New to the fold in a Special

[ECG1000]

Hi all, my name is Charlie. 
I thought it would be best to introduce myself having now owned my A7 for a little over a week.
Bought from a great chap called Adam Forster who also has a saloon and a Cambridge bodied racer. 

The A7 in question is an Ulster type "Special". 
- 1931 RN Chassis with a Rod Yates body.
- Keith Dobbinson freshly built Sport Engine (1929) with big inlet vales and high comp. head.
- Pigsty tubular inlet manifold.
- SU Carb.
- Lightened/balanced flywheel and clutch-plate.
- 3 Speed crash 'box.
- Banjo style 4.1 diff.
- Flat front leaf.
- Standard Saloon rear leafs.
- 12v conversion by way of Dynamator.

   

   

   

   

I have been bombarding Adam with many questions so thought I would give him a break and use this forum instead. Please forgive the shear amount of them!
So here they are in no particular order. I'd be grateful for your thoughts:

1. What is the trick for avoiding a crunch when engaging 1st gear at a standstill? 
I can use all the gears smoothly by double declutching whilst on the move, but can rarely get it into first without a crunch when stopped.

2. My right knee just touches the steering wheel making tight right-hand bends awkward as my hand get trapped between knee and wheel! I think the easiest fix for this would be getting the wheel closer to me, even by just an inch. Is there such thing as a column extender?

3. I was looking for a garage to set up the carburetor and timing to ensure everything is running optimally. I've since found Tip Top Engineering who seem like a great bunch?

4. Can anyone recommend a good classic car exhaust place in or around Leeds? I'd like to remove the silencer for a bit more drama.

5. Oil leaks. The car has taken great pleasure in marking its territory in my garage. I've found oil dripping from: the gearbox drain plug, timing gear cover and the seal between the crankcase and flywheel cover. I've been round all the nuts/bolts I can reach and made sure they're nipped up. Am I to just accept this and not worry about little puddles on the floor?

6. Cold starts. When starting from cold, I need to give the car full choke. But it will immediately cut out unless I apply a very small amount or throttle for a period of time. After about 30 seconds, I can back the choke off but still have to keep the throttle applied for another 30 seconds or so to keep the engine running. Normal or is that something that could be sorted with a proper tune of the carb?

7. I'd quite like to get the wheel arches sitting closer to the wheels. They're currently body mounted. Is it a straight forward job mounting them to the axles?

8. Coolant. The advice given to me was for the level to be a couple of inches above the radiator fins. I've topped it up to this level a couple of times and find that it won't stay there. There's no steam coming out of the exhaust once the car's warmed up. Is it natural for the radiator to find it own level or do I have a problem somewhere?

9. 4 speed conversion. I find anything more than 45mph-ish feels a bit torturous on the engine due to the amount of revs needed. Will a 4 speed conversion alleviate this or do I need to change the final drive ratio? I'm worried if I do the latter, I'll completely run out of puff going up hills (at the moment, anything steep needs 1st gear). 17" rear wheels and 19" front if that helps.

Right....I think that's about it for now. Thank you in advance for your patience. Looking forward to many fun miles ahead!

[Andy Bennett]

welcome to the forum

i can only offer a quick thought on 1. There is a problem somewhere if the you have to crunch into first. I have a 33 box with 4 speed crash and it always crunched into first. I set it up carefully and nothing, still crunched. I took the engine out and it turned out that 1 of the clutch springs was caught on the edge of the recess it was supposed to sit in so was twisted slightly and the plates not level. I took the opportunity to have the clutch rebuilt and relined and it is now smooth and easy to use.
there is lots of advice here if you search for it on setting up the clutch pedal to ensure you have the correct travel and free movement in the pedal before it engages, including checking the release bearing, before taking anything apart.

[Charles P]

1/ Cold oil can make things drag. Check it's not overfilled. Slipping into reverse before trying to engage 1st sometimes helps.

2/ I've made an extended column but you need to be confident TIG welding steering components. Knee surgery may be cheaper.

3/ James and Jack at TipTop are great

4/ Not my area

5/ Good luck

6/ All cars benefit from the rolling road treatment but use and play with it first and get to understand the car. 

7/ Mudguards mounted on the backplates are a terrible idea for reasons of unsprung weight and durability. I'd look to lower the springs which seem quite high.

8/ It will find a level and if it stays there you have no problem, as long as that level is over the internal core

9/ Check your axle ratio. Changing to a 4 speed will do nothing since top is still 1:1. Swap the front and rear wheels and see if that helps. 5.25 or 5.125 would be the usual ratio for that build of car

Charles

[JonE]

I think it looks great. Try disconnecting the Brooklands box once, but you have a historic link with that "silencer" (it doesn't have anything in...) so maybe sit on the idea for a while and see if you still think the same later.

There are some threads on here about the connection of guards to the front backplates. Again, historic precedent to what you have, of sorts. Less vibration/less engineering solutions needed.

Make links with your local club pub group - you can then discuss oil leaks...!

