What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[David Stepney]

For some little while, my RP has been plagued by a transmission vibration at speed (about 40 to 45mph) so I have spent the last couple of days sorting the problem out. Investigation revealed quite a lot of play in the torque tube mounting but the adjuster nut was already tight up against the mounting body. Having only a three jaw puller and fearful of damaging the drive flange, I made up a thin dished washer from a plastic sealing ring for a drainpipe that was just the right diameter to fit inside the adjuster nut. It took a bit of trial and error to get it thin enough to allow the adjuster nut to screw in sufficiently. I deemed that about 2/3 of the way in would be about right. The original locking bolts were a bit scruffy, so these were replaced by (horror of horrors!) two 8mm bolts that were just the right length. 

I have just got back from road test and, much to my joy, the vibration has disappeared. 

The next job is to find out why the brakes are so noisy. This has been a continual problem since I relined them. They were ok to begin with, but then started to squeal. I have cleaned the drums, and roughened the linings, which cures the problem but only temporarily. I have even tried swapping  the drums around but that doesn’t work either. Incidentally the linings are woven ones from one of our cherished suppliers. The brakes work fine otherwise and they don’t do it at speed, say if one steadies the car with a touch on the brakes before entering a bend. Any ideas anyone?