We decided to reinstate the Ford split beam front axle using historic parts as the pick up points remained. It would have been nice to go back to the original wishbones and transverse spring setup but we had no photos or diagrams to go on. We also replaced a couple of the upper tubes from the front as they were misaligned, of poorer quality and from a later time. It’s easier to make suspension components work if they are symmetrical and require less modification in the first place rather than compensating for and potentially compounding problems. This has meant that, after making some tweeks to the suspension ride height (going from negative camber to zero camber) to lessen the sharp turn in that we experienced early on and raising the front tyre pressures to allow the front tyres to wash out a little more, we now have a neutral handling car that can be balanced easily whilst cornering.
We chose to fit a Reliant 748cc engine in accordance with the 750 Trophy regulations as we have a very helpful Reliant garage nearby in Redhill. It seemed that the lower weight, reliability and similar power output (stock Reliant compared with a tuned A7) of the more modern design would be appropriate for our first year of motorsport. We had some tuning issues namely too much ignition advance which meant we ran out of steam on the straights and this also led to the engine running too hot and literally pouring out steam on the straights! Once we sorted these problems out the engine has performed better and cooler. I am still tempted to fit a Ford 1172 sidevalve engine however.
We tried to restore the car sympathetically and aimed to use all the parts that had survived and where we were unable to we tried to make parts as they would have been at that time. The exceptions to this are the electric fuel pump (the mechanical one fouled the steering column) and the rollbar that is fully removable as we wanted to keep our heads intact in the event of a roll! Our insistence not to repaint the car has led to comments such as "it looks like a chicken shed" made by one scrutineer, however we prefer to call it the patina of age!
The car was completed in 18 months and has run reliably for a whole season in the 750 Trophy with Nic and I sharing the drives. We also reregistered the car for road use and the DVLA gave us an age-related plate as TTT 932 had been kept by Geoffrey Gook. Nic and I have thoroughly enjoyed rebuilding this historic vehicle and then racing it with the 750 MC. We have joined an excellent club and found the 750 Trophy competitors to be very friendly and helpful. It is a shame that many of the Austin Seven Specials have migrated to the Triple Challenge as it means we have fewer cars of similar performance to race with, however those that remain are excellent company. Maybe you’ll come back this year…?
(Original site counter = 6,500)
We chose to fit a Reliant 748cc engine in accordance with the 750 Trophy regulations as we have a very helpful Reliant garage nearby in Redhill. It seemed that the lower weight, reliability and similar power output (stock Reliant compared with a tuned A7) of the more modern design would be appropriate for our first year of motorsport. We had some tuning issues namely too much ignition advance which meant we ran out of steam on the straights and this also led to the engine running too hot and literally pouring out steam on the straights! Once we sorted these problems out the engine has performed better and cooler. I am still tempted to fit a Ford 1172 sidevalve engine however.
We tried to restore the car sympathetically and aimed to use all the parts that had survived and where we were unable to we tried to make parts as they would have been at that time. The exceptions to this are the electric fuel pump (the mechanical one fouled the steering column) and the rollbar that is fully removable as we wanted to keep our heads intact in the event of a roll! Our insistence not to repaint the car has led to comments such as "it looks like a chicken shed" made by one scrutineer, however we prefer to call it the patina of age!
The car was completed in 18 months and has run reliably for a whole season in the 750 Trophy with Nic and I sharing the drives. We also reregistered the car for road use and the DVLA gave us an age-related plate as TTT 932 had been kept by Geoffrey Gook. Nic and I have thoroughly enjoyed rebuilding this historic vehicle and then racing it with the 750 MC. We have joined an excellent club and found the 750 Trophy competitors to be very friendly and helpful. It is a shame that many of the Austin Seven Specials have migrated to the Triple Challenge as it means we have fewer cars of similar performance to race with, however those that remain are excellent company. Maybe you’ll come back this year…?
(Original site counter = 6,500)