austin 7 ulster

[agent006]

As far as i know, the 750MC is the main point of contact for all things Austin 7.

[King Herald]

Lui Rocca said:

Hi guys,

I've been lurking around the site for a while and thought I'd start posting.

This is my latest car. It's an Austin 7 Ulster. The pic is of when it was last all together, so it's a bit dusty and a bit rough, but she's coming together and should be fully restored sometime next year.

It's my first vintage car and I'd like to know a bit more about her history. Does anyone know the best way to find this out?



thanks in advance.

Surf the net, all sorts of info will come flying your way.

[fly fisher]

I can't see the pic. Great cars through, insurance will only cost £80 a year as well no matter what age, even if you are 17.

I have a 1932 RN needing bits. Would like a Special though.

Is it a real ulster and therefore supercharged?

Thanks,
William

[arh]

A pic of my austin

www.a7ca.org/ keep a register of Austin sevens they should be able to help.

Best of luck with the rebuild

[ettore]

I also have an Ulster (currently) in bits. Best place to get information is either the A7OA or 750MC as previously posted, your local A7 club (where do you live?)or the VSCC. As yours is a vintage seven the best recommmendation is to join the VSCC (at once!) if you are not already a member.

[L100NYY]

Currently tpying with the idea of getting an Ulster rep at the moment, great to see some more picsif youi have them and your thoughts on your ownership experiences?

[tvrgaas]

Lui Rocca said:

a reinforcing layer of fibre glass pasted to the inside in places.

DON'T show that to the VSCC eligibility guys - it's banned - so hide it!

Hope you have a lot of fun with it, as I'm sure you know it's possibly a replica, so apart from the clubs, and the standard books on Austin 7's, I think you can get a list of previous owners from the DVLA, and although a long shot, one might be able to contact previous owners.

I think Chris Gould did THE book on Ulster (reps) www.pwa7c.co.uk/bookshop.asp

[arh]

L100NYY said:

Currently tpying with the idea of getting an Ulster rep at the moment, great to see some more picsif youi have them and your thoughts on your ownership experiences?

My first days with the austin involved a issue or 2. First was driving it, very little clutch travel, interesting brakes (can't really call them brakes) vague steering and very litle power. And jaw ache from grinning too much Then came fixing all those little niggly bits, no spanners fitted (they are all whitworth). The charging circuit didn't work, you cant just buy a new or recon dynamo. So I had to rebuild it, all the parts were easy to get. Once rebuilt it was still not working well, after reading up on the subject (which is not as easy as it may seem due to the fact most owners are as old as the cars, and therefore not compatable with the internet) it turns out they are not very good any way. It doesn't produce enough power to run the lights so at night it is always drianing the battery. The car had been built on a budget many years ago and that was beginning to show, so I took the engine out and rebiult it. 70 odd years had taken its toll on the engine threads had rusted away or been stripped and badly repaired. I made incerts to bring the thread sizes back to what they should be, ported the inlet and exhaust ports. Found a highlift cam and Cambridge cylinder head (not easy). runs very well now. The wires were shot so I had to make a new loom and fit that, easy enough for me as I used to do that sort of stuff for a living many years ago. The brakes took 3 hours to adjust the first time now take about 1.5 hours to do.

It will now do 65mph easily, but at 45mph it is scarey so 65mph is only for the very stupid. It takes a lot of looking after, greasing every 250 miles, detergent free oils, and checking everthing is tight as often as possible. MOT's take a few minutes as most stuff is not fitted. And the rest is so lose as standard that just about anything will pass. Insurance is cheap, parts are easy to find and sensibly priced, they will run on any kind of petrol. People wave when you drive passed, people hang from car windows taking photos with their mobiles, leave it parked in a car park and you can bet there will be a crowd round it when you get back. A five minute trip to the shops will take an hour as the crowd will want to know all about it.

[tvrgaas]

Lui Rocca said:

Shelsey Walsh vintage trials.

Shelsley is a speed hill climb, like Prescott. There is a VSCC Navigation Rally in that area tomorrow. There are three VSCC trials (ie mud-plugging) nearby over the winter. Next month see the visit to Madresfield.

Near Malvern is a good base for the VSCC.

