Ah, fudge

January 3

As I mentioned in the news thread I bought an old Austin. It’s a 1929 16/6 burnham saloon with a 2.25l straight six.

it did turn up about a week earlier than I expected which resulted in a frantic tidy of the garage and construction of a storage mezzanine.

anyway went out for a little run in it on New Year’s Eve, which was cold and foggy, and got excited about taking it to a local car meet on New Year’s Day…

turns out the car wasn’t so keen on going back out in the cold, which meant I got to take it apart within 24 hours of arriving.
so out with the spanners and got the starter out to check that. All looked good , but I did rotate the end cap 90 degrees as the wire connection was about 2mm away from the steel gearbox undertray.

Continuity check on the starter switch said that’s where the problem was. Removed and stripped the starter switch and gave it a good clean, quite easy really, just waiting on new rivets, with the switch bolted together for testing and it works fine.

Then as I put the starter back in the terminal fell off the wire! That’ll be the fault then - off to Halfords for a cheep battery cable to get her up and running . I’m going to renew the battery cables as they’ve been extended in the past when it was converted to run from one 12V battery - it used to have 2 6V ones in series.

7,009 · January 3

Looks smart - just fettling jobs, it'll be fine.

January 3

Inside it’s quite a nice place to be - comfy seats, springs that work, doors that seal fairly well and windows that mostly stay up. Even though it doesn’t have a heater there is som heat coming through from the engine, and enough drafts to keep the windows clear ( unless driving in freezing fog, that required stops to clean the windows inside and out).

while I was waiting to get the battery cable I had a quick poke around the electrics - I don’t really like finding an un-fused wire rammed into the battery clamp with three joints covered in insulation tape in a 6 inch length, so I replaced it with a fuse holder. Had to get the large soldering iron out for that, don’t look for the woodworm holes in the handle though.

January 3

Here’s one of the things that was done differently in the 20’s

headlamp dipping.

theres a plunger attached to the steering column, which moves the reflector on the near side headlamp to dip and offset the beam.

the offside headlamp however isn’t connected to this system and is also switched completely separately from the all the other lights

44,305 · January 3

23 minutes ago, Paul-l said:

Now that's motoring.

Love it!

23,205 · January 3

40 minutes ago, Paul-l said:

Here’s one of the things that was done differently in the 20’s

headlamp dipping.

theres a plunger attached to the steering column, which moves the reflector on the near side headlamp to dip and offset the beam.

the offside headlamp however isn’t connected to this system and is also switched completely separately from the all the other lights

I was reading a brochure for a 30s Vauxhall over the new year, as one does. That mentioned the N/S lamp would dip and the O/S lamp goes off entirely when the button was pushed.

13,928 · January 3

Thats all kinds of wonderfull. Please keep us updated with it. Following with interest.

18,722 · January 4

Cor, what a fab old thing 😊😊

3,984 · January 4

One of the best looking cars on here 👍

137,352 · January 4

What an utterly fantastic looking car.

13,371 · January 4

Timing chain at the *rear of the block.... How trendy 😉

Looking at that.... it says 'car!' 👍

🚙💨

23,987 · January 4

What an absolutely lovely old thing 😍

13,928 · January 4

2 hours ago, yes oui si said:

What an absolutely lovely old thing 😍

If i lived in an area of the country like you do (ie straight on good roads from your doorstep) idve had something like this now. Like @HMCs 12 they are criminally undervalued. Alas its too busy round here for me to be brave enough as i is fanny 🤣

1,471 · January 4

The more 20s cars I see on here, the more I feel like I’d want to have one. At least for while.

January 4

Ooh my, that’s just glorious!

23,987 · January 4

57 minutes ago, Matty said:

If i lived in an area of the country like you do (ie straight on good roads from your doorstep) idve had something like this now. Like @HMCs 12 they are criminally undervalued. Alas its too busy round here for me to be brave enough as i is fanny 🤣

As long as you aren't holding up traffic 😅

New house is mere minutes from my favourite driving road in the country...

January 4

15 minutes ago, yes oui si said:

As long as you aren't holding up traffic 😅

There is that!

more later

January 4

4 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

Timing chain at the *rear of the block.... How trendy

and so easy* to access for tightening / adjustment!

3,984 · January 4

The main problem I've found with driving anything unusual is that 'regular' car drivers seem to forget how to drive when they see you!

I've actually had someone drive off the road whilst trying to take a photograph, and overtake me at the same time. Fortunately you soon learn a sixth sense for them, and think ' I've got another photographer!' which gives you time and expectation to deal with their antics, and lack of ability

You'll get used to it @Paul-l 🤞

January 4

Right, you’ll want to know about driving it I expect.

unlike several other cars of a similar vintage ( Vauxhall for example) it’s got the conventional pedal layout. The gear lever is in the centre of the car along with the handbrake too! All of which make it easier t swap between cars. I was looking a Humber with a different pedal layout : L to R clutch, throttle, brake; and the gear lever and handbrake on the right - that effectively meant you had to get in the passenger door!

Gears are done with a four speed crash box, which takes a little time to get used to, but I am getting there slowly. And only the hand throttle and ignition advance on the steering wheel are different to a modern.

the first trip was out to the garage to put some petrol into it, in the freezing fog. Steering was OK, a bit wavey Davey , but not too bad. Throttle response was minimal, brakes were also best booked in advance! Now having the petrol tank under the drivers seat is nothing new to the seasoned land roverist, but it was nice to not have to lift the seat squab and the access cover before getting to the filler cap. On the downside when overfilled the carpet gets soaked and the car stinks of fuel.

