Tourer on ebay - what is this really?

[Howard Wright]

I could see it as a very good VSCC trials car!

Cheers

Howard

[12jslater]

I've just been in contact with the chap as I'd consider swapping my big seven for a "proper" seven, does anyone see anything that would cost major money just to get it back on the road (ignoring accuracy) for the time being, just for a drivable shell?

[Tony Griffiths]

I've just been in contact with the chap as I'd consider swapping my big seven for a "proper" seven, does anyone see anything that would cost major money just to get it back on the road (ignoring accuracy) for the time being, just for a drivable shell?

With a pair of suitable but cheap non-austin seats, front and rear dampers, a starter motor, any old lights, a handbrake and a running engine you might be OK. But, the seller says the engine is "seized" - and this could be anything from a simple dismantling, honing of the bores and reassembling to a broken crankshaft and everything else utterly worn out. In the latter case (assuming that you don't have stock of useful A7 bits stored away) budget anything from a £1000 let's-just-get-it-running-even-if-it-smokes-and-clanks to £4000 for a thorough rebuild, a new crank and a 10p piece balanced on the cylinder head. It's a gamble....I'd recommend avoiding it.

[Tony Betts]

hi 12j

first thing to be road worthy,

rebuild the wheels, 4 new tyres and tubes. cost estimated at £650 to £1,100 

before you get excited about roadworthy.

think more about the unknowns, axle engine and gearbox. all very expensive to work on.

the car is obviously loosely put back together.

for me, and its my opinion only, what would stop me is. the foot missing on the engine, the cut out of the surround. alot of whats there is damaged. so you or I would be buying alot of stuff that needs replacing. sorry thats just my opinion.

tony

[Stuart Giles]

I've just been in contact with the chap as I'd consider swapping my big seven for a "proper" seven, does anyone see anything that would cost major money just to get it back on the road (ignoring accuracy) for the time being, just for a drivable shell?

Adding to what the other chaps on here have said re. the potential cost of sorting the mechanics, there is some really rough repair work on that body, and there aren't any photos of the area where these steel bodies really suffer. Here's my 1931 AG tourer once I'd stripped out the shelf bracket etc. 'repairs' carried out by previous owners.



Of course, I did this work with Oxy Acetylene back in the days before MIG welders were affordable, so less hammer and dolly work nowadays, but still non trivial to ensure that the back of the body stays attached to the front.

[Zetomagneto]

Hi 12slater, you are a brave man to even think about this, particularly after the trouble with the B7.
This 7 tourer is almost a pile of poo and will be an absolute money pit.
It will need to be complete and roadworthy before you can even register it.
I don’t see any comparison between this and the Amilcar.

[David.H]

Stuart,
That looks so like my AG (ex Hong Kong, California and Ohio) So many holes and awful sills wings & scuttle good, but time and treasure expended on the body was considerable! I thought about making it into a trials car as by the time the body was done it was SO strong! But it was so good it all seemed wrong to beat it up over the hills! It even has hydraulics and Nippy bits.
I had another AG from the States that I sold on to the trade for this sort of money a few years ago but it at least ran and was more or less complete and and it was UK registered by then ! £1000 opening (final?)offer. It will cost loads more than you think!

[Charles P]

Frankly I'm with Hedd on this. It's a cheap short chassis car and they don't drop out of the sky much.
Yes it's scruffy, yes it's missing bits and as Tony Betts' pointed out, the crankcase is broken. It's definitely a project for the confident and experienced, not a newbie. If you want to restore a Chummy to "as new" with all the right bits, R47s etc this is probably a poor starting point and could be a money pit. If you want to obtain a scruffy but useable open short chassis A7 with perhaps some trials fun, this could be a fair bet, but I wouldn't buy it blind. Anyone interested would be wise to spend their last day of freedom hot-footing it to Evesham to view.
It'll need a full engine rebuild so budget for that (a used replacement whole bottom end from Tony B is £300 as a start point). On the plus side what the vendor writes about the body and engine seems pretty honest and with a buy it now price/offers, its means it's probably available for something less than the sticker price.

[Mike Costigan]

You're all making a big thing about the damaged crankcase, but considering some people favour three-point mounting the engine anyway, at least it's the mounting furthest from the clutch pedal... 

[Hedd_Jones]

You're all making a big thing about the damaged crankcase, but considering some people favour three-point mounting the engine anyway, at least it's the mounting furthest from the clutch pedal... 

Thats pretty much what my conclusion was assuming you can unstick the engine. But I do have a number of those crankcases in stock....