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email: tony@lathes.co.uk
Home Machine Tool Archive Machine-tools Sale & Wanted
Machine Tool Manuals Catalogues Belts Books Accessories
lathes.co.uk
Page 28
The Writer's Austin 7 Model AF Reg. PL 3002,
other AFs as made Mid-1930 to February 1931,
and a few notes on the following AG Model
Austin 7 Home Page Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6
Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12
Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19
Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 - A Christmas Story
A7 Christmas Cards Page 1 A7 Christmas Cards Page 2
Fitting LED Lights to an Austin 7 Gordon England Brooklands
Fitting Indicators to an Austin 7 1923 Advertisements
The Writer's 1930 Type AF Austin 7
The AF Chummy - or 'Tourer' as Austin always advertised the model, was first recorded in the factory 'Production Ledger B1' as car B1 9811, Chassis 116938, built on September 8, 1930. Pressed into the floor pan, just before the gap for the handbrake cover, was the identification AF.
Aimed at giving more elbow room than the preceding long-scuttle-short-bonnet Model AE, the body was widened by some 4 inches on a line across the rear edge of the doors. The radiator cowl was taller, finished in chrome and carried a detachable Austin badge. The Scuttle was short, lacked vents and the bonnet sides fitted with two sets of louvres pressed into individual rectangles, this latter feature lasting for only a few examples before a single depression was used. This change must have been good work for the press-tool makers, as there is a slim possibility that the very first examples of the AF might have had the plain bonnet sides of the contemporary saloon - though so far one has yet to be discovered.
The line above the bonnet's side hinges was continued across the short scuttle by a length of tacked-on, rounded aluminium bar; later examples had this feature pressed in with a small sweep up towards the windscreen pillar.
The plain, flat dashboard held a central oil pressure gauge to replace the former oil button, a Smith PA 60 mph speedometer to the left and, to the right, a standard-for-the-time Lucas switch panel with an ammeter. The wings continued in the same form as those fitted to the AE, being domed and with 'beaded' edges - these on the AF being listed as a 'Type G' at the front, 'Type F' running boards, and the rear wings 'Type H'. Instead of being located in the cabin, above the driver's and passenger's knees, the fuel tank was mounted on the engine side of the bulkhead, with its capacity increased from four to five gallons and fitted with a main tap just above where a passenger's left foot could inadvertently push it off, Under the bonnet was a pull-on reserve tap, both taps having a tiny screw in their centres that pulled a circular plate up against the corks to (hopefully) stop leaks. This new position of the tank had the further advantage of expanding the space behind the dashboard to give easier access to the instruments and switchgear.
At long last the brakes were coupled (a modification first seen on the Ulster) with the foot brake now working not just on the rear brakes, but on all four drums.
There are five known surviving AFs, the oldest being B2 1382 (many cars have been misidentified in the past), registration PL3002, whose long-term owner is Tony Griffiths. Amazingly, the next car down the production line, B2 1383, also survives and is identical in all respects to PL3002.
Production of the AF lasted for around five months, with a run of some 1500 examples, the last being made in February 1931
The AG appears to have had a body of the same dimensions as the AF, but made of steel and featuring two distinctive vertical lines running down its back face. It had the same engine and gearbox as the AF, and the same dashboard instruments, though these were fitted to a detachable central panel. The glove boxes were significantly larger than the pathetically small ones fitted to all earlier models..
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The writer's 1930 Type AF Austin 7 Tourer being collected on the end of a two rope in 1963.
Car Number B2/1383 with engine M119113The car was registered PL3002 by Surrey C.C. on Monday, October 3rd 1930 to Miss Mary Venton Gibson of 4 Burton Court, London SW3. Burton Court is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a very affluent area, Might the car have been a birthday present for a daughter?