[L100NYY]

arh said:

lots of great stuff

Many thanks for that, I really do dearly want one but I'm not too sure how I would cope with the maintenance side of it all to be honest. Something to give some serious thinking time to I guess!

Having been to may, many VSCC meetings over the years with my father the bug really does bite and I love to see them in action and it would be great to have my own toy to play with. I'm not very mechanically minded which would be a major drawback to owning one of these cars, the joys of being of the age where ruddy ecu's govern a cars engine!

[ettore]

Join the VSCC immediately - as mentioned you are in an ideal area and it will open the possibility to compete in hillclimbs, sprints, trials, races, driving tests, navigation rallies and everything else besides. You will also have access to the best repository of help and knowledge. Technically you need to be proposed by two existing members but I guess that at least two have already answered in this thread!

L100NY - do not be fearful of the technical stuff - I also grew up in the world of the ECU but Austin Sevens are like an advanced Meccano or Lego set. There are loads of experienced people normally only too happy to help (my father in my case!) and bits are generally plentiful and cheap. It is also perfectly feasible to buy a well set-up standard-ish car that won`t need that much maintenance...

I echo what ARH says - they are enormous fun and an ideal intro` into vintage competitive motoring. I can honestly say that I derive more challenge in an A7 at 50+ than I do in the 911 at 100+ and the Boxster S at vmax...

Edited by ettore on Friday 18th August 14:16

[L100NYY]

Cheers ettore, I have been giving it some serious thought but I think that I need to get my BMW project finished first before I start on anything else!

[crankedup]

Welcome to the world of pre war motoring, for sure you have entered real world fun. I have learnt alot from my fellow PH'ers here and after 18 months or so of Austin motoring feel I am getting to grips with the oily side of my car. Great fun would'nt swop it for anything except maybe another vintage. Enjoy your weapon of choice.

[incorrigible]

Lui,

You don't say where abouts in the UK you are ?? If you're down south I can give you some very good contacts. Also, if you need second hand spares, give me a call, I have a few 7s in various states

Cheers

Ben

[eccles]

incorrigible said:

Lui,

You don't say where abouts in the UK you are ?? If you're down south I can give you some very good contacts. Also, if you need second hand spares, give me a call, I have a few 7s in various states

Cheers

Ben

about half way up, he mentions he's from around the worcester area.

[RTH]

Frank Tiedeman's car he has owned little changed from 1950 ...........and it did 4 races this year !

[tvrgaas]

Lui Rocca said:

Went to the Welsh trials on saturday and saw more A7s than I could shake a stick at.

My brothers got a Award in the A7 Mulliner Sport in class 1a. We did the Naviagtion Rally on Sunday in Sarah's Chummy. Got the route right but some of the hills slowed us down. As usual a good weekend.

[_TC]

Lui Rocca said:

Hello All,

Just a quick update on the car. We've had the engine apart and its now all clean, it turns out that it's a very original engine in good condition, all the numbers match up on all the main parts. The cam is being sent off for grinding in a couple of weeks, and the body is being put back on so a new bonet can be made for it. All very exiciting stuff.

Turns out that the chassis number doesn't match the form, it looks like a mis read so I'll have to have a chat to the DVLA about that.

Went to the Welsh trials on saturday and saw more A7s than I could shake a stick at. I ended up helping to marshal at the top of hill 1. Excellent time was had by all.

Hi Lui, any more news on the Ulster?
I have moved house and found many many books on Austin sevens as my late father has had around 7 of the little cars. I aim to put one in the garage to keep the MG TC company soon. I would love an ulster. yours looks great in its original state.
Anyway, hope its going well.

[cptsideways]

Ohhhh cool little car, I've been on the hunt for my Dad's old "special" he built 50 years ago, looks much like yours (but it is'nt) my brothers & I have been hunting high & low for it without luck for 20 years, last seen in Autotrader in the 70's.


Anyway keep us up to date with progress, my Dad might even be able to offer a few tips & stuff, he loves helping people out.

[_tc]

Thats great news. nice when a project comes together.
Hand painting is great for these cars but like you say and Aston would be different. having said that i did post on here a few months ago an Aston of the 1930's era which was hand painted and parked on the street in Winchester.

I cant wait to see the pictures. if you have any of her mid rebuild that would be great too.

TC