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1930 Austin 7 Swallow saloon
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Ray,

Superb reproduction! BTW is that you concealing the indicator switch in the glove box so as not to spoil the original dashboard layout?

Peter
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1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6284
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are very eagle eyed! No, it was just there loose for no particular reason. I have no indicators on the car but I am considering fitting them. I put some on the dodge this year and glad I did but with the Swallow it's less obvious where to locate them. I could convert the front sidelights to flashers as the headlamps already have additional bulb holders to take some side lights. One thought I had was to combine the brake lights to work as flashers (I have the wiring diagram for this) like on '50's Jags and Fords but although the law allows for original equipment, apparently it would be illegal to retro fit. C&U Regs. I think. Also, people are looking for orange flashers so they might be ineffective.

When they were new these cars only had one very small tail light and no brake lights. The twin rear 'D' lamps are side and brake lights that I have fitted.

Ray.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, indicators are a problem, especially at the rear. I just rely on extreme road positioning and slowing down well in advance and I give hand signals. My car's semaphores work and I fitted flashing LED lamps in them but I suspect they are lost on most of today's drivers.

I very much doubt that you would run into problems with the law for retro fitting flashing brake lights.

Peter
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6284
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, LED's seem to be the way to go especially as the original A7 charging system has trouble with coping especially at night when you most need it!

I don't do night driving now so the incentive is not so great but I have to admit that it still makes sense. So far I have resisted changing things that are working O.K. however, many A7 owners have changed to 12 volt electronic ignition and LED lighting but where do you stop? I could replace the dynamo with an alternator and replace the CF1 cut out with a modern voltage regulator. If you take things to a logical conclusion I would end up with a special! (Not saying there's anything wrong with specials..... better stop digging Embarassed )
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, resist all changes. And for those that you do, make them invisible. Alternator dummy dynamos are very far from convincing and electronic ignition is probably less reliable than a normal points set-up.

Peter
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Last edited by peter scott on Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ray, you definitely have my vote; I completely agree with Peter. Each to their own and anyone should do as they wish with their own car, but it is so nice to see a tidy but original engine bay like the one on the Swallow. Most people can't resist painting and buffing everything that can't be replaced with a new "replica". The replicas rarely achieve the quality of your make-up tins (every car should have one Rolling Eyes )
I think that the appearance which comes from years of carefully cleaned and maintained mechanical items beats the glory of the so-called "as new" finish every time. Smile
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6284
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the unique Swallow features that was missing was the original tax disc holder so when an enterprising chap in Australia had some replicas made I placed an order. As you can imagine, the cost was rather high for these because of the amount of labour and the fact that the "Swallow" logo had to be made from enamel. I learned from another Swallow owner that the quality was top notch and he was right; I am not disappointed.




Of course, as soon as I had taken delivery of my repro, an original one popped up on ebay!

Yesterday I ordered a replica tax disc from 'Poplar Greg', correctly stamped with a Nottingham issue - 1st September, 1930. You get 3 discs so a spare one for me and a surprise Christmas present for my neighbour with a 12/50 Alvis from the same year.
Idea


Last edited by Ray White on Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ray White wrote:
One of the unique Swallow features that was missing was the original tax disc holder so when an enterprising chap in Australia had some replicas made I placed an order.


Ed Nantes perhaps?

Peter
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6284
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

peter scott wrote:
Ray White wrote:
One of the unique Swallow features that was missing was the original tax disc holder so when an enterprising chap in Australia had some replicas made I placed an order.


Ed Nantes perhaps?

Peter


Yes, that's the guy. Very helpful in my experience. Very Happy
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ray White wrote:
Very helpful in my experience. Very Happy


I'll second that! Very Happy

Peter
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47Jag



Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 1480
Location: Bothwell, Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peter/Ray,

I sent Ed this thread a couple of days ago and he spoke very highly of you Ray with the help you gave him with door trim patterns when he and his brother Doug were restoring an Austin Swallow.

Art
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6284
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's nice, Art. The interior door panels (latterly called door cards) are indeed fascinating. The trim to be found on Austin Swallows was a major reason why these cars occasionally found favour over their less expensive and somewhat more utility cousins offered by the Austin factory.

The interior panels on my car posed a problem. The original Rexine covering had fused to the plywood backing and the thin horse hair padding had disintegrated. The cause was every coach built car restorers worst nightmare; woodworm. The worms had eaten away at the plywood, leaving their impression on the underside of the Rexine. The Rexine is in three sections.

When I tried to separate the covering from the backing, no matter how carefully I tried, it simply fell to pieces. The solution chose was to lay the pieces of Rexine face down onto a sheet of slightly self adhesive paper like a jig saw puzzle. I then laid a piece of PVA soaked cotton cloth over the back of the rexine and allowed it to dry. I had previously dyed the PVA blue. Once set, I removed the self adhesive paper. The Rexine covering had been stabilised.

It was an easy job to reproduce the plywood panel with the diamond (just an extra piece of plywood tacked into place) in the centre. Fresh horse hair was used to pad out the covering to the panels either side of the centre one which was just laid flat onto the plywood.

The twisted silk rope which can be seen vertical on the panel hides the joins and was obtained from the same local source as the braiding (more correctly called pasting lace) which amazingly is manufactured on the same Jacquard Loom as used in the 1920's. All the original colours and patterns are still available. The Swallow uses a remarkable 25 meters!

New carpet trim to the bottom of the door finished the job but to ease removal, the door panel is attached to the door frame with small brass screws in place of tacks.





Last edited by Ray White on Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ray, I applaud the effort you went to with those panels. Rexine is an awful material once aged but seems completely impossible to replicate, so retaining it by that means was very smart.

Last edited by colwyn500 on Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:53 am; edited 1 time in total
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks perfect for a 1930s car. I might split off the Austin posts into their own thread, and keep this one for the Dodge (or vice versa), if that's ok? Each deserves its own thread really, especially with all the detail you've added about the Austin's resto.

RJ
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
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Location: Derby

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's fine by me. Very Happy
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