Being a bit concerned that some one may nick my Boyce Meter I have now attached a cable to the end which hopefully should prevent most people. Do others have a better securing method?

Location: Dorset

I take mine off and put it under the seat.

As Hedd, I replace mine with a standard rad cap and place the nickable version out of sight somewhere.

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

Sorted out the position of the front CarTrolley, after making the TrolleyJackExtension more secure. Photos to follow in Blog once that's been set up.
Spent the rest of the day working on the Ruby, and calling a previous restorer every bad name I could think of.
Not content in using whatever fasteners he/they could lay their hands on, they surpassed themselves in using 4" bolts with locking nuts for mounting the rear of the engine to the chassis'! How they managed that has be a bodgers secret technique.
The fronts had short bolts so easy to remove, but for the rears, had to resort to using the ubiquitous L-grinder to slice the heads off of them, N/S no problem but to get to the O/S bolt had to remove the steering box assembly which meant disconnecting everything.
To say the air was blue is an understatement, not helped by giving myself a blood blister on LH pinky and drawing blood on RH Middle finger.
The joys of.
I will make my own engine mount studs, and they will only need one nut put on from the top, and one spanner only.
Engine/gearbox out next.

Geoff - I'm beginning to wonder if I'm too old for this lark

Location: South Norfolk - Next to Suffolk

Geoff
Not quite as bad as the chassis I used for my special. It had been boxed with no perceivable way of getting at the rear engine mounting bolts nor the steering box nuts. I now have a "semi boxed" chassis with suitable sections removed for important access.

Today I've been sewing up the offside side screen. Getting quite adept at using the old Singer (1953). I find it best to avoid using the electric power (which just runs away with itself) and turn the machine by hand.

Howard

Location: Mid Wales

Howard,
Does make one wonder how some people think, or not.
I will be having another go at using my Singer 660 soon.
Even though I've managed to get its speed way down by putting the smallest dia pulley possible on the motor, may well try and fit a handle of some kind.
Bungee cord or more springs from frame to foot pedal may help even more.
Top coat on vice stand later.

Geoff - One of those nights/morning

Location: South Norfolk - Next to Suffolk

Geoff the technique when pressing the go pedal is to pat,pat,pat....
Only when confidently under way do you eventually leave your foot on. Try it, Russell

Location: Oz

Yesterday was picking up my Austin 7 in an LDV Luton! Today I popped home from work at lunchtime to drop some things off and couldn't resist leaving the works van here and driving the Austin into work to show it off!

And the Nippy seemed to be going so well, smooth and pulling well, then.... intermittent clatter from the engine. Not the distributor, not the dynamo, not the fan drive, finally dropped the sump (eventually, well sealed with silicone) to find aluminium swarf under the front of the camshaft, so spent today removing the engine. I'll strip it down tomorrow and find out what I did wrong.

Location: Isle of Wight - the Wight place to drive an old car

I feel your pain - good luck getting it sorted.

Oh crikey Louis, I must have missed something as I didn't even know your Nippy was up and running...I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's nothing too serious.

Location: Near Bicester.

Do keep us posted Louis, am very interested in the outcome of your investigations

Location: Farnham

The Nippy has now done all of 46 miles. 40 good miles then 6 increasingly clattery miles. A big end's white metal was disintegrating. Either I wasn't careful or clean enough when I put the engine together or I worked it too hard while it was still a bit tight. I've got parts on the way (thanks Ruairidh and Seven Workshop) so hopefully I'll be back on the road before too long.

Location: Isle of Wight - the Wight place to drive an old car

Brekfast meeting at Wilton House, good fun driving along the empty country roads early in the morning. The meeting was for open top cars only a hand ful of pre war cars but good morning out.

Hopefully there should be a photo below.

Well, today was a spare nice day, so I decided to replace the torque tube mount on my Nippy, as the last owner fitted a wrong short one from an early Chummy in his wisdom ( lack of) The Chummy one was way too short, putting a dangerous angle on the torque tube which allowed all the oil to flow out. Not only that, the bolts holding the prop shaft on had a mix & match of various non correct nuts. Also to check the diff oil level I had to remove the fuel tank, as it had the wrong filler plug ( and wrong ratio diff ) allowing no access. Not what you would expect having paid £18,000 for the car. So called top condition by certain long standing club members in the know !!!! They obviously aren't in the know and didn't know the car very well. It has shiny paint though and new chrome. Don't buy a car blind on someone elses word, no matter who they are. Luckily I am mechanical, so can sort the many mechanical defects. The prop shaft is now correct and sitting where it should be. Now it's the turn of the gearbox. It should have been a Nippy item ( like I was told it had ), not a Ruby one with knackered bearings which it had.

