A bit of shite - first Austin 7 trip of 2025

[gadgetgricey]

@dollywobbler has used a place just outside the Merry Hill centre a couple of times in his vids I believe and quality of work looks good,

I believe its https://dftrautomotive.co.uk/ but you'd need to check vids to confirm

I used a place just up the road from me for some welding on my old Jeep. Seemed to be a good job.~
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5256715,-2.112462,3a,75y,23.15h,87.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suf94qs4-5IfjaUblrKsWQg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Gornal way.

[horriblemercedes]

42 minutes ago, gadgetgricey said:

@dollywobbler has used a place just outside the Merry Hill centre a couple of times in his vids I believe and quality of work looks good,

I believe its https://dftrautomotive.co.uk/ but you'd need to check vids to confirm

I used a place just up the road from me for some welding on my old Jeep. Seemed to be a good job.~
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5256715,-2.112462,3a,75y,23.15h,87.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suf94qs4-5IfjaUblrKsWQg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Gornal way.

Thank you! I'll get in touch with a few and go from there. Luckily it's not an urgent issue but better to do it sooner than later 

[horriblemercedes]

I guess I'd finally better post something on this car! I was moving house over the August bank holiday and spotted this on eBay. My friend who was helping me move house persuaded me to go buy it. I'm glad he did. I really like it.

 

 

[horriblemercedes]

It's a 1995 Jaguar XJ6 which is incongruous through being manual and pretty much completely rust-free. It really doesn't seem to have ever been welded. The arches are spotless (ok, a little surface rust at the bottom of the rear arches but it is very, very minor spots of it).

 

So far, it has been totally faultless. A truly excellent car. It's the baby 3.2 and it's not manual because it's an enthusiast car - it's just base spec. No air conditioning, no cruise control, no sunroof (thank god). I drove it throughout September as a daily. Took it from where I live in Leicestershire to Edinburgh for a weekend, took it to Essex to go on a date with a nice girl (she was not impressed with this car).

 

It feels very me. I really like it. I bought it thinking that the rust-free shell and manual gearbox would be perfect for a manual XJR project, but it's too good for that. I won't be breaking this car up.

[horriblemercedes]

Here it is as my daily outside my house

[horriblemercedes]

Unfortunately it's simply too long for my garage so here it is in my dad's garage. It'll stay there until spring. I put it in my garage and there was still a foot of car hanging out the front. The flag badge on the bootlid is going too. I can't stand that. I just need to get round to getting some fishing line to cut it off and a toffee wheel to scrape the glue residue off.

[horriblemercedes]

Oh, I forgot this. My friend who was helping me move house insisted that we go to get the car. So we did. Best influence ever!

Anyway, as soon as I test drove it (we left his brand new Porsche Taycan as a deposit), I knew I had to have this XJ6. But there wasn't much petrol in it. So I drove away from the seller's house, which was near Sheffield. We stopped at the first petrol station we saw and I pulled up behind a Jaguar XK8. The guy was filling up his XK8 and took a look and then a double take. He came over and said, "that's Paul's car! Paul Guinness.". I explained I had had the car for about ten minutes and knew nothing about it. Here is a picture of that encounter. I'm on the left:

 

 

Later I found a business card for Paul Guinness in the glovebox along with a Jimmy Savile tape. But let's not dwell on the Savile thing!

[JMotor]

35 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

toffee wheel to scrape the glue residue off.

There is another way...

No I'm not pulling your leg.

Saw this being used by a YouTuber (Jimmy Oakes iirc). Whack one in a drill, obvs valve end in chuck.

I tried it, removes that horrible sticky foam shite you get with badges and stick on trims with ease!

[Schaefft]

I didn't know you could get an XJ without AC. Must be a great car with a manual, an XJR with one is still fairly high on the want list.

[horriblemercedes]

1 hour ago, Schaefft said:

I didn't know you could get an XJ without AC. Must be a great car with a manual, an XJR with one is still fairly high on the want list.

I don't think I knew it. It definitely never had AC though - there simply isn't a button for it. There is plastic where the button would be.

