Here's hoping it doesn't get restored too much.

http://richardedmondsauctions.com/catalogue-new/?lot=1914

The other ''Chummy'' (1930 chassis, fibreglass, no V5) got to 1900 quid.

To find a car with that level of originality is very rare now, so I'm not surprised it made such an enormous price...to "restore" it would be a travesty.

I was the lucky new owner I would carefully overhaul all the mechanical components so it is safe and reliable and attempt to deep clean/renovate the rest of the car whilst retaining as much as the patina as possible...then I'd drive it...all the time!

Very simple Rob, unless I'm very much mistaken, an original Body (most now are replicas or have been the subject of a major rebuild) original Rexine interior and generally a car that hasn't been messed around with.

I am not in the least bit surprised, with cars like this the value is in the fact that they have not be significantly buggered about with. I can see now that restoration had been started at some point and the car appears to be in primer not original paint as I first thought. Had the latter been the case no doubt it would have fetched quite a bit more.

Location: Auckland NZ

It seems I owe Rob an apology.

I've had it on good authority that the car is far from original. I have to admit, I didn't go to the auction but I had seen various photographs of the car and based my assumptions on those.

The body is a replica and the rest is made up from a collection of parts, not all of which were present.

What a shame.

Sorry Rob!

Ivor, I dont think you are right there, its a very original early Chummy, the body is original together with instruments, wings, bonnet, upholstery (tatty) , hood, hood frame, be wheels etc .

Ivor, I appreciate the camera can lie, but being for a long-time involved with Pramhoods, I'm puzzled. Can you kindly get your advisor to detail where this car is not original please? Cheers, Bill

Location: EUROA, AUSTRALIA

Saw the car at Brooklands a couple of years ago. If it's a replica I need to know who made it because I want one! I'm no expert on the early cars but I am convinced of its authenticity.
Regards,
Stuart

"I've had it on good authority that the car is far from original. I have to admit, I didn't go to the auction but I had seen various photographs of the car and based my assumptions on those.
The body is a replica and the rest is made up from a collection of parts, not all of which were present."


As with others - we only have the pictures to gauge by - but for a replica the owners have look to have carried out a remarkable job of 'aging' the body panels and upholstery !!

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

The person who let me know about this car is very well known in Austin Seven circles and he does know his stuff, I certainly have no reason to doubt that his description is accurate...more importantly he knows the seller.

The body and the various assembled parts have been collected over a very long period of time, which all helps with the aging process I suppose.

My learned friend would rather remain anonymous than get into a heated debate on this one, and I for one don't blame him!

it's worth re-reading the sales particulars in light of all this! I hadn't posted this originally with any malice, just that it followed on nicely from the previous sale's barn find, and seemed something that might stimulate some forum activity.

I guess, as Chummys are pretty simple, there are only so many parts where there is an 'emotional' connection necessary to the whole. Parts come and go.

If (one of the) engine and the chassis are linked and original, is the body one of the things that went missing? Will this have a body number that does or does not link to the chassis number range?

I was interested in this car and went to look at it.I would judge it to be a genuine low mileage car but it had lost alot of the proper bits and was not in the original paint. Missing were one proper headlight, wrong shock absorbers, wrong switch panel, wrong carburretor[and probably inlet manifold] wrong magneto plus unrestorable upholsteryon one front seat. It would not be impossible to find/ make the missing bits but would probably cost another 5 grand and would not be an unrestored original car when finished.

That's good to know and it's here in the Association section fig 16 http://archive.a7ca.org/about-the-archive/identifying-your-seven/

Interesting that there is no mention of the body number in the auction blurb, despite the mention of the stencilling of the chassis number. But pre-26, it should thus be the easiest 7 of all to tell whether its wholly authentic or not!

Here is a photo from the '24 car I owned showing a (C) Chassis number, (E) engine number and (B) for the body number but - no number stamped!



I thought this was unusual but I have since seen two more cars that do not have anything stamped next to the 'B", anyone else found similar?

Yes, R - but on most Pramhoods in Oz. All the earliest Chummys sent out here were fitted with Longbridge bodies, so had the Body number stamped into the rear crossmember, but from late 1925 the cars came out in chassis form with floorpan and aluminium scuttle, lights, wings, windscreens etc as per Longbridge. From then on steel tubs and doors to suit the aforementioned were made here for them. These latter cars had a 'B' stamped into the crossmember, but no number. From that I always presumed that the absence of a number signified that the car was sent out to an outside bodybuilder, but David Cochrane advised me his Chummy and at least one other (both with no number) were fitted with original Longbridge tubs. Perhaps we'll never know the answer to the question. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

You may remember that the chassis in my picture is specifically mentioned in the index cards - referencing that it was not fitted with shock absorbers or a speedo and drive, items I spent years accumulating to make it "correct"!

I knew the B number was missing from later cars but had not seen it on an early chassis like this before. Like you suggest, maybe not answerable...

My 1925 car (registered in the UK in April of that year) has 'C', 'E' and 'B' stamped on the rear cross-member, but only the 'C' and 'E' have numbers against them - the 'B' is blank. The original standard Chummy body is numbered in the usual way, on the transmission tunnel.

Location: Oxford

That would certainly explain the lack of body when I found it!

I wonder what it could have been...

When Phil Baildon and I went to look at this car at Chippenham, Phil crawled underneath and confirms that there were 3 numbers stamped on the chassis cross member. Unfortunately, without a deep clean, the Body number could not be read.
However, it was stamped on the transmission tunnel in the usual place and was 5832. As the Chassis was 5882, I would be happy to assume the body was the original one.