I had pair of Longstones Ruby tyres fitted to the front of my special (26 psi) and they have improved the front end grip. I going to get some for the rear next year.

Glad to see you're getting there with the Ulster Steve and sorry to hear your shoulder isn't mending as fast as the car. Keep up with the physio and you'll get there!

Location: Wales

Location: Shropshire

Not directly concerned with the car but only the Austin 7 owner. He was in an operating theatre having HoLEP (Laser) treatment on the Willy Ward which means no driving for a couple of weeks.(Well it's your fault for asking!)

Location: REcovery room Colchester

Got off diy duties today.Down to Devon to fire up 1949 Daimler Special Sports,last ran in 1980 when it seized.Left for thirty years,when I stripped it down camshaft needed to be driven out with a jack hammer!! Taken ages to find time for rebuild but it fired up instantly (once I realized I was 180 deg. out on the dizzy).Feeling rather pleased,as is the owner.Just a body rebuild to do.

Location: Piddle valley, Dorchester.

Won the battle of inserting spring snap rings into rear axle halfshaft oil seal cups.It's straightforward thanks to a tip gained from Ron Hayhurst ( using a modified screwdriver to ease the rings into the grooved housings).

Next thing to do for the weekend - fitting the new crown wheel using boiling (nearly)oil!

Bob

Location: St Tudy 50 miles east of Sandy, 4 miles east of Alastair in N Cornwall

More playing with the special

Location: Ripon

Location: North Yorkshire

Hi Everyone,

My wife is encouraging me not to spend any time in the garage (Doh!). So it's lots of Christmas things for me.

Took the Box to work on Friday. I had about an hour of rain on the way (left home at 5.15am), but the drive home was fabulous. It was a great night, and I didn't want the journey to end.

I've just fitted a couple of the 17" Longstone tyres. I found that putting an innertube in them and leaving it inflated for a week, made them easier to fit. I decided to fit them myself, as our local tyre place took several hours to do them last time, so I didn't want to upset him again.

Have a great Christmas everyone. I love to see my family's faces, as I open my presents, which are normally bits of A7s. I hope to take the Box up to the David Wilcox Memorial trial on the Monday (spectating only). A nice 180 mile run, to blow out the Christmas cobwebs. Can't wait.

All the best,
Colin

Location: Towcester

Found zero compression on no 1 and a holed or broken piston.
Blast!

Charles

Location: North Yorkshire

New.

It *could* be stuck rings.....
All four of them together?

C

Well it hasn't run all that much has it so could be stuck rings or even just a stuck valve? Head off and peer inside or have you done that already?

Hope it turns out to be something simple.

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

Got to ask.. where did the 4BA screw originate?

Throttle disc screw?

When we got back from the Manx Classic this Spring and took the engine out to replace it with the new one, part of a throttle disc screw fell out of the manifold. The remaining part was sitting, flattened, on the top of an otherwise undamaged piston although there was the slight impression of a thread on the underside of the aluminium cylinder head. Among other things, it did explain why I'd been unable to slow the tickover below about 2000rpm on the last day on the Island

Hope that like mine, no lasting damage Charles.

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

Tootling round the French countryside in the RP, soaking up the winter sunshine
then running out of petrol...

Fortunately I had a full can behind the seats, which certainly in my case dispels the rumour about unleaded going off - it's been there for well over a year.

Fitting a re-cored radiator to the 1938 Rover 14hp. A nasty, fiddly job with lots of 1/4" bolts to hold the cowl on that you can only get your fingertips to!

Now I need to source a replacement thermostat housing, the original has corroded away in several places. It's much easier working on A7's than a complex 6 cylinder "gentleman's carriage"!

Location: North Wiltshire

We spent yesterday molesting a Vauxhall Corsa and fitting parts to my roller

Drove "Eva" to work this morning. Bitterly cold but brilliant! I can also confirm that a new set of 350 x 19 Longstones improves things greatly.



I am looking for x2 19" solid centre 'scripted' wheels in sound condition and sensibly priced if anyone can help?

