What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Jason Franzone]

Reminds me of Mr Burns turning up to the fuel station on a similar true of car. “Fill it up with petroleum distillate, post haste!”

[Henry Harris]

Did you have a trouble free run Henry or was unscheduled maintenance required?

We were once offered a ride on the event and regret not taking up the offer.

Alan

Not quite trouble free.

Somewhere south of Croydon it started losing power and backfiring. The water pump had also developed a fairly substantial leak.

We had a forced 20 minute stop just after the M23 junction with fuel problems and overheating but got going again.

Got to Redhill and filled up with more water and replenished the water containers.

Crawley, more water and so it was all the way. Refilling the water tank every few miles.

It also became impossible to change down in the gears on the move which reduced our average speed somewhat.

But we got there in time for an award. 

I'll do it again but if it was my car I'd make some mods!

Fred with the medal. Gavin on the phone.

   

[Nick Lettington]

Today I tested the brakes and horn on my ORT in a slightly unnerving experience when a chap decided to pull away in a hurry from the opposite side of the road (going the same way as me)... fortunately the bakes are good and the horn was totally unnecessary other than to relieve a little annoyance.. I caught up with him at the traffic lights and pulled up along side... he took a moment to wind down his window, no doubt expecting a stream of abuse, but I just smiled and asked if he was OK.

[David Stepney]

Coming back from Wrexham in the dark last Friday, I had the misfortune to have a puncture in the near side rear tyre. The car began to feel 'funny', but I was not able to pull up immediately, but managed to find somewhere to stop safely underneath the last streetlight in Trevor. Changing a wheel by lamplight brigs back memories.......

Anyway, this morning, it being a nice bright day, I took the Seven down to my tyrefitter friend in Bont Newydd, about 9 miles form home towards Dolgellau, taking, as a precaution,  a new inner tube with me just in case. This indeed proved to be a wise move, as not only was the tube punctured, but the several yards that the tyre had been driven flat had torn the valve from the tube itself.  I can't complain too much, as the tube was a Dunlop Airstop and must be about 40 years old.

Photos of the trip:


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Bala Lake was millpond smooth this morning


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Couldn't resist taking this picture of the gorgeous colours of the trees at Llanycil


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The Seven at the tyre depot


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The Penaran forest on the A494 on the way back.

[andrew34ruby]

The Penaran forest on the A494 on the way back.

Wales does look lovely in the sunshine,

Seems my headmaster was wrong in 1963 when he said  " Wales is just bleak hills and disused coalmines".

[Steve Jones]

Well, yesterday actually.

I finally retired from trialing two years ago and planned to get my Trials Chummy ready for sale last winter. Of course, never touched it! Have now got some incentive and for the last three weeks have been doing some of the jobs that needed doing. Yesterday, though, I drove it on the road for the first time in 2 years and I'd forgotten how well it goes. Had a super 30 minutes driving round the lanes at un-Chummy like speeds and it would be easy to say I'll keep it after all. Not going to happen though and after the Dave Wilcox Trial at Christmas (where I've arranged to lend it out) it'll be for sale. I'll be sad to see it go after 30 years in its various incarnations but it's pointless having it sitting in the garage doing nothing. Cosmetically a bit tired after many years and many trials but still mechanically strong and at £13k, I don't think it's expensive.

   

Steve

[Jack in the Box]

Steve,
Have sent you a PM.
Thanks
Alan

[Hedd_Jones]

David, I will happily post you a better camera FOC (work paid for them all!).

Generally I've also always ripped the valve out of the tube every time I've had a rear puncture also. Last time was new years day 2019 after a trip to the Horseshoe pass. I had a puncture on the Flintshire/Shropshire border approaching Whitchurch.

[David Stepney]

Hedd. Thank you for the kind offer, but the attraction of using the perfectly awful Kodak DC20 is that:-
1. It was the first commercially available digital camera (from 1996)
2. It still works
3. With images of 493 x 373 pixels, whilst the quality is abysmal, the files are tiny.
4. It can live in the glovebox of the Seven so that I always have a camera to hand.

I have a fairly up-market Leica D-Lux as well as several film cameras, most notably a Leica lll (a year younger than the Seven) and a Rolleicord both of which I have owned since my youth, All of them are much better cameras but not the sort of things one would leave lying about in a car.

Stuart the tyre fitter said that driving the tyre whilst flat tends to pull the valve stem off the tube. As it happens, I have acquired a couple of 19 inch motocross tubes, which are 4mm thick at very reasonable cost One of these is now fitted so hopefully, tyre reliability is now restored.

[Alan]

Don’t tempt me, Jones.