Greetings! New owner from India

[prithvitagore]

Hi everyone, 

So I cleaned my car over the weekend as best as I could. The floors seems to have been patched & patched over several times, very little of the original floor panels remain from what I could make out. Other parts of the tub have also been reworked & been patched. The central tunnel is the only area inside that looks untouched. 

The battery box and the front seat bases also look suspect, as does the crudely installed starter button. The wood frame has been redone at some point. The top frame has some repair work done to it. And there are many many more things that will need undoing & redoing.  

The carb is a 24T2 which I suppose the car got later in life. I measured the wheels again, strangely, they are 16 inches across.

I think I will need a replacement cylinder head. I'm confused about the number stampings on the cylinder head I see on the net. What number should my AG tourer have? The current head on the car is so rusty that I can't make out the numbers. I think we found the engine number # M 73439

I'm attaching a few photos that I took over the weekend.

[Reckless Rat]

Hours of fun!

If the central tunnel is original you might be able to find the body number stamped in it, close to the forward opening (forward of the starter button). I suspect that the holes cut in the floor to access the rear brake cables are probably "bespoke"...

It's a lovely old thing though. I'd be sorely tempted to NOT over restore it but to maintain as far as possible its current 'patina'

[Ivor Hawkins]

Yes, I agree with Bruce, the car isn’t at all bad and it would be great to retain the patina of history…well at least some of it!

[gezparton]

A wonderful car !
Preserve or restore its up to you.

[Tony Griffiths]

I fear that the now much-desired 'patena' created by decades of careful use is long gone - but, happily, it has survived with nearly all the essential parts intact - save for a set of 19-inch wheels, the correct lights and perhaps the sidescreens. Hence it could, with considerable time and effort be restored to 'as-new", or just built up to be mechanically sound and the body repaired and strengthened as necessary. The "big-ticket" items such as body, wings, engine, gearbox back axle, etc, are pretty simple to get right - but you may find that the small things such as the instruments a greater challenge. I know that that AG owners (and those with the very similar AF) will be delighted to provide photographs and advice.
Here is a useful discussion on cylinder heads: https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/for...p?tid=2032
Here is all the data about the different heads, their casting marks and, as far as is known, when they were used https://sevenrk.wordpress.com/2019/05/31...ion-heads/

[Howard Wright]

Hi Prithvi

The modifications to the battery box area are similar to those made to my RK. (Which was imported from Sweden in 2015). I think they were made to fit a standard 12 volt battery as small 6 Volt batteries that fit in the original hole were difficult to find in India (or Sweden). Originally the transverse support (that carries the seat hinges) would mirror the drivers side.

Cheers

Howard

[prithvitagore]

Indeed, the 'patina' appears nice in photos but you are correct in saying that real patina of careful use is long gone. This poor car was garaged & locked up in the 1970s or 80s and probably wasn't cared for since then. It may also have gone to a roadside shop before being locked up where the fabricated bumpers etc were put perhaps in an attempt to cope with Calcutta traffic & modern cars. 

A wonderful story how I got the little Austin. The house it was in belonged to a doctor who was well known in the area. It was his car. After he passed, the car was not used but his daughter wouldn't let go off the car nor let anyone touch it. Very recently, the daughter who lived in the same house and is now in her 70s and suffering from dementia, sold the house with everything still in it. She didn't tell the buyers what was in the house. That's the only history I know of the car.

The builders who bought the house opened the garage & saw the car. They had no idea beforehand. So they put it on the market & I got to know within a day and made an offer after seeing a few photos. We reached a deal on my birthday (10th September) and I was told to take the car the very next day because they had to start demolishing the house. And all this just a 10 minute drive from my own house!

Thank you Tony & Howard for the help & links. I will keep researching for now. 

Regards,

Prithvi

[Mike Costigan]

... It may also have gone to a roadside shop before being locked up where the fabricated bumpers etc were put perhaps in an attempt to cope with Calcutta traffic & modern cars... 

The front bumper may well have been on the car from new: it appears to be identical to that fitted to the Argentinian Motor Show car which was supplied from Longbridge 'with bumpers'. I believe they were marketed by Wilmot Breedon.

   

[Howard Wright]

Hi Prithvi and Mike 

The heritage certificate for my RK (1930) shows it to be an export car (to Sweden) with two rear lights, km/h speedometer and bumpers. Unfortunately all missing when I imported it back to the UK.

Cheers

Howard

[prithvitagore]

Hello friends!

What should be the correct headlamp model for my 1931 AG tourer? 

Regards,

Prithvi