This Austin Seven, like many others, has been turned into a special, using the engine, chassis, and most other mechanical parts, whilst sporting a new, sportier body. Originally this Seven was built in the Austin Longbridge Factory in 1933 as an RP Saloon. In 1955 however, in Bromley, Kent, the car was transformed into a sports-bodied special by a Company called Super Accessories, who made circa 250 models, by adding an Ash frame, an aluminium body, and certain mechanical upgrades.
This particular model came with a hood, a tonneau, an independent front suspension unit (using telescopic shock absorbers front and rear), a hydraulic brake conversion and an uprated engine with a phoenix crankshaft – a popular modification to the Austin Seven. I have recently stripped the car down to the frame to repair some of the ash, as well as giving care and attention to any mechanical parts that have had to come off!
The exhaust was painted, along with many other things, but the biggest upset that had to be overcome was the stripped threads in the block for the water inlet. These were repaired by drilling out the old holes and re-tapping the threads, then using a stepped stud of 5/16 to 3/8 BSF. After a bit of fiddling and a new water branch, the leaking problem had been fixed, with a bit of added grease on the stud nuts, the final droplets ceased to form.
Now I am looking forward to driving her for the first time, as I have owned her for 6 months over the winter and refrained from insuring her until now. I intend to drive long distances (with a large tool bag on board), between Yorkshire and Essex, doing rallies, and hopefully the odd trip to Bicester Heritage.
