Just bought my first Austin Seven Box Saloon (1933)
Yesterday for the first time the clutch started to rattle quite loudly, but only when the peddle is pushed to the floor. The gears can be selected without the noise by not quite pushing the peddle to the floor.

Location: Sheffield

Adrian, one of our regular members Dave Wortley lives in Stannington and could probably help you out should you need someone to look at the car.(I'm sure he won't mind me saying that)

The clutch operation on an A7 tends to be either In or Out with very little pedal movement between the two. Adjustment of free travel is done by loosening the clamp bolt on the clutch pedal and rotating it on the clutch release shaft. (and that's easier said than done!)

It may be that your pedal is over adjusted and the release mechanism is moving too close into the clutch assembly however it's difficult to tell without actually being there and hearing & feeling what you're talking about.

There's little else you can do without taking the engine & gearbox out and splitting them on the bench. However, have you lubricated the release bearing?

For info - here's a picture of the engine/gearbox of my 33 RP showing the clutch pedal and its pinch bolt. Access isn't easy when it's in the car!

Location: Gard, France 30960. Used to be Languedoc-Roussillon but now it's Occitanie

Thanks very much for your info. I've only had the car for 2 weeks and its my first Austin 7, so I'm very new to this forum.
There is no noise until the pedal is at the very bottom inch. As i've said, if I don't press all the way down the gears can be selected without any noise. Its a very rapid metallic tapping sound. No noise other than the one described.
How can I contact Dave Wortley please.
Thanks
Ade

If it's allowing you to change gears without pushing the pedal all the way to the floor you should be able to get away with adjusting it. By the way... the 33RP should have a 4 speed non synchromesh gearbox, which requires double de-clutching to get a smooth change. The original gearbox should have a large horizontal nut on the casing just forward of the gear lever (see photo above)
If not, then you may have a later synchromesh box fitted, either on top & 3rd or on top, 3rd and second dependant on the box.

E-mail sent re contact.

Location: Gard, France 30960. Used to be Languedoc-Roussillon but now it's Occitanie

Yes it has a box fitted which has syncro on 3rd and 4th.
When I bought it 2 weeks ago it was fine. The guy I bought it off did tell me that it had hardly been used in the last 18months so Im wondering if its just teething problems with being used again.
The car is without doubt a genuine car. Infact its absolutely immaculate, with some saying its probably one of the best in the country.

Might it be worth making enquiries of the previous owner?

Not saying that they have done anything bad of course, but it might just be that they 'temporarily fixed' a problem and in 'temporarily fixing' it they may know what it is, as it sounds like something rotating is catching on something that isn't rotating with the clutch pedal fully depressed.

They may of course be reluctant to put their hands up but they certainly would not be the first to 'add sawdust'.

One way to home in on the problem would be to rev the engine with the clutch fully depressed and see if the tapping increases in rate. Other way would be to switch engine off and turn engine over on starter with no ignition to see if it sounds like there is a regular tick, as again something is catching within the clutch.

This might at least help determine whether you have a rattle, vibration or, as it appears, something catching.

My 33 box has the crash gearbox, others will know much more than I do regarding whether someone fitting a later gearbox, as yours appears to have, can cause problems with interference.

Oh and you might just open a whole debate over what constitutes 'best'. Only surpassed by 'originality' 'real Ulster' 'over restored' or 'which oil'
Andy

thanks. will look at again this weekend when I'll have more time
Ade

I can certainly rule out any dodgy stuff from previous owner, he was a real enthusiast who has restored it to a beautiful condition.
Its not been run much in last 18 months and I'm guessing that its some teething problems associated with lack of use.
BUT ... will take your advice this weekend
thanks
Ade

In order to ascertain the "originality" of your acquisition I would recommend checking the details against the association's chassis register, which keeps a list of chassis, engine and car numbers. The 1933 RP's original equipment was a 4 speed crash gearbox - the later synchro boxes were introduced later. Nothing wrong with that, unless you get pulled up for a check by the rivet counters.

