What pressure do I need in my tyres,my car is difficult to drive it wonders about.
I expect this, as I am told one difficulty is keeping an austin 7 upright.
my car arrived with no tools,jack etc.can anyone tell me which austin 7 club to join,I am in denbigh north wales,and where can I purchase the tools I need.

Location: North wales

Hi Peter.

I normally run my RP saloon at 24psi all round.

Don't take as gospel any suggestions that Austin Sevens wander. With everything in good order an RN or RP can be rock-steady. Check for play in the kingpins and the point where the radius arms meet the chassis, as well as all of the obvious steering joints.

The same goes for the car's reputation for having no brakes. Properly set up, you should be able to lock up all four wheels on a dry road.

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T".

For 19" wheels tyre pressures should 20 - 22 psi.
The reason it wanders is more likely due to incorrect caster - check a recent forum discussion.

Caster angle, wedges and Ball Flange.

http://pub25.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2099944454&frmid=5&msgid=1001778&cmd=show

No sure where you heard Austin 7's are difficult to keep upright- as with most cars it depends primarily on the driver. I drove a 1962 VW for 20 years and never turned it over.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne.

With regard to tools, get a Whitworth socket set and some Whitworth combination ring/open end spanners. I've found that some nuts are so close to casings that only Austin open end spanners will do as I think the jaws are set at a slightly different angle to make access and turning possible. The top starter motor nut is the most recently found awkward party in my inexperience. There are others!
3/16 and 1/4 seem to be the most commonly used but 5/16 and bigger are also there. A good wheel hub puller is available from cherished suppliers and if you're going in further a flywheel puller is also recommended. Otherwise, standard stuff like screwdrivers, pliers, mole-grips, a good quality adjustable (Bahco is my favourite) and a ball-pein hammer of your favourite weight. You can hit light with a big hammer but you can't hit heavy with a light one. A copper/hide faced Thor mallet is very useful too. Don't forget the cable ties and some stout wire!

Location: Ripon

Austin 7 Components, one of our cherished suppliers, have a couple of sections in their catalogue dedicated to some of the tools you may require - see under 'Tools' - 'Toolkit', 'Garage' and 'Consumables' in the link below. A7C can supply a full set of original Austin BSF open ended spanners - their ref. BT1c and a set of 8 BSF/BSW modern combination spanners (open ended on one end ring on the other) - their ref. BT901. Hold your cursor over A7C's GREEN ref. numbers and an illustration/photo of the part/tool will appear.

Virtually any jack will do if working in the garage, I've got a modern hydraulic trolley jack, available from places like Machine Mart or online - SGS for example. Small 1930's period screw jacks and handles regularly appear on ebay to carry with you in the car or carry a small modern hydraulic bottle jack. Don't forget, if you're working under the car, don't rely solely on the jack, get yourself a good pair of axle stands - I like the 'Melco' brand, British Made in Sheffield.

http://www.a7c.co.uk/spares.php#tools

Trolley and Bottle Jacks:
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment

Melco axle stands capacity 1.5 Tonne each:
http://hilifthydraulics.co.uk/3000kgs-3ton-3tonne-axlestand-3000kgsaxlestand-3tonaxlestand-pair-melco-thomasmeldrum-as5

Melco axle stands capacity 2 Tonne each:
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/as10-axle-stands/

Roebuck brand (Buck & Hickman) 18pc 1/2" drive BSW / BSF socket set
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roebuck-High-Quality-18pc-1-2-drive-BSW-BSF-socket-set-/171522065672

The nearest Buck & Hickman branch to you will be in Ellesmere Port, their only branches in Wales are in Swansea and Cardiff.

A wide variety of sizes and capacities of vintage screw jacks are always available on ebay - many are missing their handles, but these can be easily fabricated - but if you can, try and get one with its original handle - Shelley and Lake & Elliot are brands worth looking out for.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=vintage+car+jack&_sop=10&_osacat=14024&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=vintage+car+jack&_sacat=14024

Jeff.

Location: Almost but not quite, the far North East of England

A good guide to getting up to speed on A7 technology can be found in the Pre-war A7 club bookshop http://pwa7c.co.uk/bookshop.php

" Basic Fitting for Austin Seven Restorers – a brand new publication
from Chris Gould
a 29-page A4 booklet detailing where to restore a car, garage equipment, tools, terminology and both dismantling & assembly techniques used in Sevens.
Very informative especially to those new to Sevens
£8.40 "

David

Hi Peter,

Tyre pressures relate to the make of tyre your car has.
Whilst I would not disagree with Tony in the pressures he quotes, Longstone Tyres quote 30 psi for their 19 x 350 tyres. This is a starting point and they should be adjusted to suit. I run mine at 30 which seems to be the best pressure for my RK saloon, any lower and I find the rear end seems to be less positive when steering round roundabouts etc.

Your best bet is to ask the manufacturer of your tyres what pressure should be used.

Kind regards

Malcolm

Location: Falmouth

I agree that 30psi is good for Longstones on 350x19. I used to run Avon sidecars on 24psi.

Location: Gard, France 30960

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T".

Goodness- 3.50 19 at 30 PSI- I know rubber has changed but every Austin 7 reference including the Companion seems to indicate 20 to 22 psi.
My three 1928/9 cars are on Avon Sidecar tyres at 20-22 psi. 30 psi on a 9 cwt car seems a bit excessive, I would have thought a very harsh ride.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne.

As recommended by Longstones, for their tyres they said to forget traditional tyre pressures.

Yep, 30psi for Longstones. Around 24psi for Avon, Cheng Shin etc.

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

Peter, South Wales Austin Seven Club have two members close to you, St Asaph and Llangernyw. They tell me that the nearest club meeting is in the Chester area[not SWA7C]. Give me a call on 01656 786591, and I will arrange for one of them to contact you. John

Location: s.wales

I usually use this company in the UK they have loads of Garage tools and the bottle jacks are pretty decent.

https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/lifting-moving.html