Location: South West France

I'm surprised that there has been no reaction to Nick's post. I'm a new member and have turned to the forum to find expert advice, always on the understanding that I make my own decision about taking the advice. However, IMHO, either the seller was pulling a fast one or the proxy viewer missed some vital stuff and an apology and/or some redress is surely in order?
The expression "caveat emptor" is bound to be trotted out but I'd venture to suggest that someone hasn't been playing with a straight bat and that's not cricket!

Location: Ripon

I did call the previous owner, then sent him a list of the things I had found wrong up to that time. He offered to take the car back if I returned it and give me a partial refund ( a round trip with a trailer of over 2,500 miles ), or pay a bit towards the repairs. He should have paid for all the repairs, but refused. I decided not to loose more money by carting it back to Scotland and instead accepted a cheque for £750. Maybe I'm too soft. When he built the car he obviously had no knowledge of the differences on a Nippy.
You learn by your mistakes. Listening to others was a mistake in this case.

Location: South West France

Changed back axle oil after advice from Ruairidh. Just put in minimum to prevent possible problems, until car has been used a bit after its long lay up. Castol D140 is greener than the stuff that came out...
Now thinking that my mid-mounted fuel tank is actually very sensible...

I sympathise with you Nick, unfortunately this sort of thing is not uncommon in the wonderful world of the Austin Seven. Many can be deceived by a ****e and briny paint job, nice chrome and reupholstered interior, often paying little attention to, or having little idea of what constitutes originality. There exists a wide range of competency in carrying out repairs and this includes some so called "professionals", a bill for thousands is no guarantee that things have been done correctly. When I purchased my car the unsuspecting previous owner gave me a whole pile of bills for work carried out by a local "expert", I have been horrified by the standard of some work this guy carried out. From the evidence of those cars I have inspected It would appear that many Nippy's had an exceptionally hard life, probably from when they were boy racer hacks. I am sure that worn out components would have been replaced with what ever was available at the time in the local scrapyard and accounts for the loss of things such as engines, gearboxes and rear axles. Remember also that many are not aware of all the subtle differences between the multitude of A7 variants, there may not have been a deliberate intention to deceive. Rejoice in the fact that you own a Nippy and in all the things that are correct about it, items like axles and gearboxes can be replaced.....Tony Betts appears to get a few pass through his hands.
BTW it may be worth noting that not all Nippy's had sport's ratio back axles when new.

Location: NZ

Looks like quite a nice nippy on Car and Classic now.It has history and correct crankcase,and suspension?

I always thought that when you buy a car from a private seller, you do it 'as seen'.

That is unless you pay someone for their opinion. In which case they are liable for what they have told you.

Otherwise its tough luck.

I bought a special, engine rebuilt by a very well known name, bills etc in the file. 600 miles on the clock over 15 years.

Currently the engine is in bits with issues that can only originate when it was built (the crankshaft timing gear was loose on the crank, meaning its munched the timing gears and the crank was moving in the front bearing inner races.). The dynamo had also been put on with its gear too tight in mesh meaning it had broken the mounting casting, but I think that was down to the cars builder rather than the engine builder.

Whilst I am not happy about any of it, thats buying second hand cars for you!.

To say it's " tough luck " is not the attitude to take. I restore old Messerschmitt cars and am very conscious of my work. I have a good name throughout the world and want to keep it. I wish some others were the same. I trust everyone, once. The previous owner was proud to tell me it was the eighteenth Austin Seven he had restored. Never mind, it's being done properly now. Time to forget the bad experience and try to enjoy the car.

Location: South West France

Last night Dorset Austin Seven evening trundle. Great fun lots of like minded people and 13 cars all of differing ages and types.

