Team-BHP - My '32 Austin 7

Hi you guys,
I have been lucky enough to acquire a 1932 Austin 7.Since i am completely new at restoring cars i was wondering if i could get any help through this forum.

A little bit about the car:
1)It was being used until a year back though very sparingly.
2)As it's been parked in a sea facing building for the past 12 years it has a few rust spots.But it's nothing that cannot be repaired.
3)The seats have been removed and are kept safely.

Things i need help with:
1)Which is the ideal workshop to go to in order to restore the car.
2)Which part of the car do i begin work on.
3)Does anyone have any useful information on this car.
4)Is this a viable project.

Awaiting your replies.
Thanks

Sid

Quote:

Originally Posted by sid_04 (Post 978139)

Hi you guys,
I have been lucky enough to acquire a 1932 Austin 7.Since i am completely new at restoring cars i was wondering if i could get any help through this forum.

Sid,

Firstly congratulations and celebrations.

Quote:

Things i need help with:
1)Which is the ideal workshop to go to in order to restore the car.

Maybe some Mumbaikar T-BHPians would help you. Dont trust an unknown local garage. Any known authorised service centres would help you with the Tinkering and Painting.

As far as the engine is concerned, you need to search for some old time mechanic.

Chrome parts- Get them out of the vehicle, and get them chromed yourself.

Quote:

2)Which part of the car do i begin work on.

a) Firstly start with careful dismantling of few parts from the car , like the meters, the door handles, Headlights, indicators, hub caps, spare wheel etc.

b) Next down the engine and gear box. retain the old wiring for reference with the new one.

c) Start with the complete bare body, tinker it neatly and treat the surface and underbody properly. Once this is getting done, get your engine done, although there will be nothing wrong with the gearbox, just flush the gearbox oil once.(any authorised service centres are good even if they are a bit pricey, they will be atleast responsible enough) and also you can expect quality paint finish.

d) Once the engine is ready and the car is covered with surfacer, fit the engine and the gear box.

e) Get the new wiring done(extremely necessary) since electricals play a very vital role in running of the car. Remove the old dynamo and replace with the present day alternator.

f) Once your car is started and the primer is dried properly(which might take a weeks time for all the above work to complete) There will be some minor scratches on the car, treat them and get the first coat of paint.

g) All the chrome parts and badges with the lights and lenses now needs to be ready.

h) After the final coat of paint, start with all the fittings on the car

This much is enough for time being- Later as your restoration will start you'll get to know how you need to proceed further.:)

Quote:

3)Does anyone have any useful information on this car.

Will try my level best to offer any assistance on this.

Quote:

4)Is this a viable project.

Wow, what a neat car you've got yourlself, its great as it is, neatly resting and aged.

Its for sure a very rare car and a great project to begin with. To top it up its indeed a viable project.

I dont think spares would be of a great issue.

Best of luck with your project, do update us time to time.

Hi Sid,

Congratulations. Very nice find. I think its Austin 10hp, looking at those hub caps. (where is Karl ??)
Speedo meter is original, but the key and amp meter looks like local made.
The left most place is for the Smith clock.....its missing

As far as I know early Austins were came with Hopson type the glass tube contained a nasty chemical and was connected to the tank by a thin copper tube, inside the tank is a device that collects bubles which creats air pressure in the pipe which causes the chemical to rise, the more petrol in the tank the greater the pressure so the higher the chemical rises.
These kind of gauge is difficult to find.
Mine I have used Smith gauge.

The original key is Lucas PLC ?

The dash board you can get it made to original and also can buy most of the meters from ebay.

After all a great buy and would love to see her on the roads shining :thumbs up

cheers

That's a heck of a first car! Congratulations and good luck with the restoration. I can recommend two Mumbai garages, both of whom perform body work on Vintage cars:

1. Pervez @ Mazda Motors : I am made to believe that some of Vijay Mallyas vintage cars visit Pervez for body work. His work is impeccable - a 10 / 10 - but he is expensive. You will need a big budget.

2. Milestone : Authorised Mahindra workshop too. They have a separate area where special cars are taken care of. I have seen more than a couple of vintage beauties out here. Charges should be reasonable, but don't expect overnight results. They will take long to complete your project.

Thats a superb looking car you've got there - very few Austins of this vintage remain as original as this one, I see very minor alterations.

A word of caution. This project will be very time consuming even if it won't be a ground up restoration. It is a very slow moving process, and highly skilled people are required to work on them. Take your time scouting around specific locations, see their previous work and ask other owners for feedback. Search out the Austin owners clubs across the world and get chatting with them. Im sure there must be Austin specific forums too. Try and get copies of the manuals, they are very helpfull especially for clarifications on originality.

Also be warned that most bigger names will double their charges just because it is a vintage car, even for things like painting which have nothing to do with age or model of car.

Wish you all the best on this project, any more doubts do post them up, there are many very experienced people on the forum.

Hey, first of all, congratulations !! I realized my dream of owning a vintage car just recently, so I know just how you feel. I too am going through the process of restoration, making mistakes, asking for help and learning all the way. So here are a few tips from my experience. First of all, become a member of the various clubs that are on the internet. They can get you almost anything from parts to manuals to body drawings to fittings. Most of these guys are car freaks and would be more than happy to help you out. Their knowledge on the cars is mind blowing and questions like "What were the ingredients used in the polish of the wooden dash board" are not uncommon and are in fact answered very fast !! I got most of my knowledge and parts from those clubs. Everything from User Manuals to Carburetors is available, and for Austins, the price is quite affordable. And don't worry about the cost involved, these sources, specially once of Austins and Morris focus a great deal on cost saving, so it should not be a problem. Don't be in a hurry to do a cheap but fast job. The money you put in will show and a cheap job will most likely fail. Thereafter, get in touch with some people who are involved in restoration of cars and who know what they are doing. If you would like to get in touch with the person doing my restoration, mail me on parthmehd@yahoo.com and I will see what I can do. The person who is helping me out is a noted collector and vintage car restorer, so he knows what he is doing. Also, don't do a lot of modifications. They cost as much as the import of original parts, destroy the authenticity of the cars and more often than not, don't work very well. Also, don't try and fix what's not broken.

I would suggest that you stop the body from deteriorating further then get the mechanicals in good shape, then complete the body restoration and then focus on the tyres, hood and interiors.

And most important of all, don't let someone who does not know vintage cars work on your car. More damage is done by ignorant mechanics to cars than a decade of humidity.

Get in touch and we will have fun sharing our stories with each other !! All the best for your project !!

Parth

Hey Sid 04 congrats on the new buy. Amongst all the workshops I would recomend Anoop Thakoor (Carrera Motors) who is a genuine guy and will really do the best job amongst them all. I have yet to come accross anyone having the same knowledge and capability to solve complex issues anywhere in India. The best part with him is he will give your realistic options on budgets and not over/undercharge you. With him your car can come out concor or decent based on how much you want to spend. Best is he can solve problems that some of the other guys mentioned above consult with him on informally :) PM me if you want his number