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By 1964 the car had been rebuilt so that it could be used as a daily runner while at college. In 1966 a full body and mechanical restoration was undertaken and the car then used as my, and my wife's, only transport. The next step was to use it in five years of VSCC competition, perhaps an odd choice of vehicle, being the most prosaic of the "Chummy" range and only just inside the end of 1930 cut-off to qualify as 'vintage'. The engine was nothing special, kept to its original vintage specification (as were the gearbox and back axle) but carefully assembled, thoroughly prepared before every event and well run in. Driving the car daily gave the driver enormous experience of how it handled on and off road, and so allowed considerable liberties to be taken with it.
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Soaking wet - but overall winner of the VSCC Lakeland trial
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Inexpensive motor sport, stripped down for the Harewood hillclimb. I shared the car with my great friend Mike Costigan and one of us was faster by 0.010 seconds - but I honestly cannot member who. Mike was my rally navigator and I didn't realize how fearless he was until, for one all-night VSCC Measham night rally on snow-covered road, he was unavailable. A member who raced an Alvis volunteered to take his place, but just a few miles in, shouted "God! This is terrifying!", and threw up over the side. "Shall I slow down?" I asked, and to his absolute credit cried, "No! No! Keep going, there's nothing left!"
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With the steering lock of a taxi - courtesy of careful filing of the steering
arm stops - and cruel use of the gearbox, driving tests were always great fun
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The writer's wife relaxing at Silverstone, 1970
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Preparing the PL3002 for judging at Beaulieu, helped by fellow VSCC competitor (and brilliant engineer) David Wortley
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Doing silly things in the New Forest during a Beaulieu Austin 7 weekend. Yes, in 1968 we always wore ties, even when relaxing….
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Helping David Wortley to navigate an overgrown New Forest Track - and still wearing a tie, of course. David's Chummy was another long-term owned car - 51 years - and for much of that time used for the daily commute for work as well as competitions and Austin 7 social events.
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In 1973 a "Drive into Europe" was arranged to celebrate the UK joining the EU. By great good fortune we were invited to take part and had sponsorship from British Rail who then owned the ferry company Sealink. It was a close call; two months before, returning home in the growing darkness from the VSCC November driving tests at Silverstone, a friend was driving the car down a country lane. Hidden in the gloom, what he didn't see was that water had leaked from a building site, flowed across the road, and frozen. The car slid sideways on the ice and, when it met the dry road, rolled, causing considerable damage to the body. The driver was somewhat bruised and suffered acid burns from the battery - but was otherwise unharmed.
While the body was away for repairs, the chance was taken to dismantle the car and undertake some essential maintenance. When the repaired bare tub was delivered, just 6 days before the run was due to start, the car was still in pieces, the restoration work having only just been completed. The driver who'd rolled the car and I worked non-stop to build the car up, finishing it the night before we set off - at 4 am in next morning - to drive to the morning start at on Horse Guards Parade.
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Beaulieu 2024. Rebuilt for the third time, PL3002 is now used for holidays, social runs, shopping and giving the grandchildren the chance to drive a vintage car
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Another AF registration DY 6349 and car number B2/1384, the next down the line after PL3002.
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The same very rare "two-panel-pressing" bonnet-side louvers on DY 6349
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While the later steel-bodied, but very similar-looking AG has a scuttle with a line pressed into it, the AF made do with a section of curved aluminum pined on. Note the wedge-shaped distance piece that was installed between the body and each of the windscreen uprights on DY 6349. My car also had these, but after the roll-over body build, they were not needed
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The cockpit of DY 6349. The wrong starter motor is fitted - and earlier 'bacon-slicer' type - with a modified cover bolted to the floor around it. Two interesting detail common to this car, and mine: no scuttle ventilators are fitted and the flange along the top edge of the dashboard the usual four holding screws. The flange clips over a metal bar that's drilled and tapped to accept the screws but, while the flange is tapped, the dashboard was not drilled to take the screws. Might these cars have been a Friday afternoon, "Let's just get 'em out," job?
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