The car looked absolutely stunning in the photos. The paint & chrome are as new. The hood, sidescreens, seats are top quality. The engine is fully rebuilt. It's just a pile of other mechanical issues that were wrong and very badly put together. It was a round trip of over 2500 miles to see the car. I was told that it wouldn't hang around at that price and I had to be quick. So, I took other peoples word on it's condition and the rest is history. Of course, if the car was only a few hundred miles away I would have shot up to view it first. Looking back I shouldn't have listened to others. I should have bought a car that was known to drive properly and stop slightly when the brakes were pressed. A car with a bit of patina that had been proven. I think I've said enough about the problems, so time to move on and just fix it.

Location: South West France

Spent today continuing the build of my "car pavilion" roof trusses going on.
Came in to use laptop to find battery not charging,strippred it down thinking the co-ax socket was faulty,wired the feed wire direct to internal wiring and guess what, it works.
These computer thingies are a bit more complicated than Sevens.

Location: Piddle valley, Dorchester.

Location: Leics

Hello Tony,
I think you should read Chris Goulds book. It explains what you could and couldn't get when you bought a new Nippy. My car had a badly worn Ruby gearbox with a Sports lid on top. The number on the lid didn't match the number on the main casing. Are you telling me that could have been original ? I think not. Today I stripped the seats down, as they were far too high for a Nippy. On the woooden bases it had in ink " BOX & RUBY ", so the seats were also wrong. Or maybe Nippy's were also supplied with high seats for dwarfs ???

Location: South West France

Nick, relax, you are understandably disappointed and feel that you may have been misled intentionally or otherwise by the vendor. I don't believe it was a personal attack, but Tony may have valid a point, he has also probably seen more Austin 7 parts over the years than the most of us on the forum put together. My understanding is that the latter Nippy's were fitted with 5.25 rear axles, it makes sense that to clear slow moving stock various parts not seen on early cars got used up. As for the seat bases they are interchangeable within the frames, although as you will be aware the Nippy had a flat steel plate with a loose cushion, a past owner may have found it more comfortable with the Ruby type bases. However it is the seat frames and mountings that I would be worrying about, if these are correct it is easy to sort out the bases.

Location: NZ

Ian,
First of all my Nippy isn't a late example. Regarding the seats, the wooden bases are recent. The metal seat frames are fine, so that was luckily a quick fix.

Location: South West France

Hi Nick, How about posting some photographs of your car, we can then see how good (or bad) it is?

Location: NZ

yes, but have it on a separate "Nick's car" thread...!
I come to this thread for rest and relaxation and it gets mighty angst ridden

I wouldn't worry too much. With inflation and the cost of restoration, all Nippys will be worth a squizillion soon, so it will all fade into a good dinner party story.

Interesting to see your Messerschmitt site, Nick.

You can never tell what you are buying, until you pull it apart!About 20 years ago I had a new body built for a RR20hp, whilst visiting the coachbuilder to see how he was progressing I noticed an outstanding Bean in his workshop, new paint, seats and chrome. The owner had noticed a small crack in the rear of the car, on investigation it turned out all the woodwork was rotten throughout the car, the poor owner who had only just purchased car had hoped to just get the ash frames replaced but ended up having to fork out for a complete new body.
Another horror story involved a friends Willys Overland, this car was bought by a friend who ran it for a few years then sold it to another friend who only used it on the odd occasion, as the old girl was starting to show her age a bit it was decided to put her back to her former glory so a complete strip down was in order. when the front cowl was removed it revealed a cracked front crossmember,it was obvious that it had been cracked for many years, yet the car had been passing MOTS with no trouble as the crack could not be seen with the cowl in place. But possibly the worst or at least the most dangerous thing I have come across was with a Chrysler 60 that my friend bought after he sold the Willys. The chap he bought the car from had replaced the brake master cylinders rubbers with Land Rover rubbers as the were the correct size for the bore and was all he could get, the brakes worked very well, my friend gave me a demonstration one day and all four wheels locked up and we skidded along the road, the next time he applied the brakes they seemed a bit soggy,as we were only half a mile from his garage we carried on. To get to the garage we had two very steep hills to go up, the first hill was taken in second gear then a left turn to go up the next hill, half way up the car stalled, on applying the footbrake nothing the handbrake only just slowed the car a bit ( but it did hold it when stopped ) and it had to be run into the kerb to stop it. On investigation the Land Rover rubber had turned itself over in the cylinder due to the earlier hard braking.

