What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Steve kay]

The reason I ask is to look for a few horse power for the Ruby. Not savage new horse power to allow overtaking of GNs, but replacement horse power. When the front camshaft bearing lost the locating pin, the subsequent few moments of chattering unlocated camshaft caused  damage to a couple of lobes, the bits falling into oil feed holes and scoring a big end. What might have been a subsequent  error of judgment was to find a clean and undamaged looking camshaft in a crankcase lying about, and fitting that. What I failed to do was to check whether it was correct  lobe sizes, I just made sure that there was no chipping or scoring.   The Ruby now has  notably  less horsepower. It's perfectly usable, smooth and almost quiet with few passengers and not going up chevroned hills, but  tends to be one gear lower than before, I have used first more in the last few weeks than the previous few years. There's been the  usual detailed attention to plugs and points and ignition timing, filters in the fuel pump etc. 

Like many forum contributors, this coming year has event organisation and participation and workshop projects that need to be finished, a centenary cannot be put off! Thus I certainly do not want to take out the Ruby engine for a new and correct spec camshaft. Which is why I was wondering whether higher compression would give an increase of power, or whether the whole exercise is unwise.  The shelves in the stores hold an hc head, properly flat and drilled out for 18mm plugs, intended to put on a Swallow Doretti along with the alternator and electric water pump, and also an lc head wedged by Andy Bird.