[Reckless Rat]

1. The gearbox should contain engine oil and not gearbox oil, 30SAE or 20W50 not 90.
2. Amputation or just go round left handers
3. can't comment - I do all my own work. Invest in a "colortune"
4. taking the silencer off can often upset engine performance and permanently damage your eardrums and the tolerance of your neighbours
5. An A7 that doesn't leak oil is empty, but the source is probably the crankcase to block joint, not the flywheel cover.
6. The SU should have a linkage that partially opens the butterfly when you pull the choke on.
7. You need flat rear springs and 19" wheels or 17" all round) - it looks a bit daft at the moment.
8. It may be splashing out of the filler cap or out through the overflow, but if it stays above the core it'll be ok.
9. If you change to a 5.25 rear axle it will just have to rev even more, and the axles are wider which involves a lot of alteration. (it's actually 4.9 not 4.1)
A 4 speed box can have synchromesh but that won't just fit in without alterations to prop shaft and engine mount position.

10. Try ear plugs and rev it harder.

[Howard Wright]

Hi and Welcome

As others have hinted at 17” wheels with a 4.9 diff means you are doing about 46mph at 3000 revs. 19” wheels and you are doing 48. Doesn’t sound a lot but it does make a difference.

I’ve got hub mounted mudguards on my special but they are ultra light and held on with 3 solid 10mm stays. Don’t put lights on them……even the smallest side lights or indicators.

Patience is required to engage first on a 3 speed, make sure the layshaft has completely stopped turning!

Cheers

Howard

[Ivor Hawkins]

Hi Charlie and welcome to the world of Austin Sevens!

First and foremost, I love the look of your special, it looks great.

I’ll give you my take on your list of questions, for what it’s worth...

1. Have you tried sticking into second before engaging first? If that doesn’t work perhaps a spot of clutch adjustment is required, but the box can sometimes be a bit crunchy until they’ve warmed up.
2. Sounds like you are taller than five foot eight, in which case if you don’t want to change to a deep dished steering wheel you might want to check the option of a longer steering column from a Ruby perhaps.
3. Sorry I have no experience of Tip Top, but I’m sure your local A7 club can help.
4. Good advice from Jon, having run unsliced cars on the road, the novelty wears off after a while and you’ll soon want less racket on a run, but by all means run it straight through and see how you feel after about 30 miles!
5. Oil leaks are par for the course, but you may want to check that your gearbox isn’t over filled, because you may end up with a slipping clutch. However, most can be cured with a little hard work and dedication
6. Perfectly normal, don’t worry about it.
7. Don’t bother, the mudguards will fall off!
8. Charles is right, it will find its own level, mine is just above the core and running fine.
9. Again Charles is right, stick with the three speed, it’s the rear axle ratio you have to check...don’t forget these cars aren’t fast as far as top speed is concerned, but you should have fairly brisk acceleration and bowl along at 50, maybe 60 without revving the nuts off it.

Just relax and get yourself set up for a new style of driving!

[Stuart Giles]

If it's crunching going into first it's usually because the clutch is dragging. Checking the adjustment of the clutch fingers and pivots would be worthwhile. Lengthening a steering column involves stripping out the inner and outer columns, cutting the inner at 45 degrees and welding in however much length length you need. Then weld the same amount to the outer tube and reassemble; fit all the components in the vee of a piece of steel angle when you tack weld them to ensure the column ends up straight. I've done this job several times, often easier than trying to find the correct length of column from however many variants the factory made. Might not be aesthetically pleasing on your car, but if you fit a Ruby steering wheel it will have the same effect as a lengthening the column by a couple of inches.

If your car started life as an RN, it would have left the factory with a 5.25:1 CW & P. The gearing with that ratio should give reasonable performance on a light car.

[Steve Jones]

Well I don't know Charlie but I do know everyone else mentioned (including Adam) and I know the car. It's high because it was built for trials. If you want it lower then a new set of springs and a dropped front axle. Dropping the wings to mount on the back plates would be going about things the wrong way round and it would look a bit weird. All the advice about selecting first is correct. My Ulster does it particulaly when cold and I just ignore it. Watch similar Sevens at the start line of a Hill Climb or Sprint. Most do it as first is selected. Yes, stick with 3 speed and drop the rear axle ratio. James and Jack at Tip Top know what they're doing. Steering wheel problem isn't something that has ever bothered me for obvious reasons . That looks like an 1 1/8" SU. Some have a linkage to put a bit of throttle on when you pull out the choke, some don't. Sounds like yours doesn't so what you describe is normal. As long as the water level stays above the core you're fine. They find their own level. A good test is if you poke your index finger into the filler neck and if it just touches the water then all is good. Sevens don't have to leak oil but getting to that point is a journey to be followed carefully. Leave the exhaust as it is but if you must, Tony Law Exhausts in Hunslet but be prepared to wait and to pay.

Steve

[Austin in the Shed]

1 Clutch dragging a bit ? Plus if the engine revs on choke are high that won't help
2 You could try fitting a Ruby type steering wheel,the rim will be further up from the spline.
5 and 1 Have you owned a classic car before,if not don't expect a 100 year old design car to match the standards of oil tightness,need of a choke and fiddles of it until the engine is warm.
6 All vintage/classic cars may benefit from a session on a rolling road providing the mechanic doing it is used to tuning that age of vehicle.
7 mudguards attached to the axles,bad idea.On a Seven you would be surprised how much the suspension moves.
9 A special I bought was fitted with 17's on the back,swapping them for 19's made it much more relaxing to drive.You say you have to go down to first gear on a steep hill now,it sounds like you don't have too much power now.An Ulster is quite a light car so I doubts you should have to drop to bottom much on the road,what do others think?
A seven is a great fun car but don't expect modern car standards ,but it is capable of doing most things on the road and off in its own way.