Hi all, my name is Charlie.
I thought it would be best to introduce myself having now owned my A7 for a little over a week.
Bought from a great chap called Adam Forster who also has a saloon and a Cambridge bodied racer.
The A7 in question is an Ulster type "Special".
- 1931 RN Chassis with a Rod Yates body.
- Keith Dobbinson freshly built Sport Engine (1929) with big inlet vales and high comp. head.
- Pigsty tubular inlet manifold.
- SU Carb.
- Lightened/balanced flywheel and clutch-plate.
- 3 Speed crash 'box.
- Banjo style 4.1 diff.
- Flat front leaf.
- Standard Saloon rear leafs.
- 12v conversion by way of Dynamator.
I have been bombarding Adam with many questions so thought I would give him a break and use this forum instead. Please forgive the shear amount of them!
So here they are in no particular order. I'd be grateful for your thoughts:
1. What is the trick for avoiding a crunch when engaging 1st gear at a standstill?
I can use all the gears smoothly by double declutching whilst on the move, but can rarely get it into first without a crunch when stopped.
2. My right knee just touches the steering wheel making tight right-hand bends awkward as my hand get trapped between knee and wheel! I think the easiest fix for this would be getting the wheel closer to me, even by just an inch. Is there such thing as a column extender?
3. I was looking for a garage to set up the carburetor and timing to ensure everything is running optimally. I've since found Tip Top Engineering who seem like a great bunch?
4. Can anyone recommend a good classic car exhaust place in or around Leeds? I'd like to remove the silencer for a bit more drama.
5. Oil leaks. The car has taken great pleasure in marking its territory in my garage. I've found oil dripping from: the gearbox drain plug, timing gear cover and the seal between the crankcase and flywheel cover. I've been round all the nuts/bolts I can reach and made sure they're nipped up. Am I to just accept this and not worry about little puddles on the floor?
6. Cold starts. When starting from cold, I need to give the car full choke. But it will immediately cut out unless I apply a very small amount or throttle for a period of time. After about 30 seconds, I can back the choke off but still have to keep the throttle applied for another 30 seconds or so to keep the engine running. Normal or is that something that could be sorted with a proper tune of the carb?
7. I'd quite like to get the wheel arches sitting closer to the wheels. They're currently body mounted. Is it a straight forward job mounting them to the axles?
8. Coolant. The advice given to me was for the level to be a couple of inches above the radiator fins. I've topped it up to this level a couple of times and find that it won't stay there. There's no steam coming out of the exhaust once the car's warmed up. Is it natural for the radiator to find it own level or do I have a problem somewhere?
9. 4 speed conversion. I find anything more than 45mph-ish feels a bit torturous on the engine due to the amount of revs needed. Will a 4 speed conversion alleviate this or do I need to change the final drive ratio? I'm worried if I do the latter, I'll completely run out of puff going up hills (at the moment, anything steep needs 1st gear). 17" rear wheels and 19" front if that helps.
Right....I think that's about it for now. Thank you in advance for your patience. Looking forward to many fun miles ahead!
I thought it would be best to introduce myself having now owned my A7 for a little over a week.
Bought from a great chap called Adam Forster who also has a saloon and a Cambridge bodied racer.
The A7 in question is an Ulster type "Special".
- 1931 RN Chassis with a Rod Yates body.
- Keith Dobbinson freshly built Sport Engine (1929) with big inlet vales and high comp. head.
- Pigsty tubular inlet manifold.
- SU Carb.
- Lightened/balanced flywheel and clutch-plate.
- 3 Speed crash 'box.
- Banjo style 4.1 diff.
- Flat front leaf.
- Standard Saloon rear leafs.
- 12v conversion by way of Dynamator.
I have been bombarding Adam with many questions so thought I would give him a break and use this forum instead. Please forgive the shear amount of them!
So here they are in no particular order. I'd be grateful for your thoughts:
1. What is the trick for avoiding a crunch when engaging 1st gear at a standstill?
I can use all the gears smoothly by double declutching whilst on the move, but can rarely get it into first without a crunch when stopped.
2. My right knee just touches the steering wheel making tight right-hand bends awkward as my hand get trapped between knee and wheel! I think the easiest fix for this would be getting the wheel closer to me, even by just an inch. Is there such thing as a column extender?
3. I was looking for a garage to set up the carburetor and timing to ensure everything is running optimally. I've since found Tip Top Engineering who seem like a great bunch?
4. Can anyone recommend a good classic car exhaust place in or around Leeds? I'd like to remove the silencer for a bit more drama.
5. Oil leaks. The car has taken great pleasure in marking its territory in my garage. I've found oil dripping from: the gearbox drain plug, timing gear cover and the seal between the crankcase and flywheel cover. I've been round all the nuts/bolts I can reach and made sure they're nipped up. Am I to just accept this and not worry about little puddles on the floor?
6. Cold starts. When starting from cold, I need to give the car full choke. But it will immediately cut out unless I apply a very small amount or throttle for a period of time. After about 30 seconds, I can back the choke off but still have to keep the throttle applied for another 30 seconds or so to keep the engine running. Normal or is that something that could be sorted with a proper tune of the carb?
7. I'd quite like to get the wheel arches sitting closer to the wheels. They're currently body mounted. Is it a straight forward job mounting them to the axles?
8. Coolant. The advice given to me was for the level to be a couple of inches above the radiator fins. I've topped it up to this level a couple of times and find that it won't stay there. There's no steam coming out of the exhaust once the car's warmed up. Is it natural for the radiator to find it own level or do I have a problem somewhere?
9. 4 speed conversion. I find anything more than 45mph-ish feels a bit torturous on the engine due to the amount of revs needed. Will a 4 speed conversion alleviate this or do I need to change the final drive ratio? I'm worried if I do the latter, I'll completely run out of puff going up hills (at the moment, anything steep needs 1st gear). 17" rear wheels and 19" front if that helps.
Right....I think that's about it for now. Thank you in advance for your patience. Looking forward to many fun miles ahead!