sdh2903
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 03:01 PM |
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Sadly sam maybe you should take your own advice. As usual when you start posting on this forum it always ends up about you.
I just hope that the OP hasn't been put off posting anymore updates for those that are genuinely interested.
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Sam_68
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 04:25 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
Sadly sam maybe you should take your own advice.
I take it that you are unable, or unwilling, to answer the question posed, then?
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sdh2903
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 04:44 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
Sadly sam maybe you should take your own advice.
I take it that you are unable, or unwilling, to answer the question posed, then?
I just don’t see the relevance of it? And I’m at the point where I don’t want to feed the troll anymore.
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phelpsa
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 04:44 PM |
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At the end of the day there are automotive equivalents of great architectural masterpieces tucked away in museums all over the world. What Alistair is
doing is more akin to tarting up an grandmas old wardrobe, its hardly of historical importance...
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 05:05 PM |
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Why are people arguing about modifying cars on what is a forum for modified cars ?
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steve m
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 05:37 PM |
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Its the OP car, and he can do what ever he likes, even spray it Lgbt colours, or day glow pink as neither was an option in the 1930's if he
wants, even fit 300 mm disk brakes, as the "7" rod brakes were CRAP
As im sure that will also offend some snowflake on here
This thread has turned its ugly head, yet again, because one snowflake has a non qualified objection, to something that has nothing what so ever to do
with him, so please just register your opinion, and move on
What was said above, we as a collective on here have done some serious damage to an awful lot of "classic cars" yet I haven't heard
to many complain to much
If, and a very big IF, someone was to notice a design flaw, that could result in an injury, then I do believe any comments made would be appreciated,
But I do wonder why the one kicking up ll the stink, is perfectly accepting the Reliant Kitten destruction ??? as I would put money down, that theres
an awful lot more Austin 7 around compared to Reliant Kittens (4 wheel variarty)
steve
[Edited on 16/11/19 by steve m]
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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v8kid
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| posted on 16/11/19 at 07:42 PM |
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Good old Sam I love it when a semi-rant pays dividends.
BTW who the F--- is Ernest Gimson is it a new song by Smokie and more to the point who on a car forum cares?
Cheers
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 17/11/19 at 09:05 PM |
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The Hillman Imp steering rack has the track rod end emerging from the centre rather than the ends as on most steering racks and this makes it ideal
for fitting to an Austin Seven. It has been done and fits so unobtrusively behind the number plate it is unlikely to be noticed by most people. In
fact had I continued with my plans for the Austin Special that was what I was going to do.
[Edited on 17/11/19 by John Bonnett]
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v8kid
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 09:12 AM |
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Yup we get that but I still think there will be bump steer I guess the question is will the bump steer be less than the original or will the reduction
in slop offset this.
It would be really interesting to hear from someone who had done this to give us a before and after narrative
Cheers
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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v8kid
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 09:15 AM |
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Btw John what happened to your 7? You say you did not continue with your plans
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 11:01 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by v8kid
Btw John what happened to your 7? You say you did not continue with your plans
I realised that I couldn't fund the project. We all know about the Triumph TR "Tax" where parts are exorbitantly expensive compared
with the same parts for Spitfires for example and the same is pretty much true with Austin Sevens. The cost of building a decent engine and gearbox
was just too much as well as other parts so I decided to move the bits on that I had accumulated and take on a more modest and affordable project.
This is why I have embarked on the Reliant Kitten which I am writing up in the Projects section. It is in early stages yet having started on the
chassis repairs but once I have a sound frame I can get on to the interesting bits. My current plans are to build a completely new estate car body in
aluminium supported by a steel frame. I am working within the DVLA guidelines using the 8 point rule to retain the donor vehicle identity and avoid
IVA.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 12:17 PM |
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John,
I think your solution with the steering rack is very good and as for bump steer it shouldn't be any worse than the steering box 
Car looks great btw 
[Edited on 18/11/19 by Mr Whippy]
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 01:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
John,
I think your solution with the steering rack is very good and as for bump steer it shouldn't be any worse than the steering box
Car looks great btw
[Edited on 18/11/19 by Mr Whippy]
Errh, no that's not my car. It is beautifully engineered and the owner very kindly let me have photos of his set-up for me to copy.
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v8kid
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| posted on 18/11/19 at 06:38 PM |
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Yikes ! I just checked out your Kitten build you've got a big heart taking that on.
I think I will continue lusting after a 7 to tinker with.
Cheers
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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theprisioner
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| posted on 19/11/19 at 03:51 PM |
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I thought, as owner of the car, I would make some comments. The car was bought as an unfinished project 5 years ago. In fact it was a pile of boxes in
a garage in Ardrie. It was originally an Austin Ruby from 1937 (I believe), at least that is what most of the bits are from. It has a Super
Accessories Body from the 1950's in original condition (not very good) I took about 2 years to put it all together, the plans of how the body
fits the chassis etc were a pure invention of mine.
I then ran it for about a year trying to get some sort of reliable car out of it and I even took it up Bealach na Ba as a challenge. The car had very
little brakes, very poor performance, and vague steering that was almost lethal, in fact it was the most hair raising motoring experience of my
life.
After returning from the Highlands I decided to sell the car before it killed me. Later I thought what would it take to make it into a competitive
hill climb car and anyway I needed a project.
Answer - lots of money and time......
