1961 Austin Se7en

[Peter Laidler]

A classic - and literal - case of the shit hitting the fan. A great escape too. Amazing that there wasn't more damage there.

[AustinSe7en]

Thanks Peter.
The air was a bit blue that’s for sure!
Rather fortunately I didn’t have the bonnet on, or I might have been a bit more upset
Bits have arrived, so when I get a chance I’ll slip the rad out and hope that there’s no more damage
No drips under the car, so I’m hoping the rad is ok.

[Peter Laidler]

That's a good idea to use ally wheel cleaner on the ally parts (earlier on in thread). Never thought of that - and it's just the same principle. I got some red coloured ally wheel cleaner the other day to use on my Golf GTi wheels. Useless....., as weak as gnats-pee so 'll stick to Halfords own from now on!

[AustinSe7en]

The Alloy wheel cleaner really did bring those bits up well.
I used an Autosmart product neat, but carefully!
It’s probably a bit stronger than the stuff you can buy in the shops, stings your hands anyway!

[AustinSe7en]

Well, that’s the second time for taking the rad out!
(First time being the blade on the wrong way around!)
It’s not pretty, but no damage to the actual core.

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Straightened all up the best I can, bit of a comb and a freshen
up with an aerosol.

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Not much left of the fan!

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[Southwest]

I'd definitely keep that fan as a garage wall trophy!
Rad turned out really well considering.

[AustinSe7en]

That horrible job being done, the next task was to set up the suspension.
Ride height set at two fingers front and three up the rear!
Still got an old set of Dunlop tracking gauges and this set of camber/castor gauges but no turntables anymore.
So a bit of improvisation was required.

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Consisting of a pair of Celebrations tubs, some lubricant,
a 20 degree triangle and a straight edge!

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A bit “Heath Robinson”, but it’s done the job.

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Front cambers equal, castor set at 4 degrees and tracking done.
I was dreading the rear end, but it had equal camber and 10 minutes toe in, so all good

[AustinSe7en]

Having not really got a chance first time around to test the tune-up,
I ran it up again to test it.
It definitely doesn’t like the breather from the rocker cover connected to the carb, so I’ve disconnected that!
But something else wasn’t quite right. Once up to temperature it was holding back a bit and then cutting out-but always restarting!
After much head scratching and buggering about I found that it was fuel starvation. I never replaced the needle valve when I cleaned up the carb as it was a metal type and I figured it couldn’t cause any problems. So, I changed it for a new viton seal type and reset the float height and Bingo! No more cutting out.
Next problem however was a distinct flat flat spot/bogging down.
Bit more head scratching and fiddling, and then remembered I had bought some proper SU dash pot oil. I had only chucked a bit of AFT oil in there to start with, never realised what a difference the oil made! Instant improvement, followed by perfection after I tried changing the piston spring for another one from a spare carb I had lying around!

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Quick blast round the estate and it pulls like a train!
2500 to 3000 rpm and it’s like a turbo kicking in!
Successful weekend for once!

[roger mcnab]

hi
what is the milk bottle for
when i worked in the fire brigade in sydney nsw australia we had dennis jaguar
motors and they were always running funny and they would take them to the workshop and bring them back a little better these engines were 4.2 with 2
2inch su carbs one morning when i got to work for my shift they said we were getting a change over as the unit was running funnythat meant all the gear off the dennis and put on the exchange uniti think it was a ford thames
so i started itup and run it and stopped it removed the engine cover and checked the dash pots bone dry so some engine oil with a bit of kerosine and it ran perfect the motor officer arrived and checked it and said what happened i told him and he replied that i was not supposed to touch the engine but he said thati had shown him how to sort thatproblem as it was happening to the dennis units all over sydney as the mechanics did not know su carbs
they should have owned a mini
cheers roger mcnab

[AustinSe7en]

hi
what is the milk bottle for

Hi Roger that’s actually the washer bottle!
It’s the one that was on the car when I got it.
It’s really a great bit of heritage/patina!
The Lady I bought it from lived in Ringwood, Dorset, not many miles from where I live. And i guess that it would have been her local dairy farm!
It would be a shame to change it as it’s survived this long!

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Good story on the Dennis. I used to work for a Mercedes dealership years ago, and the few cars that had carbs were Strombergs and all used ATF oil, hence I had temporarily slung some in the Mini.
Gobsmacked at the difference putting the right oil in has made!

[MiNiKiN]

The Lady I bought it from lived in Ringwood, Dorset, not many miles from where I live. And i guess that it would have been her local dairy farm!

Ringwood ♥ I used to be there quite often. Nice place in the Newforest. My two friends and colleagues used to live there - one in Fordingbridge next to the Royal Oak pub the other in a remote place nearby.
Happy memories - I occasionaly get Ringwood beer when Lidl Austria has ale on special offer

[tigertiger]

Just doing mine at the moment 1960 yours is keeping me motivated

[AustinSe7en]

These are the original number plates that were on the car when I bought it. It’s the original registration number, and I reckon they are probably the original Bluemels plates! When I first had it I decided to paint the letters silver, but only ever did the one plate!

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Bit beaten and battered, but I like the style of the letters.
So I stripped them down for a freshen up.
I used thinners to get the silver paint off, which nearly melted the letters

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Bit of straightening and repair to the aluminium, before respraying. I thinned the paint right down, so I didn’t lose the Bluemels pressing.

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I was intending to repaint the letters too, but decided I preferred the way they are all “off colour”

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Chuffed to bits with the way they look

[kevs 1961 mk1]

excellent work they look brilliant ,just shows what u can do with time and patience ,well done

[AndyB72]

They look fantastic, much better than buying/fitting new ones.

[AustinSe7en]

Another slow progress Saturday. Having “released” the heater box again, in order to run the screen washer hoses, it was time to tackle the dash trims!
I don’t really like the plain grey, so swapping over to the fleck-which I really like the look of.
I was kind of dreading this job as I thought the trims would be a nightmare to fit. But I was very wrong indeed
Fortunately still have all the original trims to compare to the new ones, and the bulkhead ones were absolutely spot on!
Only had to trim the parcel shelf one down.
Hardest and most time consuming part was shaping a new trim go either side of the binnacle. Still have the originals, but the plastic is so yellowed that I wanted to replace them. This trim from Baines is just slightly smaller, but looks good when in place.

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[AustinSe7en]

Very happy with it
Can’t wait to get it finished, and start driving it

[AustinSe7en]

Having straightened the bumpers as best as I could, and reduced a few dents, I cleaned up the insides of the bumper & over rides and heavily painted them with some rust preventative silver paint.

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Then reassembled with stainless brackets & bolts
plus some rubber washers to hopefully let the water drain through.

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[AustinSe7en]

I had kind of got used to the bumpers without the over riders,
but now they are on I think maybe Austin did have it right!

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[Old English White]

Looks great!
It is always the best precaution to wear rubber protection