I was once told that Austin Sevens lose way/weigh on inclines invisible to the naked eye.

Location: Bristol

David,

The fix depends on whether the Control bracket (quadrant plate) is loose on the Control bracket tube or the tube is broken (as one of mine was).

If the bracket is loose the suppliers can offer a replacement - if the tube is broken then there is a more difficult solution which from memory has been discussed here before.

Regarding the gearbox oil which you call 'treacle' - in the UK it should be SAE 30 Engine Oil.

(In Melbourne I use SAE 90 Gear Oil= SAE 50 Engine Oil).

The recommendation is 2/3 of a pint.

Cheers, Tony.

Location: Melbourne Australia.

Oh dear ...I already have a coil as standard!!

Location: Stratford upon Avon

Both levers now freed off nicely, quadrant still a bit loose, but not inhibiting anything!
Got it running better this afternoon. Not sure if it did anything, but I reversed the bob weights on the carb needle jet so that the really worn part no longer bears on the float (Can't remember where I saw this mentioned)and after that it would run at higher revs when not under load. Gradually things seemed better so I did an eight mile trip (wow!)and it went really pretty well. No need to use the strangler at all. I now have to re-learn how to play the advance & retard to get the best out of the "performance", but I saw a dizzy 35 on the (not too fluttery) speedo with more to come....but on 30+ year old rather dodgy tyres & a bit of frost on the road, that was more than enough.
I have added £5.30 worth of a pair of Hong Kong's finest 5 LED cycle rear lights....clipped onto a broom handle & the assembly strapped to the rear no plate frame. They claim to last 33 hours on two AA batteries and are really bright.
No more outings until the tyres are done.
Happy New Year to all
David

Location: Stratford upon Avon

Hi David,
Exciting stuff with lots more fun to come!

Steve V.

Location: Polegate, East Sussex, United Kingdom