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
View Entire Thread
Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Thanks for your concern Bill in Oz, but worry not, all is well and I'm a big bright chap, not completely without experience.

Bill

Location: Saumur, France

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Bill, there are many, many drivers who have raced Austin 7's and other open vintage cars for years with out suffering any negative consequences. My accident was unfortunate, I drive at the limit and got unlucky that day, there was an oil spillage in a fast blind corner, the car hit it, went sideways, then found grip and barrel rolled. Fitting a full cage is the only way I would want to be strapped in, that might be difficult to safely construct in a seven, although the Aussies do it successfully in their race cars. Might be worth checking out?

Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Malcolm Parker

PS: Anyone requiring horse manure should send a large stamped addressed Jiffy bag.



We have a lot of roses, hence the name of chez nous, 'Le Clos de la Rose', but alas all the horses around here have been replaced with tractors.

Thank goodness we're out of Jiffies!

Location: Saumur, France

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Malcolm, I would like to send a jiffy bag but just to be clear the Horse-*hit I require is in the form of said book, cheers Russell

Location: oz

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

After Malcolm's first offer, I'd be wary if I were you when you receive in the mail not a jiffy bag, but a feelie bag. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

I remember a VSCC race meeting from my youth in which a friend of my father had an accident in an open Edwardian. Having been dragged or pushed face first across the ground, the condition of his full face helmet was alarming. I wouldn't want to consider what he would have looked like if he had worn an open face helmet.

I know that open face helmets are more "period" looking, but when purchasing a helmet for myself, there was only one choice.

There is a change in MSA helmet standards that has resulted in low or no stock of the cheaper helmets, so I was forced to buy something a bit more expensive this year - it may be worth waiting until the market sorts itself out if you aren't in a hurry.

Peter

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Thanks Peter, I'm in no rush, as we need to put in many road miles and get used to each other before we buy a helmet.

Cheers,

Bill

Location: Saumur, France

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

I've got both full face and open face helmets and for reasons of comfort (I wear glasses) and protecting my matinee idol looks I prefer the full face.

Charles

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Bill - the reason for my above suggestions were because although you call it a race car, you appear to have no evidence that it actually ever raced (seemed strange to me that the history file was "lost") and you've had to rely on the dealer's word about a non-produced VSCC buff thingo and that the engine has been "tuned" (whatever that means, and by whom and how well? Plus,if the brakes don't work, surely that's the first or second thing a competitor would have attended to?) so I wouldn't be too anxious to rush into things no matter how experienced a race driver you are. I'm not a doom-sayer (just careful) and I'm not the worrying kind - as always, merely trying to help. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

Re: Announcing the arrival of a new baby . . . race car !!!

Bill,

I've never said that this particular car ever raced, nor did I feel a need to defend myself in calling it a baby race car. I thought it was common knowledge that a few original A7 Sports models were successfully 'raced' in a location in Ireland which gave rise to their affectionate Ulster name and subsequent heritage as racers.

It matters not a jot to me that a previous owner lost the history file, or indeed that another used it for occasional trials. I bought the car as I've long desired a pre-war sports car and additionally would like to take part in some of the retro motoring events here in France.

What does matter however, is that the car is fully capable of doing what I need it to do, which includes good brakes and this forum has proved most helpful in my research and pursuit to get the car right.

Cheers,

Bill

Location: Saumur, France