Hello:
My RN has the remains of a roller blind on the back window and some screw eyes around the inside of the roof headlining, I assume for an operating cord. I would be intrigued to know if this would have been an "after market" fitment or a factory fitted "extra".
If anyone has a roller blind fitted and working I'd be grateful for a picture. Just curious!
John

Location: Norfolk flatlands

I've e mailed John the only photo I have of the blind, I still haven't mastered the art of putting photos on here. I don't know for sure if the blind was original equipment or optional extra. If anybody can supply photos of the blind for the register it would be much appreciated.

Dave, I have a blind in my RP, I will take some photo's on Sunday and post - the blind was not for privacy, but to obscure 'blinding' headlamps from behind - the days long before proper dipping headlamps and/or rear view mirror's.

I'm not sure if it's 'after market', but it was in the car when the second owner bought it in 1952...

I will also give an indication as to how the cord goes round the pully etc., I'm assuming this is a proper roller blind and not one with a string up the middle....

Location: Near Lands End.

Yes Sandy, that blind is an essential fitting for night driving, without it the lights of the car behind turn the vertical winscreen into a mirror.
According to the Source book "A rear blind was fitted...." . None of our cars had one so I copied the blind off a friends RP which is now in bits undergoing it's second rebuild so I can't photograph that. Look forward to the photos.

Right here we go then.. (All E. & O. E....).

Blind up..


Blind Down ....


The important Bobbin when Blinds up but error see later, not enough cord wound on....


And when it's going down (I forgot to photo it fully wound down)...
NOTE where the cord is being wound on - going (at the back of the Bobbin)


Now showing the dimple..


And this is the end of the Bobbin that fits in the dimple...


And at the other end too ....


Then there's the end of the cord for the driver to hold!! It's held in a small 'cup hook', opening downwards - not clear in this photo ..


Now I've used modern small eyelets, but I believe this wooden one MAY be more original.


Now, further explanation, as can be seen, to wind up the blind and keep it reasonable near to the rear window I have wound it onto the roller by turning the rod in a clockwise direction when viewed from the Bobbin end, when the blind is up, the string on the Bobbin is almost all OFF the Bobbin, having been pulled to the driver (and hooked up to stop the blind coming down again.

As the weight of the rod at the bottom of the blind is hopefully heavier than the frictional forces through the eyelets etc, when the knob is released by the driver the weight of the blind etc., pulls the blind down and in doing so winds the cord ONTO the Bobbin - that's the IMPORTANT bit. There should also be an eyelet on the cord at the drivers end to stop the blind going down to far too, missed out on my photo's (the dogs wanted to play, division of time - aargghhh).

Now an error on my part, I see I have not left a turn of the cord on the Bobin for when the blind is up....

The two eyelets at the bottom of the blind in a bit of wood (bamboo) was for some vertical string guides I had seen on another car (although metal may be better), but they hindered the progress of the blind down, so I removed them. If more weight is needed there's always those lead strings for curtains etc., available from any 'Buttons & Bows' style shops. I think the original wood at the bottom of the blind was of rectangular section, I just happen to have plenty of thin Bamboo, the blind material I've used is almost a silk material to help keep the thickness of the side hems down when on the roller.

I think that's all, Oh, the brass switch, I have an interior light, there's another switch too beside it for the wiper motor.....
And the fence panel is at the back of the car port - this car lives outside all year round..

PS - Just re-read John's OP, he only asked for a picture (singular)..

Location: Near Lands End.

Thanks for all that detail Sandy and your time spent loading all the pictures. I'll experiment!
John

Location: Norfolk flatlands

Excellent photos Sandy, thanks a lot.

Or as an alternative as seen on a 1937 Mk2 Ruby

Location: Findon West Sussex

same MK2 Ruby
How do you load more than one photo at a time?

Location: Findon West Sussex

And again (ignore the stunning adonis through the rear window!)

Location: Findon West Sussex

The knobs & hooks are still available, but in plastic rather than wood:

   

David

David
Can you please point me in the right direction as to where I can buy these knobs and hooks
Thanks

Richard Hawkes

Still in the crowded South East

Try clicking the link to the website in David's post, I think you might find them there!

Location: Near Bicester and nowhere near Europe

Ivor

That is the most subtle sales message I have ever seen!

Thanks anyway. I have now ordered one of each.

In the crowded South East

I tried to be discreet Richard!

In the words of the BBC,other cherished suppliers are of course available

Location: Near Bicester and nowhere near Europe

Richard,
The blind on my RN. The bobble is original.
Dave.

Location: Sheffield

Dave, is that housing along the bottom edge for a brake/stop light? If so, very nicely done.

Location: Farnham

David,
It's a cheap trailer rear light with the orange winker lens removed. From Towsure about 11 years ago. I used the lenses from two more to modify the rear lights as shown below.It was useful when driving to work through Sheffield at rush hour!

