Welcome to the Austin Seven Friends web site and forum

As announced earlier, this forum with it's respective web address will go offline within the next days!
Please follow the link to our new forum

http://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum

and make sure, you readjust your link button to the new address!

Welcome Austin seven Friends
This Forum is Locked
Author
Comment
1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

Hi

I have recently purchased a Nippy project and I am looking to gather together parts as I go along. Unfortunately I am new to the Austin Seven fraternity and I believe I have made my first mistake when buying some sidelights for my car.

I have bought a pair of Lucas sidelights which I believe to be the correct design for a Nippy (albeit without the correct frosted, fluted lens). I am slightly confused as they have a chrome plinth that sits beneath and I have only seen these sidelights on Nippy's, without a plinth.

I was just wondering if someone could confirm if I have indeed made a rookie mistake.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

Matthew

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

Matthew,

The Nippy I worked on years ago had Lucas LD109 sidelamps like the standard saloon models. New repro ones are available.

Dave

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

I'll take photos of the lights on my good Nippy tomorrow and email them direct to you.

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

To further help (or confuse?) you, it could depend on what year your Nippy is. In his excellent book "A guide to the Austin 65 & Nippy" Chris Gould says that even between May 1936 & November 1936 there was a sidelamp change - ie - the earlier version front could be twisted off & the later ones one had to first slacken the retaining screw in the top. Suggest his booklet is a must - contact him on csgould@talk21.com Also, you'll find that by quoting your chassis and/or engine number here on the Forum you'll get a more correct response to your queries, and most Austin 7 Clubmembers are a helpful lot, so worth joining your local Club. Good Luck with the project. Cheers, Bill in Oz

Location: Down Under

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

Good you found a project, anyway! That's what to remember now - all the problems thatarise are just 'opportunities'... :-)

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

Good Morning Matthew. Two types of sidelight were fitted to the Nippy - LD108 which has a twist off rim and oddly the reflector doesn't have a hole for light to shine onto the red 'tell tale' medallion. Later they were fitted with Lucas LD109's which had the screw fitting rim and a recesses in the reflector to accommodate the screw and clip and a hole for light to shine onto the medallion.
However I have recently been in contact with a fellow enthusiast who has identified a third type of reflector - model unknown.
As for the date when the changeover took place it is inexact as Austins fitted whatever Lucas supplied although I would place it no later than late 1935.
The circular bases are available in either chrome or black, I have both types in stock.
In the case of the glasses I have seen clear 'fluted,' lightly 'stippled' with 'flutes' heavily 'stippled' with flutes and just stippled. Oddly though the majority of glasses that I have are marked '108'.
Regards
Stuart

Location: Staffordshire, the creative county

Re: 1936 Austin Nippy Sidelights

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all your messages and advice, I am pretty confident from what has been said that they are indeed a pair of Lucas LD109's (that have the screw fitting) and I have invested in Chris Gould's book which is a great resource. Although the accompanying picture within the book shows these sidelights (screw type) without the plinth, which led to my belief the the ones I purchased are wrong.

Apologies if I have misread anybody's explanation.

Kind Regards

Matthew