As it was cold I installed my cling-o-matic (patent pending) radiator muff and hoped it might allow the engine to get warm. This wasn’t really successful. The engine got warmish, probably, but any more than 1/3 throttle and the engine lost power. The second trip out this happened again a bit but was decreasing with time, so I suspect this will be fixed with warmer weather or engine or both.

I’ve put some engine bay pics in, and more of those vintage car oddities. Dynamo driven off distributor ( not strictly true I think, there’s a chain drive from the crank with a shaft going through both), with a further shaft drive to the water pump. And on the other side an updraft carb fed from an Autovac system, which uses manifold vacuum to get fuel from the tank in great big slurps somehow.

remind me to post a picture of the handbrake when I next have the floor up, it’s quite industrial and the manual suggest using it on long hills to give the wheel brakes a rest!

Edited January 4 by Paul-l
Autonotcorrect!

4,309 · January 4

I’ve shown this to Mrs Star, expecting the usual “What the hell?! No. No!” but to my surprise, she likes it.

How would one of these fare in an attempt to be driven 2500km in one* go?

January 4

4 minutes ago, IronStar said:

I’ve shown this to Mrs Star, expecting the usual “What the hell?! No. No!” but to my surprise, she likes it.

How would one of these fare in an attempt to be driven 2500km in one* go?

Let me know when you’ve done it!

But assume an average of 30mph, avoid busy roads, and I’m sure it’ll be fine!

4,309 · January 4

2 minutes ago, Paul-l said:

Let me know when you’ve done it!

But assume an average of 30mph, avoid busy roads, and I’m sure it’ll be fine!

If I ever get around to doing that, and I’m honestly sure it’s just a matter of when, not if, it will definitely be documented on these beige pages.

Pre-war and early post-war cars over there are so ridiculously cheap, that it would be a sin not to.

32,161 · January 5

8 hours ago, IronStar said:

How would one of these fare in an attempt to be driven 2500km in one* go?

Some inspiration.

But I would prefer a model A over a T as the A is a much better and usebale car.

The biggest problem I would see with such a trip is other drivers as everything nowadays has to go so fast and people are so aggressive while driving. So if I were to do something similar I would avoid faster roads and stick to rural slower roads.

32,161 · January 5

And what a great car this is, looking forward to more updates.

18,137 · January 5

Lovely to see one getting some love and use!

3,984 · January 5

Wasn't the London to Beijing done in vehicles of this era?

2500km should be a walk in the park! 😁

3,795 · January 5

13 hours ago, Paul-l said:

Right, you’ll want to know about driving it I expect.

unlike several other cars of a similar vintage ( Vauxhall for example) it’s got the conventional pedal layout. The gear lever is in the centre of the car along with the handbrake too! All of which make it easier t swap between cars. I was looking a Humber with a different pedal layout : L to R clutch, throttle, brake; and the gear lever and handbrake on the right - that effectively meant you had to get in the passenger door!

Gears are done with a four speed crash box, which takes a little time to get used to, but I am getting there slowly. And only the hand throttle and ignition advance on the steering wheel are different to a modern.

the first trip was out to the garage to put some petrol into it, in the freezing fog. Steering was OK, a bit wavey Davey , but not too bad. Throttle response was minimal, brakes were also best booked in advance! Now having the petrol tank under the drivers seat is nothing new to the seasoned land roverist, but it was nice to not have to lift the seat squab and the access cover before getting to the filler cap. On the downside when overfilled the carpet gets soaked and the car stinks of fuel.

As it was cold I installed my cling-o-matic (patent pending) radiator muff and hoped it might allow the engine to get warm. This wasn’t really successful. The engine got warmish, probably, but any more than 1/3 throttle and the engine lost power. The second trip out this happened again a bit but was decreasing with time, so I suspect this will be fixed with warmer weather or engine or both.

I’ve put some engine bay pics in, and more of those vintage car oddities. Dynamo driven off distributor ( not strictly true I think, there’s a chain drive from the crank with a shaft going through both), with a further shaft drive to the water pump. And on the other side an updraft carb fed from an Autovac system, which uses manifold vacuum to get fuel from the tank in great big slurps somehow.

remind me to post a picture of the handbrake when I next have the floor up, it’s quite industrial and the manual suggest using it on long hills to give the wheel brakes a rest!

Lovely old thing.

I think ( could be talking crap) that Austin were the first mainstream manufacturer to start putting the pedals in the conventional layout we use to this day.

4,309 · January 5

@Paul-l I see that there's a geabox with synchromesh on 2-3-4, and it's not even all that expensive. Worth an upgrade?

https://www.prewarcar.com/283709-gearboxes-for-austin-seven

48,641 · January 5

lovely Austin!

I had a 12/4 from 1929 last year. Had some fun with it..

https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/your-classic-austin-124

Sign In

Ah, fudge

Recommended Posts

Paul-l

N Dentressangle

Paul-l

Paul-l

Datsuncog

captain_70s

Matty

purplebargeken

comfortablynumb

Cavcraft

tooSavvy

yes oui si

Matty

Rightnider

privatewire

yes oui si

Paul-l

Paul-l

comfortablynumb

Paul-l

IronStar

Paul-l

IronStar

Dyslexic Viking

Dyslexic Viking

High Jetter

comfortablynumb

ETCHY

IronStar

HMC

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Browse Forums

Activity