 

In the back window, there is a dealer sticker reading 'Stratstone of Mayfair' and the keyring is 'Stratstone of Mayfair' too. So I do wonder if the first owner was long term and it lived in an underground garage somewhere posh in London and rarely came out.

[New POD]

12 hours ago, JMotor said:

There is another way...

No I'm not pulling your leg.

Saw this being used by a YouTuber (Jimmy Oakes iirc). Whack one in a drill, obvs valve end in chuck.

I tried it, removes that horrible sticky foam shite you get with badges and stick on trims with ease!

Probably works by getting enough heat into the metal to melt the glue. 

[N Dentressangle]

Like the XJ6 a lot.

Especially nice to have found one without a leaper, and just the naff badge to remove - I find a hairdryer gives enough heat to melt the glue on that kind of thing enough to allow it to be pulled off, then the glue residue removed with white spirit / thinners.

[horriblemercedes]

12 hours ago, JMotor said:

There is another way...

No I'm not pulling your leg.

Saw this being used by a YouTuber (Jimmy Oakes iirc). Whack one in a drill, obvs valve end in chuck.

I tried it, removes that horrible sticky foam shite you get with badges and stick on trims with ease!

Thanks, I could give that a go! The only thing is my neighbour has already offered his toffee wheel and I don't have any tyre valves

[horriblemercedes]

Just now, N Dentressangle said:

Like the XJ6 a lot.

Especially nice to have found one without a leaper, and just the naff badge to remove - I find a hairdryer gives enough heat to melt the glue on that kind of thing enough to allow it to be pulled off, then the glue residue removed with white spirit / thinners.

Thanks - I hate the leaper enough that I wouldn't have bought it. At least the badge just takes a few minutes 

 

It does have two other badges in the glovebox - AA and Institute of Advanced Motorist grille badges.

 

 

Also I need to make the front a bit higher - it is quite low. I've dug up the history on Retro Rides and it seems the previous owner "hit it with the lowering stick". The front has adjustable coilovers so I need to adjust them up. Still, for winter it can stay in my dad's garage while I focus on the house I've just moved into! In spring I'll take a look at the XJ6 again

[horriblemercedes]

There is a collection for me underway at the moment but I'm not there. A good friend of mine (who's not on this webshite) will be collecting a car from a shiter shortly... 

 

The collection is for me. I just couldn't make it so he's doing me a big favour. I think he's currently on the M5

[stuboy]

On 06/10/2023 at 20:46, horriblemercedes said:

look like the knob i had in my mondeo, gearknob not me

[horriblemercedes]

HMC's P38! 

 

[horriblemercedes]

I've driven it a few miles around Bristol and so far I like it. I havent driven a P38 for 10+ years but remembered instantly why I liked them. 

It is in rough condition and that's why it was cheap, however the important things are good. Steering feels just how it should, engine is how it should be and I'm amazed how good the gearbox is. You cannot detect gear changes apart from by watching the rev counter. The air suspension is just right too - these cars really lose part of their character when they're on coils. The air suspension is excellent 

 

[horriblemercedes]

I don't update this much, but thought I might with this one. I've had it since the start of the week and I'm really enjoying it. The radiator drain tap has developed a solid drip (not leaking at all at the start of the week!) so it's in the garage, draining. Hopefully early next week I'll have time to remove it and either fix and refit, or replace.

 

The faults are minor, but there are some.

• Oil leaks. They seem to have got worse over the few days I've had it.
• Battery drain. If left overnight with the battery connected, it goes flat. I think it's the petrol gauge doing it, but haven't properly investigated it.
• Petrol gauge doesn't work
• Wiper doesn't work. Motor runs, but seems to have slack so it barely moves the wiper
• Carb needs cleaning and adjusting 
• Window winder is iffy
• Speedometer is wildly inaccurate

Other than that, it's pretty damn good. Very minor rust spots here and there, but it's very solid. Engine, clutch, gearbox, brakes etc are all really good.

[Matty]

34 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

I don't update this much, but thought I might with this one. I've had it since the start of the week and I'm really enjoying it. The radiator drain tap has developed a solid drip (not leaking at all at the start of the week!) so it's in the garage, draining. Hopefully early next week I'll have time to remove it and either fix and refit, or replace.

