What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Mike Costigan]

The non-functioning fuel gauge could be for a number of reasons: the fuel gauge itself is faulty, or the resistor in the sender unit is dirty/damaged, or the float is punctured or seized. Meanwhile, a long stick poked down the filler works ...

[bystander]

The non-functioning fuel gauge could be for a number of reasons: the fuel gauge itself is faulty, or the resistor in the sender unit is dirty/damaged, or the float is punctured or seized. Meanwhile, a long stick poked down the filler works ...

....and a couple of crocodile clips to attach the long stick to the rear bumper, or it will stink the cab out (don't ask me how I know)

[Ivor Hawkins]

     This weekend I have been mostly Making the interior trim panels for the box and ran seriously short of clamps....I was beginning to think that calling Martin Prior might be a good idea!

[Graham Barker]

Anne, I use a dipstick to check the petrol level in my Ruby tank. A length of wooden dowel 3 or 4 mm diameter can be forced into the tank. The petrol level shows up quite clearly on the wood.

[Reckless Rat]

I have been using a dipstick on the RP for the last 35 years or so and it has proved completely reliable ( when I remember to use it) the current version has been painted at the operating end and has a machined groove for each 1 gallon indication. I always carry it in the driver's door map pocket and have never had a problem with fuel fumes. I do tend to drive with the window open and always carry a spare 5 litre can just in case the stick fuses.

[Duncan Grimmond]

I made a copy of an Austin dipstick for the elliptical-section tank of my BSA trike. The only problem I have is that when it's running low the baffle doesn't touch the bottom of the tank and when it is getting towards empty the carbs use up all of the float chambers' supply on a long hill or bend...

I don't think there's a gauge available to cope with heavy-footed drivers suffering from inadequate foresight in the dipstick department ;-)

[David Stepney]

To cut a long (and very tedious) story short,  I have been obliged to use the RP as my 'daily' since the back end of April, when the Polo came off the road for an engine overhaul.  I estimated  between 4 and 6 weeks to do this, but, given that:- (a) the Polo is now 34 years old and (b) we have had 'Brexit' imposed on us, the required parts have been somewhat difficult to come by. The work is therefore still ongoing with no firm end date in sight. I therefore bought myself a Fiat Panda 4x4 to take the pressure off the Seven.

Literally, no sooner than I had taken delivery of this new car, my grand-daughter-in-law (bless her) wrote her Nissan Qashqai off, and , given that she has three children, the youngest of whom is disabled,  I lent her the Panda whilst the insurance company sorted her out. Whilst in her care, the Panda developed a growly front wheel bearing, so yesterday, we took the Seven to Birmingham to enable her to pick up her replacement car, choosing a route that did not involve motorways. It took us 7 hours to go to Birmingham and back from Bala, and poor Paula had already traveled 60 miles from Anglesey to me in the morning and then traveled the same distance in her new car back. So we were both exhausted by the end of the day, Paula finally getting back to her home at about 11.00 pm.

 I have spent today fitting a new front wheel bearing to the Panda.

To be fair the Seven, in the 2000 or so miles it has covered in the last six weeks or so, apart from servicing, the only replacements have been a propshaft fabric joint and a speedometer cable and has risen the the challenge of being a daily driver admirably. Indeed, it has proved itself more dependable that the 'moderns'. Not bad for a motor car that has just celebrated it's 88th birthday. What was the advertising slogan? " You buy a car but you invest in an Austin"?

Oh, yes. Again for various complicated reasons, the Panda went to the works for me to repair it (no press at home), so the Panda is now at home and the Seven is at work. So I shall have to catch the bus in from Bala to Cefn Mawr on Tuesday (when I am next in) to retrieve it. And, guess what? Being (as it turns out) quite badly autistic, I HATE buses!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

A summer’s drive in the Highlands - take 2!

Loch Garten and one of my favourite roads of all time. 

The engine is running in very well indeed and proving to be very flexible even with a 4.9:1 back axle ratio. 

It is in top gear for the duration of the video and pulls quite happily where others might require a change down, lightness is king!

   

   

   

[Chris KC]

There might possibly be one or two here who remember my father's Ulster-style special "Incontinence" (PP 7965 - still around somewhere), which was powered by a pressure-fed 3-bearing engine with modified Reliant crankshaft. Its last outing of note - in his hands at least - was the 750MC tour to Le Puy in June 1987. He was intent on 'setting the pace' and was easily first home on most legs as far as I could determine, following along at a more sedate pace in my Nippy with Mum reading the route map (hence the leisurely pace...) His car positively flew until what must have been the last night of the trip; nearing the Pas de Calais we rounded a bend and saw it pulled over on the grass verge with a lot of noses under the bonnet. It had gone 'bang' in a big way and sadly completed the journey home on a trailer.

Fast forward a few decades and I found I still had the remains of her engine, which Dad never re-built. A bit of forensic work and a cuppa with Stuart Rolt and it was determined that although the centre main had been line-bored, whoever did it had not made a new upper housing; so rather than correcting the misalignment they had simply bored it oval. In doing so they had relieved the bearing 'nip' which holds the shells in place. In time these had rotated in the housing, shutting off the oil supply not only to the main, but also to the big ends...

I crack tested the crank and had it reground - it came back a little thinner but sound nonetheless and also balanced together with the flywheel. I drew up a complete new centre main housing and had it made at a local machine shop, then installed it with the cylinder block in place and got it line bored anew, this time with fresh metal to cut. Shells were modified to fit. I didn't fancy the old rods, which had been welded, so modified a new set, helicoiling them to take bolts from below and removing the upper shoulders which otherwise foul the cams. At the same time the stress-raiser at the end of the old bolt face was ground out. Since then I spent an unexpected amount of time fiddling with the flywheel and clutch which needed a bit of re-working. 

My Box Saloon needed a temporary engine while undergoing overhaul so it seemed a good time for a try-out. Despite the nuances of 'high frame' vs 'low frame' it was persuaded to fit. I then hit a wall of electrical problems which revealed the true state of neglect of my saloon! One battery terminal was half eaten away by corrosion and that turned out to be the culprit. And then - she started. First run in 34 years, almost to the day! I did 26 miles on Friday, adjusted the clutch pedal which had slipped around the shaft slightly, followed by an 80 mile round-trip to Whittlesey on Saturday afternoon - freeing up well and pulling better even in so short a time. The engine now starts with one swing on the handle, and if it isn't pouring with rain on Friday we may attempt the journey down to Beaulieu (despite much else which needs doing to the Box! There are probably too many holes in the floor to consider wading just yet).

Anyway, just thought I'd share my tale. And a question if anyone is still reading - I need a PRV spring which will give about 50 psi cut-off with the standard ball arrangement, can anyone suggest a suitable spring please? She settles down to 25 - 50 psi in normal running but the pressure on start-up is something quite frightening!

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p.s. Love your video Ruairidh! That's what we've been missing all these months. It's pouring with rain down here at present!

[Steve Jones]

The weather at Loch Garten looks to be holding, Ruairidh, and is just like it's been most of the time over the last three weeks and our tour of the North East Scottish Coast and Highlands. What serious rain we had was, mostly, overnight and, without doubt, we were in the 'place to be' when it comes to weather in recent weeks. 'Place to be' for many other reasons too. However, we were being told that the lack of rain in the Lowlands was causing farmers some problems so not everybody's happy. Back home, today's been getting the grass cut between the showers this morning and cleaning one very travel stained motorhome this afternoon, again between the showers. We had to come home as we're going away on Thursday!!

Steve