What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Malcolm Parker]

I used to love a Fray Bentos Snake and Pigmy pie.

Today I got the cars out to have a shuffle round in the garage.  The cylinder head of the rebuilt Ulster engine was weeping slightly so I torqued it down and took the car for a run up and down the village.   It was going much better than last time I ran it, probably because the head was tightened down, and it accelerated up the hill out of the village in top.
I decided to test it out on Sneck Yate, the 1 in 4 hill from the village to the top of the Sutton Bank escarpment.  I was pleased to get to within 50 yards of the hairpin at the top in 2nd gear, being a high 'Andes' ratio on the 3 speed box.
Having satisfied myself that the engine is producing a reasonable amount of power, I turned round and made the descent down the bank.  This can be a daunting prospect in an Austin 7.   Keeping the car in first gear, it would have made the full descent without touching the brakes but I went  into 2nd and with the help of the brakes made a safe descent, accompanied by a nice crackle from the exhaust.