 

The faults are minor, but there are some.

• Oil leaks. They seem to have got worse over the few days I've had it.
• Battery drain. If left overnight with the battery connected, it goes flat. I think it's the petrol gauge doing it, but haven't properly investigated it.
• Petrol gauge doesn't work
• Wiper doesn't work. Motor runs, but seems to have slack so it barely moves the wiper
• Carb needs cleaning and adjusting 
• Window winder is iffy
• Speedometer is wildly inaccurate

Other than that, it's pretty damn good. Very minor rust spots here and there, but it's very solid. Engine, clutch, gearbox, brakes etc are all really good.

Wow. Always wanted a go in one of these.

[adw1977]

2 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

 

I love this photo.  Imagine explaining to the people who designed and built this car the concept of going to the supermarket with your bag for life to buy a prawn mayonnaise sandwich! 

Yet the car is doing exactly that, still providing transport in a completely different era.

[SiC]

I really quite fancy one of these. However my stingy arse is waiting till they drop even more. Part of the reason why I'm tempted with an A30/A35 as it's an intermediate step to going pre-war and they're dirt cheap again now. 

How do you find the performance on the road in modern traffic? Is it as bad as many say?

[horriblemercedes]

19 minutes ago, SiC said:

I really quite fancy one of these. However my stingy arse is waiting till they drop even more. Part of the reason why I'm tempted with an A30/A35 as it's an intermediate step to going pre-war and they're dirt cheap again now. 

How do you find the performance on the road in modern traffic? Is it as bad as many say?

If you want a go in it, you're welcome. 

 

It is very slow. And I drove 26 tonne lorries with 4 over 4 gearboxes. It's kind of quick to about 30,then after that it's foot to the floor to get to 40. On a hill, you just have to accept it'll do human jogging pace. 

 

I've driven it to work twice this week and it was good fun. That was about 10 miles each way on minor roads. 

 

I think they're a bargain for a proper vintage car. Unlike most, parts are cheap and easy to get. I've learned that the support is extraordinarily good. I spent half an hour on the phone today talking about the car with one of the experts who runs a business working on them and restoring them. He just offered his time. 

 

TLDR: if anyone wants to try my Austin, you're more than welcome. They're way better than you'd think 

[Mally]

I took one for MOT once years ago.

The lad put it on the brake rollers, needle barely flickered.

Old man says, that's all you will get lad, pass it!

[horriblemercedes]

14 minutes ago, Mally said:

I took one for MOT once years ago.

The lad put it on the brake rollers, needle barely flickered.

Old man says, that's all you will get lad, pass it!

Sounds about right! 

 

Tbh even flat out at 40mph, with the brakes adjusted well, it slows down OK. On rollers, it would do nothing at all 

[Noel Tidybeard]

my dads first car was a ruby

[SiC]

Why are the brakes so rubbish on these? Surely those drums are large enough to give plenty of surface area for bite to lock up wheels, or is it simply mechanical force amplification is minimal compared to hydraulic brakes?

[Mally]

Dunno, but the old fella said weight came into it on the rollers.

[Vantman]

7 minutes ago, Mally said:

Dunno, but the old fella said weight came into it on the rollers.

And being cable brakes doesn't help.

[Mr Pastry]

30 minutes ago, SiC said:

Why are the brakes so rubbish on these? Surely those drums are large enough to give plenty of surface area for bite to lock up wheels, or is it simply mechanical force amplification is minimal compared to hydraulic brakes?

It's a poorly designed system, and something that Austin got wrong.

You can get enough mechanical advantage with just cables and links, the equivalent Fords for example had excellent cable brakes.

But the way it is done on the Austin, there are cables to the front brakes which are like a pair of handbrake cables.  The outer cable is anchored to the chassis.  The inner runs forwards to a lever on the brake backplate.  When you put the brakes on, obviously the inner cable pulls on the lever, but the torque reaction causes the axle and backplate to twist.  Because of the orientation of the lever this slackens the inner cable and tends to take the brakes off again, so however hard you tromp on the pedal it makes no difference.   And the drums are not over-large anyway.

Lord Austin is supposed to have said that good brakes encouraged bad driving, and of course up to a point he was right.