Location: Hampshire

After a week or so of tinkering, I got the car running today, and finally got out on the road for the first time. Brilliant fun!

Location: Penrith, Cumbria

At about the time as the Chummy was born, time keeeping made a major leap in accuracy with the invention of the Shortt - Synchronome free pendulum clock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortt-Synchronome_clock.

Last week I visited the Porthcurno Telegraph museum and saw a pair of synchronised Synchronome clocks (not the Shortt type) and was inspired to start restoration work on a project that's been waiting over twenty years.

It's a Synchronome master clock as used to run slave dials in large buildings and basically similar to the slave clock in the Shortt dual pendulum system.
So, yesterday I spent the whole day stripping and sanding the case. More today when I get going.

Sorry I just can't work out how to make a link "clickable" on the forum, so if anyone does want to follow that link to wikipedia you will need to cut and paste..

Location: Not quite as far west as Sandy

Carles.It would appear that you will be spending the start of the new year working back from the piston through the inlet until you find the source of the offending bolt.hopefully there will be no more horrors.In any event have a good CHRISTMAS.

Location: Piddle valley, Dorchester.

It would not be the first time something had accidently/unwittingly fallen into a plug hole.

Location: Sunny Speke on Sea

Only in Colonial locations is it anti-clockwise - or is it clockwise

Tony

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

I drove a Tesla.

Very impressed.

Technology of the future, I think.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Looking to buy another Austin Seven- hasn't run for ten years and doesn't look quite as good now!
That's next year taken care of

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Plucking pheasant. Not ******* pleasant!

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Location: Herefordshire, with an E not a T

Have you been up early in the workshop Charles?
Much as I want to go in the workshop its off limits today!
Should be able to look at my Christmas book on Grasshoppers instead.

Best wishes at christmas to all forum contributors.

This morning I put a 'Gigot De Sept Heures' in the oven at 6:00am. Lunch will be about 2:00pm by which time son & daughter ought to be here.
Then free to tinker with the Austin.
I have now got it running properly on a 1937 cylinder head. Irregular running was caused by two plug gaps much too close. Took all the empty bottles to the bottle bank for a test drive.
Having fitted an 'Andes gear' the hill climbing is much improved and the gap between 2nd gear and top not now a problem. It does a comfortable 30mph in 2nd which is great in town. However a gap had emerged between 1st and 2nd so I was down to 1st on hills previously OK in 2nd. The late head has given me the extra power to overcome the new gap. Excellent!
I now need to get the mixture right. It's running too rich, so investigating the best way to do this on a 22FZ. I think a 0.010" shim under the valve should reduce the fuel level by 1mm. Excuse mixed units!

Location: Melrose, Scottish Borders

If I'm not mistaken Hedd that's a Fowler roller. Which model? We had a DN1 compound for a couple of years. Still miss it.
Alan

Location: East Sussex

Jim,
I've heard good reports about the Andes second gear. Can you still buy them?
Regards Alan
(still speechless after receiving a pair of new R47's from No. 1 son today)

Location: East Sussex

Alan,
Yes the Andes gear is available from Andrew Bird who advertises in the Association magazine. About £165 which I think is a bargain.
It is a pair of 2nd gear wheels that are 19:23 (I think) instead of the standard 20:21. This makes peak revs come up close to 40 mph which is very useful.
In addition the face of the top gear dog on the 2nd gear mainshaft wheel is chamfered so that it engages top much more easily and the change from 2nd to top is much quicker, a great help on hills. It also stops failing to engage top when the dogs happen to meet face face-to-face with speeds matched. When this happens the gear doesn't engage until the clutch is released, usually with a series of clicks.
Very envious of new R47s! Am contemplating having some restored.

Location: Melrose, Scottish Borders

Ferried the family in style, one at a time, to the pub for Christmas!

Location: Penrith, Cumbria

Delivering presents with my girls, shamefully, not in the Seven...

Ruairidh,

Just when I was saying bah humbug to Christmas - you have melted my heart- such a lovely trio

Tony

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

It is nice to know they can do that to others as well Tony! Thank you for your kind words.

Location: Shropshire