December 1978

DORSET AUSTIN SEVEN CLUB

 

Let’s begin this month by wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a good Austin New Year. At our November meeting we had an excellent sound film and slide show. The film by Dave Delaney showed the main Austin events of the year with good coverage of our own Weymouth run. Many thanks are due to Dave not only for taking the films but also for coming all the way from Portland in his recently restored '32 box which incidentally has two 8' x 4' sheets of steel in it!

We were glad to welcome Ian Nelson from the 750 Central London group who was visiting relations in Bournemouth. I think Ian was pleasantly surprised to see twenty-four members at the Nags Head for our club night. There were some good slides on show and Huw Evans put in a nice low chassis model. Also a welcome to new member Alan Wiseman from Ringwood who has a '33 box which he is restoring.

Richard Cowell rang up with details of what seems to be a cheap Ruby for somebody (see For Sale section) it seems a pity that we do not have someone waiting for a car at present.

The club has purchased a Banda electric duplicator for £50. It is the current model and thanks are due to John Page for the negotiations. We hope this will make us independent and save us using the services of sch . . . . . who has kindly arranged our printing over the last two years.

Finally, do not forget to send your subs. (This will be your last newsletter if you have not renewed) If you have not already done so, please send your cheque/P.O. to Lawrence Rideal. Also, let us have plenty of support for our Social and Skittles night at the 'Monmouth Ash' at Verwood on Saturday, 13th January.

GRAND SOCIAL EVENING

On Saturday, 13th January we are again holding our Social Evening in the skittle alley at the Monmouth Ash at Verwood at 8 pm. This is the big "get together" of the DA7C cal­endar so please bring your wife/girlfriend/friends along.

Come and enjoy a friendly game and chat together with Chicken in the Basket all for £1.30 each. There will be a Raffle during the evening. Please let our Social Sec. Glyn Llewellyn have your money and details on the enclosed form. If you do not know the way (it’s the same as last year!) Please telephone either Glyn or Bernard.

Please support this evening and make it a success again.

This Month’s Meeting Thursday, 21st December, Christmas Noggin & Natter at the Nags Head. with the added attraction of a wind-up gramophone concours. Bring your 'wind-up' and one favourite period record.

2.

This Month’s Committee meeting  Thursday, 4th January, Mariners Rest, West Moors, 8.15 pm.

FOR SALE

Richard Cowell rang to say he has seen a '37 Ruby for sale five miles from Gloucester. It is fairly sound but has no rad. and the interior is original. It is behind a garage and belongs to a Mr. Savage at Lea 344, the price £100, sounds a bargain.

Part I

ANOTHER EXCELLENT ARTICLE "PINCHED” FROM THE MIDLANDS A7C NEWSLETTER

TECHNICAL TOPICS

This Series of articles is designed to assist the Austin Seven owner who has little experience of 'do it yourself' maintenance but who, with a little direction, is quite capable of wielding a set of spanners and a screwdriver in a business-like manner to effect the necessary adjustments and replace­ments as they fall due. It does not set out to instruct in the art of carving lumps from the bronze ornamental cannon in the front garden and reworking them into early diff. carriers or Ricardo type cylinder heads. This is best left to the experts, we shall concentrate on diagnosis and adjustment, dismantling, replacement and re-assembly, with perhaps a few simple modifications thrown in.

This first article deals with the diagnosis of a number of engine noises and vibrations encountered by most of us from time to time.

A surprising number of Sevenists hearing a low-toned knocking noise or rumble from the engine immediately suspect big-end or main-bearing troubles and straightway proceed to remove the engine from the chassis and commence a major strip-down. Half a day later the engine is strewn all over the garage floor and the puzzled owner is wondering just what IS wrong with the bearings. The answer could quite easily be nothing, since several defects set up very similar types of noise. These include worn timing gears, end float in the dynamo and end float in the crankshaft.

So, before breaking the seals on the shiny new socket set you had for your birthday, you should apply a couple of simple tests in an effort to eliminate some of these.

Slack timing-wheels on a coil engine can be tested for as follows: - slacken off the fan-belt so that there is no pressure on the top pulley, then with the engine idling, hold the fan with one hand and with the other press the two sides of the fan belt together to put a load on the camshaft pulley. If the noise decreases considerably the timing wheels are worn. Replacement can be made without removing the engine. Use only matched sets (although at a pinch unmatched sets can be used if carefully lapped together). A set includes the dynamo gear as well.

Part II of this article will appear in the January newsletter.