Austin 7 Club of S.A. Inc. CLUBROOMS: 262 Tapleys Hill Road, SEATON S.A. 5023 Bulletin Number 70 27.8.21 What’s on and What’s not 28.8-6.9.21 Adelaide Classic Motoring Festival th 28.8-29.8 Mallala 60 anniversary 29.8.21 Victor Harbour Swap Meet CANCELLED DUE TO COVID Austins over Australia Cancelled. Rescheduled for August 2022 1.9.21 Old Car Day Bethany Oval Invitation 4-5.9.21 Tailem Bend Classic ON 12.9.21 Federation Picnic at Wirrina ON Invitation 13.9.21 Austin 7 Club Annual General Meeting ON starts 7.30pm 17-19.9.21 Rock N Roll at Victor Harbor CANCELLED DUE TO COVID 19.9.21 Gawler Swap Meet ON 20-29.9.21 Motorfest ON Invitation 26.9.21 Bay to Birdwood CANCELLED DUE TO COVID 3.10.21 Vintage Collingrove ON 3.10.21 Palmer Rod Run ON 10.10.21 Morgan Swap Meet ON 17.10.21 Strathalbyn Swap Meet CANCELLED DUE TO COVID 29 - 30.10.21 Murray Bridge Autofest. Invitation 31.10.21 London to Brighton Run for Veteran cars. 4-7.11.21 Bathurst 1000 Note change of date. 7.11.21 All Ford Clubs picnic Invitation 13-14.11.21 Bendigo Swap Meet CANCELLED DUE TO COVID 21.11.21 Regency Park Swap Meet 21.11.21 Yankalilla Motor Show 26-28.11.21 Adelaide Tarmac Rally (to replace the Adelaide 500 V8 Race) Will they get 250,000 paying spectators?? 14-16.1.22 Valley Rodders Cruise on Tanunda CANCELLED DUE TO COVID All events are subject to change please check with the organisers. Page 3 Girl Sillier than a Seven CELEBRATING OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY MALLALA MOTORSPORT PARK August 28 & 29 2021 We are inviting all cars and drivers that have ever competed at or visited Mallala to join in the celebrations. There will be Mallala Masters Race Event, Super Sprint and open track sessions for those that want to go fast, and cruise sessions for those preferring to soak in the memories at a more relaxed pace or join the shown n shine for classic vehicles! There will also be a show n shine for classic vehicles, historic Mallala memorabilia displays, air displays from the SA Aviation Museum as a nod to the significant RAAF history and the RAAF Centenary in 2021, and a Big BBQ celebration lunch on Sunday. Expect to see some significant names and cars, including from when Mallala hosted V8 Supercars in the nineties before moving to the Adelaide 500 in 1999. Kids 14 and under Free History In 1959 it was determined that the Port Wakefield circuit was unsuitable for the scheduled 1961 Australian Grand Prix. With new high standard motor racing circuits being built interstate it was decided a new race circuit closer to Adelaide was required. With the sale of the RAAF's 24 Squadron operational air base at Mallala to a group of motorsport enthusiasts, the Mallala Motorsport Park was born, hosting its Premier Race meeting on 19th August 1961. Since that time Mallala has hosted everything from the Australian Drivers' Championship, drifting championships and burnout comps, to the Australian Touring Car Championship (including V8 Supercars). The RAAF base at Mallala was built in 1941 Meet at the Victoria Hotel Car park to depart at 9.15am Annual General Meeting th Monday 13 September 2021 7.30p.m. Come along. Join in the management of the club. A club is only as good as what you make it. Positions are vacant. Nominate now. CANCELLED DUE TO COVID MEDIA RELEASE 23 August 2021 Bay to Birdwood parade a no-go The 2021 Bay to Birdwood – one of the world’s great historic motoring events – will not take place as originally planned this year. The decision not to hold the parade and gatherings on Sunday 26 September was made in consultation with SA Health, with organisers of the Bay to Birdwood announcing the difficult decision a year after The Bay to Birdwood delivered one of the first large-scale public events as Australia emerged from last year’s lockdown. National Motor Museum Director Paul Rees said the health and well-being of the public is their number one priority. “The Bay to Birdwood is a large public event, and with growing uncertainty around Australia and with over 20% of our participants registering from interstate we know that keeping South Australians safe is our most important job right now.” “We are extremely disappointed that participants with their 1500 historic vehicles and the large crowd of spectators along the 72 km route from West Beach to Birdwood, which was of around 70,000 last year, will miss out on our traditional event this year,” said Rees. “We do have a range of engaging activities planned for Sunday 26 September though, and motoring enthusiasts will still be able