The body number should be stamped into the transmission tunnel just rearwards of the metal plate that covers the front prop-shaft joint and the handbrake.

The engine block is also stamped, usually inside the valve chest cover.

I don't doubt that your car is a nice one, but there is an earlier thread on here regarding an RP that looked really tidy but under the skin has turned into a major restoration project. As always, beauty is usually only skin deep...see: http://pub25.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2099944454&frmid=5&msgid=1016562&cmd=show

I make no claims regarding my own particular car. There's lots about it that's not original. It's only a problem if you give a toss.

Location: Gard, France 30960. Used to be Languedoc-Roussillon but now it's Occitanie

Thanks for the advice. But the following gives me confidence that its pedigree is OK
The car was displayed for 3 consecutive years on the Austin Seven stand at the NEC Classic Car Show
There is a photo of it on the NEC 2014 classic car show.
Thanks again for your advice. All advice is gratefully welcome. I'm new to Austin Sevens, but what I've gathered so far is that there are an abundance of helpful, constructive and knowledgable people who own them.
Ade

Adrian.

When I first put my RL together. I made a pigs ear of adjusting the clutch toggles.

Essentially i set the toggles that operate the clutch plate so that the part that contacted the clutch release bearing to far forward.

The only way i could get a gear was to push the pedal nearly to the floor. However if I did press it to the floor it rattled like hell.

When I took it appart what was happening was when pressed to the floor the clutch toggles were hitting the taper pins on the clutch shaft onto which the pedal lever fits.

With the toggles adjusted properly all has now been well for 15years

A few years ago I had a "4 speed" clutch which produced a clacking machine-gun like rattle if the pedal was depressed far enough to release it. Eventually I pulled it all apart and carried out the "grubscrew modification" to compensate for wear at the three lever pivot points. This solved the problem, but I can still get a slight rattle if the clutch is pushed right to the floor, especially with the engine and gearbox cold.

Hedd's explanation is the first I have seen that convincingly fits the symptoms - the rattle comes on quite suddenly beyond a critical amount of pedal depression. Maybe as the gearbox/bellhousing warms up it expands very slighty and changes the geometry ? Given that there are three slightly different levers just hitting or just missing two slightly different taper pins I imagine that quite a variety of noises can ensue, which will all be engine speed related.

Maybe a temporary fix would be to put some thick felt or carpet under the clutch pedal to limit its travel (assuming this is still far enough to allow disengagement) ?

Location: New Forest

Thanks
My problem is that the noise only appears when the pedal is fully down. All gears can be easily selected by only depressing the pedal slightly and then the noise does not happen. Its as though the clutch is being withdrawn from the flywheel too much (if that makes sense).
Cheers
Ade

I think your suggestion (same as Reckless Rat) to limiting the pedal movement will be the way to go after I've tried adjusting the clutch pedal. The pinch bolt looks quite easy to get at so will start with that.
I'll get the wife to operate the clutch while I go underneath and try and work out best way to adjust it.
Cant be much of a problem as its suddenly appeared and is definitely not getting any worse. If it was anything too serious I would have expected it to have manifested itself into destruction be now (fingers crossed)

Thanks
Ade

You could limit the movement quite easily by making a little stop that fits on one of the bell housing studs.

I suspect that the levers are poorly adjusted and are whacking into the clutch pedal cross shaft on full action.
The pragmatic engineer would get a set of 5/16 washers & slice them into a "C" shape. Then unbolt the gearbox retaining nuts, slide the C shaped washers between the gearbox and the crankcase and retighten. If the noise goes away you have identified the problem and implemented a solution that will last until you have a better reason to remove the engine.

Charles

Charles.

I recall the swearing involved helping dad do the very same thing to the RP now in the garage some 20years ago.

The washers are still there......

The C washers worked for me to adjust the throw of the mechanism and it's a lot easier than taking the engine out.