14-10-2022, 12:57 PM
(13-10-2022, 08:10 PM)Graham Barker Wrote: David, when I wrote this post, I expected to hear from people whose sevens have run for thousands of miles without letting them down. That's most likely a tribute to some careful and proper restoration and I am envious of those who have been able to do that.
Because I don't have the facilities or the budget, I elected to buy a Ruby that was already restored. The person that I bought it from had made a good job of the body and chassis restoration. I now realise that he was not well experienced in the mechanical and electrical areas. In the twenty months of my ownership, I have been towed home 3 times. I am not unhappy about that, though. It has got me into running a nice-looking seven, at a reasonable cost, like the one I owned in my youth. I couldn't have done it otherwise.
Graham, I'm a great believer in making my own luck. Even if I bought a fully restored car I would still take it apart so I could see for myself that everything was done 'properly' or at least to my own satisfaction, and in order to spot anything showing signs of weakness. My own cars are built with touring in mind, and that leads one down certain paths e.g. Phoenix crankshaft. As you say, not everyone has the means to do this, but in consequence one is at the mercy of the previous owner. All that aside, I am still not invulnerable. I did a 3500 mile tour over the summer and broke a throttle cable, lost ignition once, broke an oil pressure gauge pipe, and have since discovered a broken track rod. Those were mostly foreseeable failures, but you can't foresee everything; and if you wait for perfection you will never leave the garage! As they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...