to celebrate the Bay to Birdwood from home on the day.” Further details of the activities planned for the 2021 Bay to Birdwood will be announced soon. ENDS For media enquiries, to organise photo opportunities or interviews please contact: Belinda Petersen, 0402 358 000, [email protected] Elly Mitchell, 0408 342 604, [email protected] Bendigo Swap Meet th 13-14 November 2021 Cancelled The rumble of classic cars will return to Yankalilla for the Yankalilla Classic Motor Show on Sunday, November 21st, 2021 to be held at the Yankalilla Showgrounds. This inaugural event will be presented by the Yankalilla & District Lions Club supported by local classic car enthusiasts. The Expression of interest form for 2022 National Rally in Warrnambool has been released. If you are going and would like Motel accommodation please let me know as I have booked a Motel close to the centre of Warrnambool with room for trailer parking. If you would like to drive your Austin 7 to Warrnambool you will not be alone. Hamblin Cadet. The following three photographs of a sporty Hamblin Cadet were kindly provided by Guy, a user of the site's forum, and were taken by his brother Frank. Guy's brother took the photos in the 1960s, he owned the car and passed his driving test in it. The car was later sold to friends of theirs. A couple of years passed by and Guy was lucky enough to be able to buy the Austin 7- based special back again, for the sum of 5 pounds. He then taught himself the basics of driving in the attractive little special. Firstly, a side view of the Hamblin Cadet, clearly revealing the car's sporting low-slung driving position, a million miles away from how the source Austin 7 originally looked. From this angle only the distinctive Austin 7 three-stud wheels give the game away, otherwise it could easily have passed for a low- volume production sports car. Side-exiting exhausts were de rigueur requirements for most budding special builders in the 1950s, with cycle wings adding to the rakish look. Unusually, this Cadet doesn't appear to be fitted with a screen of any kind, so goggles or spectacles would have been essential wear for driver and passenger alike. Photograph number two reveals the car's interior, from a high-up viewpoint to the rear of the car. A fine array of gauges keep the driver informed of progress and the engine's condition, with a large revolution counter positioned below the dash, requiring a passenger to have particularly short legs. A remote gearshift can just be made out, beneath the dash. Companies such as Super Accessories, who incidentally were one of several firms who could supply a special builder with the Cadet bodyshell, did great business throughout the '50s and '60s, providing components to aid the build of classic specials just like this. The previous link features the Cadet bodyshell in one of the Super Accessories brochures of the period. Of all the different fibreglass bodyshells offered to builders of specials, using either Ford 1172 or Austin 7 running gear, the Hamblin shells were some of the best finished and most robust, although they'd still require a great deal of work to install them on a suitable chassis. The chequer tape, applied to all four mudguards, again is a classic addition that so many home-built and modified cars sported in those days. The last of Guy's photos reveals the engine lurking beneath the car's bonnet. The engine will look familiar to anyone with an Austin 7, whether it be a box saloon, later Ruby, or a special. Specials required much lower radiators than were usually used with the Austin's sidevalve engine, and cooling could be an issue on sunny days if the radiator wasn't in perfect condition, and the core clear of crud and flies. The take-off from the manifold, originally used to either power a vacuum windscreen wiper or connect to a vacuum gauge, has been sealed off. The Cadet bodyshell was put on sale in 1958 by S.E. Hamblin Ltd, latest in a line of sporty bodies produced for affordable chassis in the 1950s. Versions were offered to suit both vintage (short) Austin 7 chassis, and also the longer types originally found under the Ruby saloon of the early/mid-1930s. Some bodyshells also found their way on to Morris 8 chassis, which of course benefited from hydraulic brakes. In 1960 the shell was modified slightly to incorporate integrated rear wings, and was known as the Mk2. A larger version of the body would go on to be used on the Super Accessories "Super Two" Austin-based special, and the Ford Pop-based "Super Three".