HMC architecte britannique

[hairnet]

@beko1987 on the list in a week

[Peter C]

Awful news about the Merc, it was such a bargain and an amazing car. Like all S-Classes, it was so ahead of the game when new.

I like the C5 but concur that the pre-facelift model is easier on the eye. Keep it parked somewhere safe!

[HMC]

currently cooling off on a dartmoor hill in PG1107

Ive been chasing an inlet manifold air leak - i think sorted - it was the carb to inlet joint. 

Meanwhile it feels theres still a bit to do for the VSCC trial as it gets a bit hot on long climbs and starts to steam out of the top of the rad like a little kettle 😂. Time for a break. 

Tea, anyone?

[HMC]

Ive just been overtaken by a mob of beagles

[HMC]

I had one ftp- I forgot to turn to fuel tap back on. At least it happened somewhere where i could trundle to the verge…

[comfortablynumb]

Such a great looking car, and what a pic, calendar shot?

[HMC]

Further chummy news- 

I went to the post office to change the tax from PLG to HISTORIC. Done it a few times now with other stuff. Computer said no. So I rang the DVLA and it was explained that it wasnt possible as, despite being registered new in june 1929 and with all the old log books etc and a current v5 in place- there was no date of manufacture their end.

I suggested to the DVLA employee (who i must say was very friendly and helpful) that as we all agree it existed by june 1929- that this itself should be enough to grant it >40 year old status. Apparently not. 

I did consider going via an owners club; Sadly all pre war austin factory records have been lost/ bombed/ destroyed.

All that is except as luck would have it- 29-31 sevens.

So ive applied for a heritage cert and cover letter to provide the necessary evidence. Although a bit of a faff actually id be interested in it for its own sake.

How very DVLA though.

[JakeT]

LBF would have done his usual DVLA ju-jitsu and had it on historic for you in 28 seconds flat.

How doovla can agree it existed in 1929, the current logbook is over 40 years old but can’t understand that the car is over 40 years old is hilarious.

[HMC]

Deffo. Its probably the only Taxed as PLG 96 year old car currently on the road 😂

[HMC]

Further chummy news…

If it pleases the court Ive got some history- buff log books from the late 40s to the late 50s (they are gradually filled with vehicle tax stamps and often when full -and replaced, binned) and some stuff from the early 80s (it was sold for 3k in 1983 a poor performer since then- as classic cars magazine would pronounce- yuck) Its last tax discs date from 83/4/5 until it came off the road.

Exhibit A: This rather indecipherable letter- I figured out from the address and a note on a later v5 that Ken Rokison is the writer, and later owner of PG1107. He is a now a retired high court judge (!) and I  believe still alive. Ive written to him to ask about his ownership and how he came to be the keeper from about 1978-83. 

The jury is out on if i get a reply, m’lud.

[Matty]

On 01/11/2025 at 15:05, comfortablynumb said:

Such a great looking car, and what a pic, calendar shot?

If i had the space (and wasnt married) id have one parked in the front room. Id sit in it and watch telly!!

[artdjones]

On 02/11/2025 at 17:39, Matty said:

If i had the space (and wasnt married) id have one parked in the front room. Id sit in it and watch telly!!

It wouldn't take up any more space that the average clingy DFS sofa.

Edit:- I meant blingy.

[artdjones]

On 01/11/2025 at 17:08, HMC said:

Deffo. Its probably the only Taxed as PLG 96 year old car currently on the road 😂

If you're a member of Patriotic Millionaires you could just leave it.

[HMC]

Chummy news- it starts so much more easily after resealing both ends of the inlet manifold and gaskets with some hylomar blue. It also has stopped the occasional (and quite scary) backfire on the overrun which im guessing was again a symptom of the air leaking in and messing up the fuel mixture.

Have used the wet weather gear for the first time going out to a restaurant.

Detachable side screens, with the doors having a fold back and press stud secure bit to avoid flappingness on the move.

No need for decent wipers when you can peer out of a slot. My glasses could do with wipers, mind you.

