In the May issue of Practcal Classics the is a Big article on a young Man who had rebuilt his A7 before he was 17 ... excellent. IN the "Watch out for" section it was commented that the engines "will last no more than 20,000 miles. A broad spectrum observation.This is not my experience. What do you guys think?

I read that and thought here's another myth. Dave

They are always leaving off the zero's.

Algie

I'd suggest that the only way your Austin Seven engine will only last you 20 000 miles is if someone has stolen it. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for you local boffins to write numerous letters to the P/Classics Editor with your mileages done, otherwise these errors go down in posterity. Cheers, Bill in Oz

Hi

I have seen this figure mentioned before - I am trying to remember where.

My Ruby has the three bearing engine - is there experience of how long these go for between rebuilds? Mine has not been rebuilt since the early 1970s (mileage unknown) and has served me for seven years, but they have a bit of a reputation...

Regards

Colin

The 20,000 mile engine life between rebuilds was mentioned in the April 2005 Practical Classics 'Buyers Guide to the Austin Seven' penned by Richard Dredge.

Jeff

I have been in touch with the Editor of Practical Classics querying their statement "worn engines are par for the course with a Seven; even units with shell bearings will last no more than 20,000 miles". He said that if we know differently would I e-mail him. I am happy to do this but would ask for your help if you could post on the site the mileages since your last engine re-build.

The highest mileage engine I have at present is 65,000 since rebuild, oil consumption is still only 400 miles per pint of Duckhams Q20/50. This is on a bog standard RN engine with no oil baffles, the rebuild included rebore, new pistons, valves, guides, bearings, etc. Most importantly it was carefully run in no flaying the hide off it. In fact it was nearly 5000 miles before it began it to free up.
In comparison a cheap rebuild using old pistons, new rings and honed cylinders, new valves & guides is at 50,000 miles does 200 miles per pint again bog standard and no baffles and it hasn't got the go of the first engine. The moral is do it right once.

I stripped down two engines to make one goodish one.
They were both heavily worn and as I was skint they had to do at a push. I have taken the resulting engine apart twice since , BUT I havnt actually rebored it or had the ends remetalled as that is expensive so it has not really been "rebuilt". It is still very worn out and very noisy, I have no idea how many miles the bores and crank have done but I estimate lots. I have done about 2500 miles since I have put it together and at the last strip it looked just as knackered as it did when I first had it, but it still goes albeit at about 100 miles per pint.
An interesrting point is that soem Cornwall club members have fitted air filters? This would seem like a good idea to improve engine life, and of course there are people who use proper oil filters as well.

Steve

I rebuilt the engine in about 1973. pistons rings and new bearings including two thrusts on the front.
Odometer has 24,800 on it after turning over so I think it has gone about 80,000 miles. Still going strong. (My odometer has only 5 numerals possible)

I think that the newer fuel does not help so I put a little 2 stroke oil in the petrol for upper cylinder lubrication. Smokes a bit but so what.

Pat

Pat has just reminded me, I hate throwing an empty can of new oil away without first draining it. It gets up ended over the front tank petrol filler to drain.

Well how long is a piece of string , years ago when 7's were newish you could reckon on getting up to 40K miles providing the oil was changed regularly.Today the oils are much better but many folks just use their cars for short runs but I reckon 40k is easily attainable.

However if you put a modern filter conversion on the engine then life expectancy from the wearing perspective is greatly increased, and I strongly recommend this route for those of you that do serious motoring like me to fit it. After all, no more blocked jets your new crank is safe and changing the filter is easy the filters cost a couple of pounds at jumbles or motor factors I use the filter that fits x flow ford engines.
Chris

Clive Roberts has written to practical classics. As follows; What a great job. It is always nice to see another Seven returning to the road. However, I was concerned by the article on page 44 about Austin Seven restorations and in particular the statements that they are not so easy to restore and that the engines last no more than 20,000 miles. I think Austin Hawkins’ restoration shows how easy these cars are to restore, particularly in view of the amount of bodywork that he had to repair - a much easier job with a car that has a chassis than one with unitary construction. With regard to the durability of the engines I have consulted two Austin Seven specialists, one of whom has posed the question to owners on the Austin website www.austinsevenfriends.com on their Forum under “Rapide Re-builds”. The general consensus seems to be that if the engine is properly put together, carefully run in and the oil changed regularly that it will comfortably exceed the mileage quoted.

The Austin Seven is a classic car that caters for many tastes. Built between 1922 and l939 with some 290,000 units produced made up of Tourers, Saloons, Sports and Commercials there is something for everyone. The early cars being the cheapest way into vintage motoring and the later ones being suitable for family transport. They can be raced and trialled with the VSCC and 750 Motor Club or enjoyed on the road. With so many parts available, many interchangeable from one model to another, interesting “Specials” can be produced.

Restoration and maintenance is fairly straightforward as they have been likened to a large Meccano set. Parts supply is excellent with a number of specialists across the country dealing in used and reproduction parts. The club back-up is comprehensive with many associated centres across the country. The parts supply was amply demonstrated at the Beaulieu Autojumble in 2001 when a running Austin Seven was constructed from scratch over the weekend with parts purchased from the Autojumble. The completed vehicle was then driven to Paris to be delivered to its new owner.

Paris seems to have an attraction for Austin Sevens and their owners with two Chummies competing in a rally starting from Peking on the 16th May 2007 arriving 7,500 miles later on14th July in Paris. Three Box Saloons will also be driving from Peking to Paris in May following the original route Prince Scipione Borghese took in 1907, a distance of 9,500 miles. These intrepid travellers are following in the footsteps of John Coleman who in 1959 drove from Buenos Aires to New York in his 1925 chummy,and Clive Ball who drove round the world in1965 in his 1929 saloon. I commend the versitile Austin Seven to you readers. Clive Roberts.