Location: Sheffield

Dave,

I like the Pork Pie mods, did you re-arrange the bulb holders too, I seem to recall they did not allow the bulbs to give out maximum light through the lenses - Can I assume you have painted the interiors white to (also) maximise the available light/brightness, further are you using LED's?

It may be recalled? I tend to use a trailer board (Like Dave Mann's)
for any reasonable length, or inhospitable, journeys. as seen here, middle picture.

Location: Indoors, out of the rain...

As my RP is a delux I beleive it should have a blind but as there was next to no interior in the car when I bought it I was wondering if anybody knows if some one does a kit or is remanufacturing the end plates and bobbin pully etc, or is it a case of searching the autojumbles for hens teeth?

Sandy,
The bulb holders were rearranged and the insides painted white. I wouldn't do it again because it it was very fiddly and now there is a firm near Derby, DSV or something who make the whole unit. Probably with your model railway experience you would make a better job.The RN is 12v.
I have put LEDs on my chummy rear lights (6v) as very well described by Ian Mc.a while ago on here.They do seem a good bit brighter.
Regards,
Dave.

Location: Sheffield

Can anyone tell me the correct distance between the end brackets on an RP blind, please? I'm trying to reconstruct an incomplete and damaged example!

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T".

The blind that I have came out of my RP over 40 years ago and up 'til now I'd never got round to re-fitting it properly.

Sandy's detailed description above is very helpful, but I'm still puzzled.

My blind has lost its bobbin, but it has a square shaft sticking out of one end to which I assume the bobbin was fitted. I had thought that this shaft was fixed to the spindle, but after a bit of tinkering it's freed up and it's now clear that the shaft winds a spring inside the spindle.

It looks as though the string to the driver's position must somehow wind the spring to either raise or lower the blind, but I can't at the moment work out how!

Any ideas?

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T".

I have the remains of a blind that came with my 31 RL saloon. It might not be original as the owner in the 1950's was an ingenious engineer. I will attempt to describe it!
It is a 1/2" copper tube with a steel plug fixed in one end. There is a hook on the inside of the plug. at the other end is a similar plug but this one is free to turn in the tube. It is the same diameter as the tube and is turned to fit into the tube. It also has a hook on the inside. A long spring connects the the internal hooks keeping the loose plug in place.
The tube is held in place by two simple brackets. The bracket that holds the loose plugged end is designed so that it cannot revolve.
I think my blind was located under the rear window. The material (dark green) is fixed to the copper tube, the other end is around a wooden lath about 1/2" by 1/4".
The blind is pulled upwards by a cord midway along the lath, the cord presumably arranged to be operated from the drivers seat. When the blind rises, the copper tube rotates and as it does it winds up the spring which tries to pull it down again, thereby keeping the blind taut.
Hope that makes sense! If I can find it I will photograph the remains and get it posted.

Having found the blind, I see that it does not appear to have been operated from midway along, as there is no fastening for a cord on the wooden lath. The lath is teardrop shaped rather than rectangular. The end plugs in the tube are brass. The fixed one is soldered into the tube and it has a small steel spigot to locate it in a mounting bracket. The free end has the end of the spring secured by a small screw. The mounting bracket is part of the plug.
Having had the car since 1998, perhaps I should get round to restoring the rear blind?

Thanks, Malcolm. I've just been looking at a picture of an RL blind, which was fitted at the bottom of the window and was pulled up from the MIDDLE of the wooden lath.

This seems to have been one of those details about which Austin couldn't make up their minds - RN and RP saloons had their blinds fitted above the rear window, while Big Sevens reverted to below, but pulled up by strings at both ends.

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T".

If we are talking about a bottom rolled blind pulled UP from the middle, the cord would be in the drivers view when the blind was rolled ??
The RN & RP quoted must have been bobbin wound and gravity drop.
Those spring loaded rollers will work best if pulled UP by a cord at each end as in the big 7.
I have recently installed a blind on my MK2 ruby ARR and it is the Roman style(no roller). Pulls from above at the center, and folds, gravity drop. I copied an original which had a wooden dowel in the bottom and a thin steel rod one third of the way up. I was not happy with the folds being visible from outside the car, through the back window and the only way I could rectify was to add an extra rod further up.
I used builders string line cord as it's strong and fine, operating knobs as per A7 Components but the hook 'coned' with a dremel, 4 lift the dot male singles to tie the cords to, these can have a long wood screw . Of course tiny screw eyes for the rest. cheers Russell

Location: oz

Malcolm's asked me to post his photos of the components of his window blind.









Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

Martin,
The blind on my RN is mainly original and is the same as Sandy's. The non-original bits are the 4 guide string anchors and the blind fabric. The car was bought by my dad in 1936 and had the blind on it at the time. See the photos I posted earlier.
Cheers,
Dave.
Forgot to mention Madge the dog has had a go at the bobble since the photos were taken.

Location: Sheffield

Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

The spindle from my blind looks quite like Malcolm's, so I'm beginning to wonder whether I have something cobbled together from a variety of sources!

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T"!