What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[bob46320]

Try carbon arc brazing - nice bit of sunburn and leaves you looking like a panda if you use goggles.

[Nick Lettington]

Hopefully worth the pain...

   

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[Howard Wright]

Nice work Nick

Howard

[Nick Lettington]

Nice work Nick

Howard

Thanks Howard. 

It seems like a lot of work for a car that I plan simply to pass on when I have recovered the registration... particularly as whoever buys it may not want the Silverstone body and may undo all my hard work! (Insert alternating crying and laughing emojii ad nausea)

So far I have resolved a number of schoolboy errors on the engine, replaced the back brakes, removed the halfshafts and diff for lapping, swapped out the bowed sports axle for bowdenex IFS, including removing the brake cams and bushes to be able to remove the king pins, sorted the 5" spaced twin ball mountings for the radius arms, relocated the bowden cable brake supports as they clashed with the balls, fabricated inlet and exhaust manifolds, fabricated a side mounted steering wedge to resolve an issue with the height of the brake pedal in the Speedex tub, the water branch to send water to the scuttle mounted water tank and a bracket for an ex mini handbrake oh and repaired a freebie radiator (thank you Stuart). Just need to make a frame for the rear shock absorbers and petrol tank, one for the fronts, radiator and bonnet and some better mounting arrangements for the body. I was looking for a v pulley but may now change to an electric pump for simplicity. On the subject of simplicity, the gearbox remote will definitely be based on Jack 's design... very little fabrication required.

B#&&£r... I just remembered I have no suitable seat. Anyone got an old fibreglass bucket seat or ally one that's in the way? (Insert crying emoji) or have you made a seat reasonably cheaply from wood and ally and are willing to show me how?

[Mike Costigan]

Can you get away with a simple one-piece backrest and a couple of loose cushions?

[Nick Lettington]

Can you get away with a simple one-piece backrest and a couple of loose cushions?

It is a possibility but I may need a bit of four by two screwed to the floor at the front to contain the base one?  or possibly a fibreglass go-kart seat (Speedex suggested their Spree Kart seat...) been looking at cutting down a cheap ally stock car seat too... 

Since posting I have looked at lots of pictures on the web, and I have a few sheets of aluminium in the garage. Any pictures of your special seats would be appreciated!

["Slack Alice" Simon]

I have very simple seats, but the seat and back are not connected, the back was originally supported by a bar across the car body, and the latest version has a stay from about half way up the back, down the the raised floor over the diff.

I can supply more details, if of interest.

[Nick Lettington]

I have very simple seats....

I can supply more details, if of interest.

Certainly of interest Simon, thanks.

[Chris Garner]

Spent the morning machining the rear bearing area of the 65 crankcase to take a Hadley crank. The first step in converting the engine to a pressure fed one.

[Nick Lettington]

I'm still looking for a seat for the Speedex... possibly some fibreglass ones may be coming my way, but I'm still waitingfordetails. The joker in the family suggested that this would be a good idea for an old fella like me.