AUSTIN 7 - THE CREATION OF ITSY
DIPSTICK CLIVE BALL
What do you do when you find your 40-year collection of Austin 7 bits includes a rolling chassis, another chassis, sundry axles, wheels, gearboxes, engines and many other items? You turn them into two Chummies named Itsy and Bitsy. However, unlike the coach in Walt Disney's Cinderella, it takes more than the wave of a magic wand and singing
Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo!
I was going to build them both in parallel, reasoning that if you're doing a particular job, it's easier to do it twice than try to remember how a second time down the track. So I assembled two rolling chassis: Itsy, 1929 coil ignition; and Bitsy, 1927 magneto. (Far too many tasks to list individually; basically all parts were checked down to the last nut and bolt and reused, repaired or replaced as necessary).
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Then came body building. I'd already built three Austin 7 bodies from scratch, and still had the plans and dimensions, so it was a case of same again, twice. The Mundaring Men's Shed's power guillotine and large panbrake (bender) made short work of the metal in the floor pans, which I then welded and riveted together in my garage.
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At this point I decided it would be easier, from space considerations, to finish Itsy completely before tackling Bitsy, so work proceeded apace on one body. I cut the wooden parts from Tassie Oak with a bandsaw, using patterns supplied by the late John Heath (UK A7 body builder) in 1986. Back to the Men's Shed to cut and bend aluminium sheet for the body panels, which I glued and fastened together with countersunk pop-rivets.
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I made the front seat frames, and upholstered them at the VCC's Restoration Shed. The dashboard and windscreen frames came from John Barlow, and Doug Baker kindly milled the side irons from 25mm steel bar. Sundry small items were sourced from various A7 suppliers. The mudguards and running boards had been made for Samantha in 1972 but not used, and were ready to bolt on. I had good radiator shell which was cleaned up, and replated. The radiator that came with the rolling chassis had a new film core, which seemed a bit vulnerable, so I fitted a piece of stainless steel mesh in front, inside the shell.
I resurrected the hood frame from a mangled mess of rusty steel, and made a new hood and bonnet at the VCC. The petrol tank was scoured and coated internally with "Red White and Blue" to render it leak proof. Numerous other jobs were carried out before eveything was dismantled for priming and painting.
The headlamps are replicas, made from a collection of parts available from John Barlow and the Seven Workshop. I believe the reflectors are a Honda motor bike part; they look very original!
Finally, all was back together. The engine had been rebored with new pistons, reground crank and remetalled big ends, so was very stiff; my neighbour kindly towed Itsy round his circular driveway in gear, with the spark plugs out, until things loosened up a bit. She fired up for the first time in 50 years or so, and was deemed roadworthy and licensed last November 27 (2020). I'm currently making the side screens, then it will be Bitsy's turn!