[Peter C]

@HMC

You are quite mad. In a good way, of course.

[comfortablynumb]

21 hours ago, Peter C said:

@HMC

You are quite mad. In a good way, of course.

"All the best people are..."

[HMC]

Ive just bought a car

clue- former owners….

[Schaefft]

29 minutes ago, HMC said:

Ive just bought a car

clue- former owners….

How many owners since?

[MorrisItalSLX]

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Ive just bought a car

clue- former owners….

Daimler?

[dome]

Land Cruiser. They'd use it to tow racecars around 🤔

[Tayne]

Has to be the 1.2 Corsa.

 

 

[High Jetter]

Ooo, another 3 wheeler?

[HMC]

Chummy News….

If you recall earlier i had written to a retired judge, using an old address from the early 1980s, and with the expectation that if M’lud was still around, he must be 90 or thereabouts…..

Well the retired Judge, and sometime keeper of PG1007 is indeed still alive; and has replied to my letter….

 

 

[HMC]

It was nice to come back to that in the post, after some more messing about in the very same 7, earlier in the day…

 

[comfortablynumb]

Fantastic to have got a reply from the judge, even if it was a bit difficult to read 😀

[HMC]

1 minute ago, comfortablynumb said:

Fantastic to have got a reply from the judge, even if it was a bit difficult to read 😀

Absolutely. My fave bits are his stable of cars- morgan plus 8, porsche 911. Plus his summation of the effect of children “ took up a lot of time, available funds, and space” 😂

[HMC]

Plus if you google him, his petrol head interests have an ironic element as he appears to have been involved in some capacity with the BP / gulf of mexico, Deepwater Horizon disaster aftermath.

[N Dentressangle]

7 minutes ago, HMC said:

Absolutely. My fave bits are his stable of cars- morgan plus 8, porsche 911. Plus his summation of the effect of children “ took up a lot of time, available funds, and space” 😂

Yep, very nice. My dad had a rusty (is there any other kind?) 1100 at a similar stage.

[LightBulbFun]

On 01/11/2025 at 17:08, HMC said:

Deffo. Its probably the only Taxed as PLG 96 year old car currently on the road 😂

did you actually tax it as such? if so do you recall what the amount charged was? 

 

im about to go Full DVLA/Vehicle Licensing  Nerd so bare with me

 

but basically *before* Historic Vehicle tax as we know and love was introduced in 1995, for Motor cars produced before 1947 and Motorcycles before 1933, a concessionary half rate was charged

and I have always wondered do they still do that? if you decided to leave a vintage prewar vehicle in the PLG taxation class, do you still get the concessionary rate? 

so I would love to know if you did or did not with your Austin Seven  

On 01/11/2025 at 16:59, HMC said:

I went to the post office to change the tax from PLG to HISTORIC. Done it a few times now with other stuff. Computer said no. So I rang the DVLA and it was explained that it wasnt possible as, despite being registered new in june 1929 and with all the old log books etc and a current v5 in place- there was no date of manufacture their end.

I suggested to the DVLA employee (who i must say was very friendly and helpful) that as we all agree it existed by june 1929- that this itself should be enough to grant it >40 year old status. Apparently not. 

do you know the DVLA history of the Seven? its only actually fairly recently they recorded the actual "Date of manufacture" on vehicle records and for vehicles which have been sitting dormant for many years, this info only gets automatically added once the vehicle is taxed/brought alive again

see how in the first screen shot "Year of Manufacture" is Missing but then pops up once the vehicle is taxed  (only older versions of the DVLA checker would show you this insight, newer versions just automatically populate a year of MFG from the Date of first registration field)

 

this whole retroactive addition of a vehicles Date of manufacture

is why you get shit like this!

"Date of first registration 5 November 1976"

"Date Of Manufacture 30 December 1976"

 

because I have the one and only time travelling Invacar, either that or whoever programmed the DVLA computer needs a slap....

 

if you have an account with the DVLA I would add your Seven to it and see what it reports back for Date of of manufacture  

 

it might just take a day or 2 for the systems to update, and worth trying again now perhaps