John starred to-day, I could listen to him talk about pre-war stuff all day, so knowledgeable. Glad you let him talk a bit, he looks so natural at describing things a bit like Fred Dibnah.
Definitely want to see more of John, what a wealth of knowledge, should be preserved as a part of the channel and the second channel should be supporting his car!! No brainer, love the content guys 🙏j
John's car could really by something if he converted to a small motorcycle engine. But I'm guessing part of the pride in that little car is running it with OEM engine.
Stick to stock air box on the blackbird motor, as standard had pipes from front of bike to air box. Will give good reliable power. Best check a good forum for setup. Don’t waste time tuning it as its already got more power that the old blade in stock form.
I would feel like the luckiest bloke on the planet getting around in that awesome little Austin of Johns! He chose a great design to have something fun, freedom and very unique. I'm going to be most upset if you get the kit car back and take out for a good blast without videoing it from a dozen different directions! That thing looked like so much fun last time but, frustrating having cars you've really worked to get around through some bends to then just rocket past you on the long straights. I don't think there'll be much of that with this new engine, not if it's performing up to spec at least, it should be awesome fun.
Fit an overide switch on the dash, for the engine fan, that way even if you think it is to hot, you can cool the lump down, i used to on my kit cars and specials, and used the switch many times, even stationary on a motoway
Loved listening to John, he clearly knows his stuff. And his A7 is amazing, give him a mic and let him loose here in the second channel and let him explain the A7 (small snippets with John explaining the front axle and it's history etc. would be amazing). But remember to remind him that he will have many young spectators who have never seen the underside of an old car, so he must build up the knowledge level a little of most of them. For the oldtimers who know what they are looking at, John and the A7 must be absolutely fantastic to see.
I enjoyed seeing John and the Austin 7. I have a Ruby with the 2 bearing engine. Love driving it. I live on the Costa Del Sol, where it always sparks a lot of interest. In this area Feraris are common. Pre war Austins are not.
I watched the 2nd channel especially to see John and his Austin 7 and was surprised when he chatted on like a two-bob watch. The Austin 7 details were also interesting. I'm 76 and I remember my father taking me to hill climbs in South Australia in the 1950s 🚗, probably featuring cars such as the Austin 7 (don't remember).🚗🏎
Love the Austin 7, my kind of technology, 100 years out of date. Most people seam to shun the pre-1950's car now, I think a lot of it is the people who remember them new or as their first cars is getting thin on the ground, but also not many people know how to drive old motors on wire wheels, cable drum brakes and crash gear boxes. Its the same I notice now with old tractors, but their the cars that really interest me. Keep up the good work.
That's how it's done - Just get John enthused about talking about the 7 and he forgets the cameras on! (PS why has Lorraine got a problem with the kit car airbox?)
Have an episode off Lee and relax, (hillclmb entry is an amazing idea for a birthday present). Let Isaac and his steady gimbal film and more importantly, listen John for a day. He's obviously full of interesting/fascinating, factual stories, and it would be sad if they just stayed in his head.
One of holes in original airbox is for the crankcase breather to recirculate exhaust gases collected in the crankcase.if you romove donot block the crankcase pupe as this can cause damage to the internals lke blown crank seals and damaged valva guides or even damaged rings as i had this happen to my fazer 1000.a blocked breather pipe.
Blackbirds had “Ram air” induction . Fed by a duct on the nose of the bike. Boosts HP. The takeoffs on the bottom of the air box are for crankcase vent and a drain. But would have got hardly any water in there.
The air box does a lot more than just hold the filter. My guess would be a big hole in the low to mid range for a very small top end gain. Will need a map to work around it
Austin 7 really nice old motor, great to see a classic engine on the channel. 14:55 The Myford, haven't seen any footage of this classic lathe. Is it a new bit of gear or the nostalgic lathe that you can’t move on?
Those hoses on the bottom of the airbox are for water drainage. You may need a special end to keep from suck air in from those hoses, but will let the water drain out.
60 years ago when I was 20 I could take the engine out of my 1927 A7 in 20 minutes. No lift No help. Started out with 2 bearing crank but fitted a 3 which failed when the rear main pulled out of the case. Scrappy for another engine.
