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New Member Restoring Ruby
#11
A massive THANK YOU to everybody who has replied!

We are going to have a good look at it next week and will know more answers to the great points people have made. I will also be contacting other people in more local clubs. Looks like NHAEG is the closest to the car. I'll give Trevor a shout. http://www.nhaeg.org.uk/index.html

One point I note was the comment that a Ruby should have automatic advance. This car has a lever on the steering column that pulls a cable which rotates the distributor and therefore the ignition timing. Maybe there are Ruby and non-Ruby parts on it...? My question is when starting the car should the ignition position be fully advanced (I guess distributor clockwise) fully retarded or somewhere in the middle?

I have bought the 750 workshop manual/users guide. Good collection of information.

Updates to follow, cheers!
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#12
I believe that the original fitting to the Ruby series cars was a Lucas DK4 distributor which gives 8 degrees advance. Earlier cars has a Lucas DJ distributor which has no centrifugal advance and relied on manual adjustment via the column lever. A manually adjusted dizzy should be set at full retard for starting and then advanced when on the move. Advance is clockwise relative to the distributor body and its base. The column levers may have been reversed!
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#13
Just to add to Reckers' comments, mine is an RP but the levers (ignition and gas) were reversed both in operation and side to side, so could not have been more wrong.
Lots can (and will) have happened in 80 odd years of tinkering and bodgery. I had a brake pin which had broken and rather than replaced had been threaded to take a bolt from the back, but the bolt was so large that you could see some of the thread through the side of the pin...I found all this out because it was so weak that it snapped at 30mph and locked the wheel up. Very exciting...
But once sorted you will not regret joining in the fun.
Andy
Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!
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#14
Just a quick follow up on local Clubs. Having looked at the Chassis register, your car is noted as belonging to someone in the Brooklands Centre. It may be that people in that group will already know the car and some of its history...
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#15
The ign advance is certainly non standard. It is likely to have both auto and manual. Or the auto may be locked. Two auto variants, the original one for your car with considerable advance. See recent posts.
The manual system alone, depending on how levers are arranged, can give a large range and retardabout half way adequate to start.
If a cable is involved it is not a standard manual advance. May be for the driver to experiment with.
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#16
We don't know that it has an Austin 7 engine yet.
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#17
Hi Adam,

Welcome to the Forum and to the world of Austin 7's.
One thing you and Nick need to sort out pretty quickly is the situation with the DVLA - I'm not sure if you've checked their online database lately? - your car is shown as 'Untaxed' in a red enforcement box. As the last tax clearly ran out on the 31st of May 2018, it legally requires either taxing or for you to declare SORN. Whilst we no longer have to PAY the DVLA/State any money to Tax cars of this age, we're still required by law to either annually tax them by filling in the necessary DVLA paper / online forms or to declare SORN. If you were to take your car onto the public highway and were passed in either direction by an ANPR equipped Police car, they'd pull you over as your registration number would flag up red on their screen as untaxed - if that were to happen you could find yourselves facing a fine.

Link to DVLA Database:
https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ViewVehicle

Link to the A7CA Chassis Register that Hugh mentions above re your car having been previously owned by a 750 Motor Club (Brooklands Centre) member:
http://a7ca.org/chassis-register/regresults

Best of luck with getting the Ruby back on the road.

Jeff.
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#18
Hi Guys, please don't restore, just 're-commision' , plenty of WD40, Dizzy looks like clamp has just been undone, looks correct for model?
Up in Norfolk, if closer would pop by and help, but plenty of A7 owners near you. good luck.  Smile
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#19
In general, it looks a lovely car certainly body-wise, a Mk2 Ruby and I suspect it was registered in 1938 as it looks as if it has got a steel sunroof. Difficult to say whether it has a 2 or 3 bearing engine, if the latter the engine will have a small web/vertical metal casting about halfway along between the engine mountings and it definitely should have a DK4 Distributor (deeper base than existing one) with automatic advance and retard. Strange system on the Advance and Retard lever on the distributor especially as spring-loaded, never seen that before!!! Suspect that whoever set this manual distributor up had it so that on tensioning the lever against the spring that action retarded the ignition for starting and then let it go when the engine warmed up...but just a guess!

Take your time to get acquainted with the car, everything is really simple and mechanical unless someone has modified it, such as the braking system (ref. to 'no fluid!'). Also as has already been suggested get the documents sorted out. There are loads of books on the Austin 7 but some can make even the simplest of tasks look complicated!
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#20
It's within the last 100 Rubys produced as it has a steel sunroof and hidden hinge (step backwards, open one side at a time ) bonnets, I bet it has bakelite on the top of the handbrake lever and no doubt Big 7 rear axle with rod brakes
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