Hi,

My Uncle gave me this old Austin Seven Big which is in fairly good condition with exception of the engine. A big patch has been fitted on the side of the engine block - probably due to a frost crack. The engine is very worn but I don't like the idea of rebuilding the engine with this patch

Does anybody know where to find an engine suiteble for a rebuild?

I live in Denmark but I'm ready to go to the UK to pick one up.

Regards
Jacob

Jacob, have you contacted the Austin Big Seven Register? Email Robin Taylor robin.e.taylor@talktalk.net. Good luck!

Location: Herefordshire, with an E not a T

Another option is an Austin 8 engine,There is a B7 advertised at the moment fitted with one,might be easier to find one of these ?

Hi Jacob,

Hopefully you received the email I sent you. The Big Seven engine block I pointed you towards on ebay sold to the only bidder for £4.99, was that you?

Jeff.

Location: Almost but not quite, the far North East of England

Hi Jeff,

Thank you very much for your reply. I contacted the seller and found out that the shipping price is more than £250 !

I was hoping to find a complete engine somewhere and then I have no problem spending that kind of money for the shipping.

Thank you all for your input.

Jacob

Hi Jacob,

Sorry, I thought from your OP that you were prepared to travel to the UK to pick it up, I never imagined you were thinking of having it shipped over to Denmark.

If you check the same sellers ebay site today, you'll see he's now listing the cylinder head and crankshaft, so possibly the engine was complete, he's merely dismantled it and is selling it in bits to hopefully maximise his profit - as I mentioned, it would appear from his other items for sale, that he runs a scrapyard in Liverpool.

However, best of luck with your search for a complete engine.

There's a complete Austin 8 engine on ebay at the moment for £225 - Item Number 141383868420

Jeff.

Location: Almost but not quite, the far North East of England

There are 2 on ebay,I think I might go for the one at £255 but what's inside is pot luck.
Anyone know what differences there are between the two engines?

The Big 7 had a counterbalanced crank and cam followers as the small 7.

Bob Culver

Location: Auckland

Jacob, Try very hard not to use an Austin 8 engine. The block is about half an inch longer and it will give serious problems with the location of the rear mounting that picks up the gearbox. You will need to transfer (and perhaps modify) the plates for the front support and the bell housing support. The clutch plate also quite different and, if memory serves me right, you may be forced to use an A8 gearbox which then takes the gearbox mounting point even further back. I tried all this nearly sixty years ago and gave up in favour of a Big Seven engine. Happy hunting for the right block.
Ron

Location: Thornbury

It is surprising that after such a major engine redesign the Big Seven engine had such a short life. The new Austin 8 engine doesn't seem to share very much - I wonder what was learned ?

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Australia

Hi Tony

A bent wire crank would be less costly to forge than a fully counterbalanced one.
The Seven type hardened steel cam followers with fancy broached bronze guides would have been more expensive than simple chilled iron followers running in the block. I guess Austin took note of the competition. When their vast model range in the 30s is considered, it is surprising Austin did not adopt a more conventional, cheaper, construction for the Seven earlier.

Bob Culver

Location: Auckland

Ron, a good friend of mine fitted an Austin 8 engine in his Big 7 when the original broke a crank. It went straight in without any issue the only difference being that the fan was closer to the rad??

Ruairidh, OK, looks as though he managed to reposition the front mountings, but all my other comments apply, including my query re needing to employ an A8 gearbox (possibly because the clutch release parts are different - it was a long time ago!). Not my idea of going straight in. It would be interesting to check just what he did so there are no surprises for Jacob. Much better to go looking for a Big Seven mono-block.
Ron

Location: Thornbury

I'm sure your recollections are correct Ron.

He tells me that he used an A8 engine and gearbox, went straight in, no moving of mounts. He and car are well known up here and I have no reason to doubt him either. I wonder if there is any variance in Austin 8 or Big 7 engines that could explain the varying experiences?

Interesting! I'm confident that during the production run there was no variation in the Big Seven mounting plates which bolt on to each end of the block. Maybe the pre-war A8 matches the Big Seven as regards mounting, and I had a post war one that was different. I'm pretty sure the holes to take the bell housing bolts for the Big Seven gearbox had different centres from those on the A8 box - hence the transfer of gearbox - as well as the need to also transfer the clutch and driven plate. The front end definitely needed the old plate to be transferred in order to mate with the rubber mountings.
So............ anyone know more about Austin Eights???? I suggest Jacob gets some pictures before buying any (otherwise unseen) A8 engine - and he needs to buy the clutch and gearbox as well.
Ron

Location: Thornbury