and we passed by about twice a year. I can clearly remember it, along with much else viewed from the Austin. Roads were much more interesting and 40-45 was the speed. The Gorge used to be very narrow and winding with just a foot high wooden barrier and scary in daylight.It was later extensively built out on piers.
The 16 wheels common here have rims as moderns rather than rolled.

[Ritchie Wilson]

Taking the advice given in the "Forums in General" thread I searched for "headlight lens" and was taken to the "New Ruby is Home" thread from 2018 which contained pictures of a very nice lhd ARQ Ruby (with a 3brg engine). Items of interest are the D-type off-set, on the left, tail light and the 16" wheels with small centre - as well as the expected 4-bladed fan and air-filter.
The headlight lenses appear to be Austin 8 so obviously some latter parts have been fitted.

[Malcolm Parker]

I believe that the scuttle assembly of the last Rubies and the Big Seven were the same.  I was told this by Geoff Roe so expect it to be correct!