New member

[rrietman]

Hello just joined up. Looks like you guys know Austin sevens. I unexpectantly bought one couple days ago and am sorting boxes seeing what I have. Supposed to be a nippy, what do you think? I am familiar with old English having owned a bunch past 40 years. Currently have mga and td.
Thanks
Randy
Bellingham wa usa

[Mike Costigan]

Yes, that's a Nippy you have there - quite a rarity in left-hand drive form.

Do you have the Car Number and Chassis Number plates which shoud be rivetted through the three holes in the side of the bulkhead?

   

[Tony Griffiths]

A Nippy - left-hand drive, too. I like the two Honda C92 Benlys, especially the CB92 Sports a 125cc machine that comprehensively outperformed the contemporary 250cc European and British bikes. Bike of a truly advanced engineering standard for the time.
Welcome to the mad world of the Austin 7. As you are new to the car, here's some background that I hope you'll find useful - there is, of course, even more to be found if you search online:

If you would like to get a quick grip on what-model-is-what in the A7 world and some interesting background try: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Complete+...nb_sb_noss

CLUBS:
There are so many Austin 7 clubs that, in 1969, an association of them was formed - and this is now the go-to place that hosts a mass of important data: https://a7ca.org/ It's a very large site with lists of clubs, a superb archive of historical data, reproduction handbooks, chassis and car registers, A7 history, A7 model identification, events, etc, - explore the A7CA website: https://a7ca.org

The page that links to the most important sections is: https://archive.a7ca.org/

DIRECT LINKS to HANDBOOKS, PARTS MANUALS, and SALES CATALOGUES
A comprehensive collection can be downloaded as PDFs: https://archive.a7ca.org/collections/han...rts-lists/
Sales brochures can be found here: https://archive.a7ca.org/collections/show-brochures/

The Pre-War A7 club has a very useful Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pwa7c .... with other enthusiasts forming groups for specific models or regional interests.

As a club member, you will receive not only the club's magazine but also the Association Magazine, published quarterly since 1970 https://a7ca.org/about-us/magazine/

BACKGROUND and BOOKS:
To read the fascinating background to the car - with reproductions of the notebook by Stanley Edge, the design draftsman, see: https://a7ca.org/austin-seven/the-people/
Austin 7 books can be bought from: http://www.pwa7c.co.uk/bookshop.php
For engine, other mechanical work and restorations one highly recommended business with personal attention and much helpful advice is: http://www.albaaustins.co.uk

IS YOUR CAR ALREADY LISTED?
To see if your car is listed or to add it (that would be very useful) the A7CA provides a list of known vehicles: https://a7ca.org/chassis-register/ It includes versions by English Austin, American Austin and Bantam, German Dixi and BMW, and French Rosengart. You can search by Model Type as well as chassis, car, and registration numbers.

SPARE PARTS - NEW and USED:
For new Austin 7 parts try these links:
David Cochraine at: https://www.a7c.co.uk/aboutus.php
Jamie Rogerson at: https://www.theaustinsevenworkshop.com/
http://austinrepro.com/ This company offers standard and also beautifully made, difficult-to-find reproductions of headlamps, speedometers, rev counters and various items for standard cars and also the Swallow, Nippy, Ulster, etc:
For both new and used parts try: Tony Betts at http://www.7ca.co.uk/ and http://www.southernsevens.co.uk
Another link with details of restorers, gearbox, suspension and bodywork experts, etc: https://oldcarservices.co.uk/austin-seven-specialists/
If you want to know about 'Technical Data & Specifications', thread sizes, etc, this is the page will help: https://www.austin7.org/Data%20Pages/Tech%20Data/

INTERESTING ODDS and ENDS
For 25+ pages of digitally restored, interesting and high-resolution Austin illustrations (that you can download and print out) see http://www.lathes.co.uk/austin7
Fitting indicators, a guide is available here: http://www.lathes.co.uk/austin-7-indicators
Improving the lights: http://www.lathes.co.uk/austin7-2/page18.html
For the 100th anniversary of the Seven's introduction in 2022 where a thousand cars attended watch the film here: https://a7centenary.com/

[stuartu]

Arising from Tony’s very helpful list, I think you would find Chris Gould’s “A guide to the Austin 65 and Nippy” enlightening, see Tony’s link to the PWA7C bookshop above.

Regards,

Stuart

[Ivor Hawkins]

That’s a great find!

Funnily enough, my Plymouth Road Runner was owned by a Randy from Washington!

[jpsmit]

 I unexpectantly bought one couple days ago 
Randy
Bellingham wa usa

Congrats on the find and thanks for making my day with the most 'car person' statement imaginable. 

(we've all been there and our spouses typically don't understand) 

[rrietman]

thank you all ,especially tony for your interest and responses. the car came with a truckload of spare parts and quite a library as well, so I think I have most of the books mentioned. I have not found a chassis number. the car is titled in washinton state with the body number(which is 798) shown as vin#. there are no plates attached to firewall/bulkhead/frame rails under starter. the only stamping I have found is the body number on the tunnel.
Good eye spotting the benly. it is  an unrestored bike that gets ridden regularily.
thanks
Randy

[Mike Costigan]

Body number 798 probably dates your car to around September 1936. The nearest on the Association's Register is Body number 784, chassis number 247392, first registered August 1936.

[Tony Griffiths]

thank you all ,especially tony for your interest and responses. the car came with a truckload of spare parts and quite a library as well, so I think I have most of the books mentioned. I have not found a chassis number. the car is titled in washinton state with the body number(which is 798) shown as vin#. there are no plates attached to firewall/bulkhead/frame rails under starter. the only stamping I have found is the body number on the tunnel.
Good eye spotting the benly. it is  an unrestored bike that gets ridden regularly.
thanks
Randy

Hello Randy, an unrestored CB93 - wonderful, and so rare. For a short time in the 1970s, I was lucky enough to own a CR93 production racer - but I was made an impossible-to-refuse offer for it that included a CB92 built up as a new bike from spares. That didn't stay long either - though I did ride it - another offer hard to turn down. In the US, but not Europe, you were offered a road-legal version of the CR92 https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17318/lot/151/ now, that really is one to lust after!

[rrietman]

tony; yes the cb92 is one of my favorites. the red bike in the pic is in "r" trim. quite a sight to hear with those megaphones. I have another one , restored, 1960 in street trim. I managed a nos stock exhaust for that one, took a bit to make that happen
thanks
Randy
60 cb92
62cb92
62ca77
62cb72
62cl72
65ca110
67cm91
75ct90
71cb750
75gl1000
76cb400f
82cx500tc
89 transalp
62 pointer ps-1