1961 Austin Se7en

[AustinSe7en]

Then a bit of faffing around getting the new grille to fit.
I have still got the original, which fitted better, but had some damaged slats from my misspent youth!

I my well try and repair it a bit better and use it, as I noticed
when I compared the two that there’s a difference in the
number of “waves” between the original and the “repro”
Just missed one on the eBay last week too, went for £124!!

[AustinSe7en]

Sump guard fitted and that’s about it for underneath.

Mainly interior left to do now, and some odds’n’sodds - lots of ‘em!
Must try and get down the post office soon to get the log book
re-registered as historic so I can “tax” it.
Can’t wait to get it on the road !!

[W1NG3D]

Lovely car! Nice to see original bits being rescued and tidied up. Did you make that sump guard yourself or get it from somewhere?

[AustinSe7en]

Lovely car! Nice to see original bits being rescued and tidied up. Did you make that sump guard yourself or get it from somewhere?

Thankyou. Trying my best to use as many of the original bits as I can. The new bits available just don’t fit like the originals.

I put that sump guard on back in the late 80’s. Can’t remember where it came from, but reckon I must have bought it on one of the meetings I went to. Quite good, you can remove a section to get at the oil filter.

[W1NG3D]

Thankyou. Trying my best to use as many of the original bits as I can. The new bits available just don’t fit like the originals.

I put that sump guard on back in the late 80’s. Can’t remember where it came from, but reckon I must have bought it on one of the meetings I went to. Quite good, you can remove a section to get at the oil filter.

That's very true, it's a shame that so many reproduction parts are lacking in quality compared to original stuff. It's part of the reason I've been turned off the idea of replacing the grille on my own car, and similarly to you I'll be attempting to straighten out some bent slats on the current one instead.

That sump guard looks like a really practical design with the oil filter access and it looks like there's plenty of airflow for cooling as well, compared with others I've seen.

[AndyB72]

The sump guard is either an original or repro Innocenti one, I think Tim at MiniMail had a load for sale years ago. They are a great design and have a section that can be removed to access the oil filter.

[AustinSe7en]

Still more bits for cleaning up.
30 year old masking tape being the worst part!!
Plus a few dents of course.

[AustinSe7en]

Still got to try a bit of polishing, but a combination of degreaser and alloy wheel cleaner made a huge difference!

[AustinSe7en]

Spent what seemed like an entire day, as a carpet fitter....

[AustinSe7en]

Plenty of glue, and the worst bits done!

[AustinSe7en]

Bit of underfelt, but then I’ll have to trim the carpet and make holes

[AustinSe7en]

That’s a bit more like it!
Edges to trim and fixings to fit.

[AustinSe7en]

Seats in. That’s a bit more like it!
Dreading the dash panels, but hopefully won’t be as
bad as I think

[AustinSe7en]

Last touch of the day was cleaning up the sun visors and
repainting the mirror stalk. Wrong mirror I know, but
this is the one that was on it when I bought it!

[AustinSe7en]

Had a 997 come to visit, so couldn’t resist a cheeky photo shoot!

Need to pull my finger out and get it on the road

[AustinSe7en]

All full of enthusiasm Saturday to get some bits finalised under the bonnet.
Starting with the rocker cover....

[AustinSe7en]

Badges riveted on (one standard and one not) , adjusted the tappets and on it goes!
Really pleased with the look.

[AustinSe7en]

Original K&N from the 80’s stripped for a clean up and re-oil.
Even spent a bit of time polishing me trumpet!!

[AustinSe7en]

Fitted up the air filter, dizzy vacuum pipe and breather.
Followed by a bit off faffing about to get it running right again
Amazed how much fitting an air filter and breather mucks up the mixture!

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Adjusted the clutch overthrow, and then I thought a little test run around the estate would be a good idea.........

[AustinSe7en]

Or maybe not
Went well, sounded lovely really felt quite nippy, but then....

E56E0002-DC15-4F30-949D-140F9212C3AE.jpeg

Disaster stuck!
Looks like the fan shroud rubber had split down the bottom (oddly not on the join?!) and proceeded to get sucked into the fan!
Bits of fan everywhere, and a bit of a rubbish end to the day

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Rad fins damaged, but doesn’t appear to be leaking.
Slumped off home for a cry

Ordered a new fan and shroud rubber. Plus a rad fin comb!
Looks like the next job is the “whip” the rad back out - again