Location: Pembrokeshire

Today I have been pondering over whether DS4's really are all that rare or knackered enough to warrant putting a modern Bosch into a vintage car.....



If anyone needs a lathe who is local to Guildford for modifying a Bosch or for converting a DS4 please let me know.

Location: Guildford

I'm happy to do a little thing on my Nippy, but first I have to figure out how to put photos on the site. Nick.

Location: South West France

Tom,

I have a small collection of these distributors as well but have decided not to use them as the parts are hard to come by and the later model gives better running. I do love to see them fitted to early coil engined cars (and admire the owners who do so) however. Opening the bonnet on one is like opening a birthday gift, lovely :)

We are spending today drying out at friends on a damp Isle of Lewis as part of our Western Isles tour in the Austin Twelve and trailer tent combo - a whole new, and welcome, slower pace experience!

Having a day winding down after going on holiday.

We are experiencing some extremities of weather:

I spent yesterday turning a tiny job into a major one!

I've been telling myself for at least a year that I must send the RP's front axle to Ian Dunford to get the eyes shrunk.

As the Seven is my principle means of transport, I've put off the job and have made do with regular tightening of the kingpin cotters. Yesterday I sheared one.

The kingpins haven't been drawn out since they were fitted in about 1978, so I wasn't looking forward to the job. Luckily, with a home-made puller (stud, nut, washer and a few inches of 15mm water pipe!)it came out fairly easily. Thank goodness for regular greasing over the last 37 years!

I even had a spare cotter pin in stock.

When can you take it, Ian?

Location: Herefordshire, with an E not a T

Ruairidh, you really spruced up that camp site between those last two pictures!

Location: Auckland

I have just been out to see the light coming from the new LED bulbs that I fitted to my 38 Opal, WOW !.
Ruairidh, the 12 looks good !. Will you be in a 20 by the time the girls leave home

Location: Oakley, Hants

This is my fourth day in bed with a dodgy dose of gastric flu :-( Haven't seen my garage since last Sunday. My hands have never been so clean !

Location: France

Drove the A7 30 mile to a pub meeting on the way home at night the ingnition light came on. Tried starting the car when I got home but battery flat good job for the hand crank. Charged the battery over night swapped out the regulator as I thought this may be the issue but no luck car starts but ingnition light still on checked for loose wires all seam ok. Job for tomorrow check the Dynamo out and work out exactly how the previous owner converted the car to 12v. Bit of a pain as I was look to go to Prewar Prescott on Saturday.

Checked the armature on the Dynamo and it looks like the solder has melted, see below any thoughts on a repair?

We went on a very interesting club run over the weekend, visiting a chap who builds and restores 6 and 8c Alfa Monza's in a shed behind his house. Amazing talents and very inspirational, he can reproduce virtually any component with extraordinary accuracy and attention to detail.

Location: NZ

Very nice Alfa, but how much of it is genuine. The problem with cars like these & Bugattis is the value is so high, that there are more & more replicas. They dismantle one car and build four. Each car having some original components.

Location: South West France

Virtually none of it is original, these were a Grand Prix car I am not sure of exact production numbers but i believe probably around a dozen, so out of reach of most. However these replicas are accurate in almost all details and are not trying to be passed of as the real thing, we had one racing in anger at the Roycroft Trophy a couple of years back, fabulous! See here, also includes footage of the NZ Duck and a few nice cars to boot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U9vGmRPP0s
With the value of a real one it is probably the only way most of us will ever get to experience the sight and sound of something like this at full noise.

Location: NZ

Look up Pur Sang in Argentina.
I know someone with a type 35 Bugatti,very well done.
Bet there's a few genuine cars with these bits in.

When people build exact replicas of competition cars that are not road registered, I understand the reasons and have no issue with the process. The originals are in some cases so valuable that with out replicas we'd never see that type of car race.

But the whole Bugatti/Maserati........process where brand new cars are built and then road registered as period is in my opinion wrong and is why the DVLC is chasing the old car movement for clarification and causing problems for legitimate cars. In away I am pleased it's happening as with values of some of these cars continuing to increase, the situation will only multiply.