1) The Engine was totally upgraded to 3x the original power output with all the usual upgrades
2) A racing gearbox was obtained
3) Hydraulic twin circuit, twin leading shoe brakes were added (that was a challenge)
4) The Bowden independent suspension was upgraded (upper wishbones added) and the rear had a panhard rod installed
5) Electronic ignition to cope with revs of 6000rpm
The car achieved 5th place in it's class at the Bo'ness Revival hill climb this year
My target is now to improve my place on the leader board next year, so the rack and pinion project was born.
Now the purists have a valid point, but if I followed their advice I would not have had near as much fun in fact I would have sold the car by now.
What do you think?
Bo'ness Revival video
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 19/11/19 at 04:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by theprisioner
Now the purists have a valid point, but if I followed their advice I would not have had near as much fun in fact I would have sold the car by now.
What do you think?
If the changes can easily be reversed then I can't see that there's anything to complain about...
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theprisioner
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| posted on 19/11/19 at 06:20 PM |
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Austin gets rack and pinion
The changes can be listed some resorable many not, then it is a hill climb car, it featured in the Austin Seven owners cub mag this year, wonder what
they thought of it.
1) Super Accessories Body from 1950;s, not very likely as I modified the chassis at the rear to accommodate
2) Tuned Engine, I am sure that someone will want less power???
3) Racing Gearbox, substitute one that will not change 1-2nd sometimes particularly when hot.
4) 1950's Bowden independent suspension, that can be changed back with a beam axel
5) IMP Steering yes that can be changed back to worm and peg with 1/4" turn free play
6) Rear panhard rod, yes that can be removed and take corners very carefully
7) Dual cct Hydraulic brakes can be removed for the suicidal
8) Go back to points distributor
9) Various cooling mods to use a modern radiator core and increased power can be reversed
10) Roll over protection and seat belts for hill climbs
11) Racing seats (welded alloy vintage type of course)
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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mark chandler
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| posted on 19/11/19 at 09:53 PM |
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Cars that disappear into museums become artefacts so have lost purpose unless it's to show how we used to do things, something extremely rare
you can make the case for, not a mass produced 7
I know one person who raced and sprinted his Austin 7, he found it very frustrating how the old guard become so protective about changes which if the
technology had been freely available at the time would have been deployed. Now races a prewar MG
There are plenty out there, develop an enjoy
[Edited on 19/11/19 by mark chandler]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 19/11/19 at 10:07 PM |
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BTW: I wasn't trying to suggest that what you've done is only OK if it's reversible - there are lots of specials built around this
car, and they're all individual.
As said above - if the old-timers had access to the same parts they would also have used them.
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Sam_68
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| posted on 20/11/19 at 12:25 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I think your solution with the steering rack is very good and as for bump steer it shouldn't be any worse than the steering box
If you get the geometry right with a steering box and drag link, you can achieve zero bump-steer with that set up... it can be geometrically as near
perfect as makes no difference and it remains authentic to the technology available in period.
I know of no way that you can overcome bump steer with a rack and pinion on a beam axle, even one with central take-offs for the track rods, except
mounting the rack directly to the axle (which has its own shortcoming of increasing the unsprung weight).
If you're going to adopt the Imp rack, the sensible thing to do is to also implement a Ballamy-style split-axle IFS (swing axle) arrangement,
which the Imp rack was specifically designed for.
On the matter of "it's only a Seven... there are loads of them": records appear to suggest that there are about 2,300 left on the
road, out of an original production of 290,000. That's slightly less than 0.8%, and a great many of those will have been heavily modifed, too.
Mechanically original Austin Sevens are no longer commonplace, so the further damage of any individual car remains a cause for concern and
regret.
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JimSpencer
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| posted on 20/11/19 at 08:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
so the further damage of any individual car remains a cause for concern and regret.
Not to the majority of us on here... But you are, of course, entitled to your opinion.
Personally I think it's great.. it's continuing the tradition of Austin 7 specials, the creators of which basically formed the 750MC, that
can be generally considered to be the most influential club in the development of what the UK Motorsport Industry has become..
But each to their own etc etc
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Sam_68
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| posted on 20/11/19 at 12:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by JimSpencer
Personally I think it's great.. it's continuing the tradition of Austin 7 specials, the creators of which basically formed the 750MC, that
can be generally considered to be the most influential club in the development of what the UK Motorsport Industry has become...
Well, of course the traditions of the 750MC are admirably continued... by the 750MC.
...Who agree with me: their class for historic Austin Seven specials requires that you retain "An Austin Seven steering wheel/contemporary
equivalent, Austin Seven steering box or reproduction copy and column..." (or other pre 1939 steering box).
For what it's worth, creating an Austin Seven Special that unnecessarily excludes itself from the relevant 750MC class, and limits you to
hillclimbing, seems pretty silly to me, too, but as you say, each to their own.
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sdh2903
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| posted on 20/11/19 at 12:56 PM |
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I wonder what percentage of mk1/2 escorts are left. Or the humble sierra. Or the mk1 mx5 or the midget or the Ah Sprite that have all succumbed to
being donor vehicles to feed this industry? All of which (apart from the sierra maybe) have some historical value. Even the humble mx5 will be a
future classic (in mk1 guise).
I think most can understand where you're coming from sam, even me, but do you not think it's a touch hypocritical on a site that has these
values ingrained into it's very existence?
I'm still of the viewpoint it's better in Alastairs hands being used in anger in whatever modified state than rotting away in boxes in the
back of someone's shed.
[Edited on 20/11/19 by sdh2903]
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