What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Denis Sweeney]

…..yes they all look the same.

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

Great to have the van back to normal and earning its keep. Tesco twice, garden centre and tip along with a drive round the lake for an ice cream.

Howard

[Dave Mann]

Took the tourer for an MOT today after the owner's daughters said he must not drive which revealed another short coming with both hands on the steering wheel my left hand obscured the speedo, now I know why the RN speedo is mounted in front of the passenger.

[Dave Mann]

Seeing the van almost lost in the parking bay reminds me of a trip to Beaulieu many years ago and we visited a supermarket near Oxford for supplies and empty our tanks. The car park was packed but I found a place and went to the extreme end of the bay so Sue could get in the same bay much to onlookers amazement.

[AustinWood]

When I was a student in Dundee in the 60s I had a 1930 fabric saloon. In those days the parking bays in Whitehall Crescent were very wide and I could reverse into the space. By going right in to the kerb the car did not overlap into the traffic lane.

[Dave Wortley]

Most parking bays were not designed for current sized SUVs. I avoid parking in the next bay to an SUV wherever possible as they often are too close to the line markings on both sides of the bay and the doors on SUVs are so high compared to a normal small car.

[Nick Lettington]

My stepson and his wife left their baby with us this evening so they could relive their youth and go to an "emo disco"... 

I thought I would steal all their goth credibility by dropping them off in my ORT, but traffic was heavy so I drove round to the back of the venue. It felt like we were making a low budget version of the Matrix. 

   

[Malcolm Parker]

Yesterday and today I have been taking the old engine out of the Pytchley in readiness for installing the new unit.   The dynamo, starter, carburettor and manifold were all removed prior to lifting the engine, to be fitted on the new engine.   Removal of the ancillaries greatly reduced the dead weight of the old engine.    Being fitted with a Nippy type deep sump, I was not looking forward to the big lift.  It is so long since I built the Pytchley I could not remember whether the body had been fitted before the engine or vice versa.  The firewall is fitted with a large removable plate that is intended to facilitate engine removal but it has never been put to the test.   With the gearbox detached the engine was pulled forward and upwards as far as it would go.    The two rear spark plugs and the rear manifold stud were removed.  This allowed the deep sump to clear the chassis nose piece and the engine was apparently stuck at an angle of about 45 degrees.   With a small trolley jack under the sump plug I raised the back of the engine a small amount which freed it and with help from my step son it lifted straight out, much to my relief.   The new engine will have a standard sump so hopefully the fitting will be straightforward.                

[Dave Mann]

On inspection I found a broken rear spring giving a variable wheelbase 6' 9" +/- 0.5" and i fitted two new rear springs.        

[Malcolm Parker]

Today I stripped down the old engine out of the Pytchley to establish the cause of the excessive oil consumption.  First job was to take off the Ricardo head which has been on the car for about three years.   This showed that a great deal of oil has been getting past the pistons and all four combustion chambers were caked up with carbon. The head was cleaned up for use on the new engine.
Next it was off with the cylinder block.   I expected to find the piston rings seized or broken and caked with carbon.  Surprisingly, all the pistons looked good and all the rings were free and apparently undamaged. The cylinder bores are unmarked but are highly polished.
This is the first time the block has been off since the engine was built in 1982.  I knew it had flattened cam followers but I was surprised how flat they are, they have been ground to quite a large radius.   What amazed me was that neither the cam nor the followers have any sign of wear after 42 years of use (with double valve springs).
       
Next to the sump, a deep Nippy type, again it has never been off.    I expected some oil to escape despite the oil having been drained but there was very little.   The bottom of the sump had a layer of black gloop with the consistency of thick custard.
           
Next to be removed was the filter gauze, I remember renewing this when the engine was built.   Amazingly there was no evidence of any metal swarf or debris on the gauze after over 40 years use.
       
The big ends feel good on first inspection but will be coming out in due course.
The oil pump base plate was removed and all looked okay within.
All in all quite encouraging!