Austin 7 Ruby Restoration Episode 7 - Wiring Loom Fitted

Welcome to Episode 7 of our Austin 7 Ruby restoration where we have the wiring loom fitted at last. We will start the Austin Seven Ruby up today using the dashboard and see that the dynamo is working and the ignition light goes out when the engine is revved.
The re wire of the Ruby has been an easier task than we imagined and we are glad that everything is working as it should. We aim to have the headlights working soon too. We fitted a new brake light switch and we have run an earth wire the full length of the chassis to make sure that we have a good earth at the rear of the car.
If you enjoyed the video please feel free to buy me a coffee with this link
www.buymeacoffee.com/carchimp
#austin7 #vintagecars #carrestoration

[@Roger.Coleman1949]

Great to see youngsters getting involved !.The dipping system was called ' dip and switch ' and the MOT requirements outlawed it back in 1966 so that both headlamps must remain ' on ' in dip mode .Simple to modify, you can easily obtain 2 -filament 6 v bulbs of the original style with 2-contact inserts from various Classic specialist electrical factors such as Auto Electrical Supplies ,Vehicle Wiring Products, Autosparks.Keep the solenoid assembly intact though , disconnected for originality.The ' Austin Seven ' script on the grille needs to be moved slightly to the right, fiited centrally on cowled cars , where it is , is on earlier pre-Ruby chrome radiator models.Good luck with the project, my first car rebuild , a ' 38 Ruby when I was 15 !.

[@classicandvintagecars]

Great information and thank you for sharing! We aim to get many more youngsters involved in pre war cars.

[@eleveyltd]

Fabulous project 😊

[@classicandvintagecars]

Thank you, it is

[@keithquestedelectrical9785]

Taking shape

[@classicandvintagecars]

It is, thank you

[@vueittraining]

Great project !

[@classicandvintagecars]

It is good fun

[@oursuperherolife]

Can’t wait to see her on the road

[@classicandvintagecars]

Very soon, hopefully

[@alanmony1582]

Love it! I have a '37 Ruby in Port Hadlock, Washington USA. I've rebuilt the engine but the remainder needs restoration. Come on over!!

[@classicandvintagecars]

Good luck with it, they are good fun to work on.

[@FlipFlopPsycho]

Great restoration project Steve 👍🏽

[@classicandvintagecars]

Thank you

[@austinswallow]

I found I had bits "missing" from my wiring loom, which I fitted about 10 years ago now, it was Autosparks, they knew but didn't provide it until I raised the point with them, odd really! I looked into that dipping headlamp arrangement, on a vintage car, i.e. 1930 & before, it is still legal to have that arrangement, quite why you would unless night driving is never contemplated, but interesting nevertheless. Your car being a 1930's model (mine is 1934, with your radiator filler neck the same side as the oil filler would make yours about 1936, unless your radiator is from a later car???), as you are probably aware, cannot have this for night-time driving, has to be a matched pair. I actually think that was a good idea, being blinded by drivers of on-coming vehicles would be a thing of the past and with reduced light, cars would have to go slower, which would be a good thing. I drove in France with the yellow headlamp bulbs, terrible visibility but you had to keep your speed down to a lower level in order to see! Much safer than these badly adjusted super-bright headlights! You can buy new LED headlamp bulbs at 6v that will fit the BA15D holders, so the dipping side will work perfectly (with the solenoid disconnected) and on my Swallow, I took the single pole gubbins out of the holder and fitted a double pole, fitted perfectly, had to bend back the crimps and trim a bit of excess plastic at the base to get the correct height for the pins to suit, but a simple enough job. These work really well. Classic LEDs sell them as do Classic Dynamo Repair - same bulb, £56.00 for the pair. All my bulbs are LED and give very good light output and don't take much from the battery! Looking really great and a real motivator! Thanks for sharing.

[@johnclay4811]

Hi to wire up the headlights, there is a screw adjustment on the solenoid to move the contact to originally turn the o/s out. Make sure that works, run a new wire from the second contact on the bulb to the dip terminal on the solenoid. That should energise the dipping element of the bulb when used, Be aware if you are going to get an MOT most testers do not like the fact you are mixing mechanical/ electrical dunno why. You will find that the o/s side will not move as much as the n/s. How are your brakes! Dad had one and the original system did not really work . Something to look forward to! Cheers John

[@classicandvintagecars]

Fantastic advice, thank you 🙏 LED’s is probably the way forward for us.

[@johnclay4811]

​@@classicandvintagecars Hi Yes! LED's are the way to go! As kids in the 60's all Mum and Dad had was a '34 Ruby and a '36 Riley Falcon as normal transport,the Falcon i still have. You can see why one cost 3 times more than the other! Dad got a sealed beam conversion for the Ruby at the time as the lights were poor. The MOT was always a pain as the brakes never retained their setting. Dunno whether you are on new brake drums but if not you are better leaving the handbrake off if left for any length of time as Dad found they went out of round. I always had to find a brick/stone if needed! You have to be congratulated! Pure seat of the pants driving, well done young man! Happy Christmas Cheers John

[@SuperRetroville]

You can keep the mechanical dip arrangement on the near side and just fit a double filament bulb/holder ro the off side lamp. Keep the existing wire for the main filament on the offside and run a wire from the supply that works the dip solenoid to the dip filament on the off side and jobs a good'n. Its nice to have the near side clunk down :-) Personally I would avoid retrofitting LED bulbs for 3 reasons. 1) the optics of the reflectors are designed to work with a filament at the focal point, all the LED bulbs I have tested do not replicate this and although they are bright the beam pattern is shocking. 2) on these cars the battery charging is at fixed levels controlled by the lighting switch. Often marked Summer/half and Winter/full. What it soesnt make.clear is that when you turn the lights on it also boosts the dynamo output to compensate. Without the additional expected load of filament lights your battery will soon get overcharged when the lights are on. The people who designed these cars knew what they were doing and the system works as a whole. 3) I recently read that new legislation makes it illegal to fit LED bulbs to headlamps that were not designed to use them. Prob because of beam pattern issues but this wasnt stated. Its great to see you both involved. Pre-war cars are so much fun to drive and work on. I look forward to future updates.

[@classicandvintagecars]

Thank you for your comment and tips for the headlights. You have given us plenty of good information there.

[@SuperRetroville]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHbZZ6ugi9GspqM from about 2 mins 30.... But they're talking about modern stuff so i may be wrong..

[@classicandvintagecars]

Good video to clarify what can and cannot be fitted