What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Chris KC]

Indeed they did David and live-in chauffeurs were even offered with the cars they sold to Indian maharajas. I'd say his advice was very sound. 

Brake squeal tends to go hand in hand with effective braking, and is generally more of an irritation than something to worry about. I have spent large chunks of my career attempting to eliminate noise from brake systems, mainly on disc brakes which are significantly 'easier' than drum brakes. Garage mechanics tend not to worry about theory or consequences and have an annoying habit of curing these things by trial and error, and judicious application of Copperslip, which is the best advice I can give you without the resources of a test lab. Make sure things are clean - especially look for bits of embedded metal - and moving freely and 'squarely', and perhaps try things like chamfering leading or trailing edges. You may find it simply goes away with bedding /wear or when warmer weather comes along.

[David Stepney]

Thank you for your comments and advice, Chris. I am aware that there is a small amount of ‘rock’ in all of the cam bushes, and I have already made sure that the pivots are nice and tight. I also put a smear of copper slip onto the pivots and the faces of the cams. The drums look to be in reasonable condition, but as they are the earlier type, which I believe were spun, I am not sure if they are still square and true. I have been told that spun drums tend to try and revert back to being a flat plate over time. Indeed, I am given to understand that this problem afflicted the brakes on early 3 litre Bentleys.

[Chris KC]

I've tried skimming drums in the past but they are so thin to start with and it rather increases the likelihood that they'll distort again.

[Steve kay]

I bought cast drums from Tony Betts, which made a noticeable improvement.

[Malcolm Parker]

I took the Pytchley out for a run this afternoon.  I wanted to give it a decent test as I would like to use it for the PWA7C Cumbria Run in July.   The weather was quite cool and damp but I was very snug in the draught-free saloon.
After calling in Thirsk for some petrol (E5 at £1.54 per litre) I headed out for Kilburn, then tackled the steep 1 in 4 White Horse Bank.      The Pytchley romped up in 2nd and 3rd gears (CR 4 speed box), even taking the fearsome lower hairpin on 2nd.
Then it was down to Rievaulx, past the Abbey and up the bank and down into Hawnby.       The climb out of Hawnby needed 1st gear but I was exercising caution as there was a cycle event with dozens of mountain bikes coming towards me.    
The most demanding part of the run was the descent of Sneck Yate, 1 in 4 gradient with hairpin bends.  This was the first time I have come down the bank and pleased to report that in 2nd gear the brakes coped very well.

[David Stepney]

Looked like a most enjoyable run, Malcolm. And what a pretty saloon the Pytchley is! I'm afraid that I did nothing so exciting with my Seven today: just a run up to feed the horse, then on to Llandderfel to visit a friend, and finally into Bala for one or two supplies. All local stuff, but still 15 miles covered. The mile or so of forest track leading to my bungalow is still very muddy, a condition somewhat exacerbated by the tractors that go up and down from the farm next door, so the car left home clean and came back looking as is it had been trialing again. So I gave it a quick hose down to get the worst of the mud off. Fortunately, the car is kept well wax polished, so the mud comes off the panels easily. It's surprising how much mud accumulates under the wings though.

[Steve kay]

     

Today I went out there for Longbridge, hoping to score points for the PWA7C in the Inter-Reg trophy hunting. Today was the Batho Trophy Rally starting at Great Witley just up the hill from a place called Shelsley that one or two of you might have heard of. I say I was competing for Longbridge, a bigger turn out of Sevens had been intended. Two others had misfortune befall them, in one case running a big end on the Herefordshire Trial. The Chummy in the picture reached the start but had developed a major fuel supply problem. The Ruby engine spun perfectly but bagging many points was a little compromised by requiring some roadside steering attention. Nevertheless, best performance in the SWB saloon  class was assured. And even though we were outnumbered by a dozen Rileys, none of any lesser marques turned up, so  some consolation there.  

If today we started close to Shelsley, the next Inter-Reg nav event starts close to the lawns at Prescott. Saturday 17th June from The Olde Hobnails. Please contact Bob Blackstock; blackstocks2000@aol.com, or Rob Rhodes; robbrid@hotmail.co.uk. I will clog up the forum with further info and appeals for Seven competitors in due course.

[andrew34ruby]

   
Just a few miles to the Punchbowl at Marton cum Grafton again today. A varied mix of cars and a bit too cold for standing about.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

   

[Bluebird7]

Today we thrashed the n*ts of the old Ruby at Curborough Sprint Course, first timer
but huge huge fun. Thanks to all the team who organised the event & book me in for next year !!!
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