Can anyone help me?
My Austin 7 has split brakes. I understand that Austin issued a mod to allow them to be coupled. Has anyone seen the mod and could advise me?

Many thanks for your help

Paul

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale

Since it is possible to obtain almost all the parts you will need to renew the current system,don't c6hange it.

Location: Where ever my mobile phone happens to be just now.

i dont know if austin did a conversion.

i`m sure if you wanted to do one,the suppliers could supply everything you need.both new and old parts.

but personaly i`m with DUNFORD senior on this one.

new linnings,brake drums etc.and you have very good brakes

personaly i`d rather have the uncoupled to coupled brakes.

Certainly a non Austin mod was availible, I found a picture about 6 months ago when my father was contemplating doing it to his chummy.

He was in the process of re-engineering the cross shaft at the time using a solid shaft and ruby bearings. The original set up was already modified but had been engineered by a cretin.

The mod shown in the picture was a pretty simple affair, basically an arm that clamped round the centre of the brake shaft, with the familiar parts like the later cars to connect to the front brakes. The assembly was in two halfs, with what looked like a taper pin through the whole lot to stop it turning on the shaft.

When I asked the question on here as father was up for making one, but the advice was a sound 'don't bother', and so he hasn't.

The cars not on the road yet though.

Here is a mod i am pleased with... Balanced rear brakes achieved by using a single cable passing through the cross shaft. You cant do this to the later cross shafts with concentric tubes.

Many thanks for your reply.

Could you send me a picture of the mod if possible.

Many thanks for your help

Regards Paul

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale

The existing uncoupled brake set-up remained untouched, the split drop arm was fitted to the centre of the cross tube and the cables were fitted to the existing front ball-joint bolts.

The result was double front cables. The handbrake was still on the front wheels but the footbrake now worked all four wheels.

As used on the 1929 TT cars, Have look at Chris Goulds replica.
The same system was used on left hand drive cars until quite late.

Henry - Interesting what you say about the 1929 Team cars. The much-published photo of Gunnar Poppe seated in the cherry-red one, shows what looks to me to be the central chassis strut. At least 5 perforations are visible. This strut I thought came with the 4-wheel-brake changes in '29 that were to eventually also appear in mid-'30 on standard models. A side-on shot of Holbrook's car may well show a little of a central strut also? Perhaps like the bodies the mechanicals were not all the same? Knowing how meticulous Chris is with research, it will be interesting to see his input. Cheers, Bill

Location: Mount Eliza, (not a mountain but hilly, overlooking the Bay) Australia

Oh I do so like the first sentence in that advert.
I would have thought that hand signals were the very last thing on a driver's mind when trying to stop having an accident.
Could it be that the stopping distance of 'ours' allows such thought?

Geoff - yes, the usual

Location: South Norfolk - Near Suffolk

Many thanks for the advert on coupling split brakes.

A great help

Regards Paul

This is a bad photo of the underneath of Chris Goulds 29 team car replica. It's at Bentley Wildfowl museum if you want to go and see it.

Location: Buxted

Photos of a W.O.C. LHD Ruby with a similar system to the one described above...

Hello Paul. Ray White here; no relation. I have never seen such interesting attempts to convert to coupled brakes before. Most impressive, I must say but I have always thought that the uncoupled set up was better for one reason. When Austin decided to couple the brakes they missed out one vital ingredient and that was any sort of compensator. This makes the setting up with a lead of the front over the rear something of a hit and miss affair. For this reason I would suggest keeping the uncoupled set up but make sure everything is restored to perfect working order and perhaps consider replacing the steel drums with cast iron. I have nothing but praise for the ones I bought from Tony Betts.

Ray.

Location: Derby

I agree with Ray on all counts!

I have removed three unsuccessful attempts by owners to convert to coupled brakes over the years, brakes on these cars now work very well as originally designed and I wholly recommend Mr Bett's cast iron brake drums!

Robs mod. (correct me if I am wrong Bob) shows fully compensating rear brakes (excellent idea and well thought out, what else!) not uncoupled to coupled brake "modification".

Spot on Ruairdh. This would make it much easier to get the maximum braking effort from the rear brakes. The modification is actually on the BAC special which has a GN rear axle (solid bar) so I had no way of knowing if the rear brakes were both doing their share using standard cables.

R

Location: The 3D shed, Tewkesbury

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I remember asking Bill Williams (he of Cambridge Engineering fame) about coupling brakes on a Cup Model back in about 1955. His response, interspersed with the usual expletives undeleted, was to the effect that you were better off with uncoupled, because whilst reaching for the handbrake you had your head down when the accident came!

He was also the first person that I heard use the expression “Driving an Austin Seven makes you a master of the art of phenomenal avoidance”.

Nothing changes when you’re having fun.


Mike

Mike-

He was also the first person that I heard use the expression “Driving an Austin Seven makes you a master of the art of phenomenal avoidance”.

From my recent experiences this is so very true

And all having fun.


Tony.

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Hi Paul
I to are very interested in Robs brake conversion would it be okay if I copy it to as the brakes on my C Cab are very unsafe.

Location: Bognor Regis

Re. Rob's through cable photo, I think I've seen a similar arrangement on an Amilcar, but wondered how you stop the cable chafing where it exits the cross tube, if the cable is moving through the tube to give compensation.

John

My Fiat 501 had an even better system of balancing the rear brakes, each rear cable entered the hollow cross-shaft and were fixed to collars that could slide on the cross-shaft. The collars were provided with a left hand thread and a right hand thread, which engaged in a hexagonal adjustment sleeve. When the adjuster was turned, each of the sleeves was drawn inwards thereby tightening the brake cables and as the whole lot could slide on the cross-shaft balance was maintained. A beautiful piece of design.