Austin Seven Meteor Replica Project - Bruce White

Photograph by Bruce White

Well this is how it all started!

I saw my first Australian designed Austin Seven Meteor and I liked it.

(a rear view is also available)

Photograph by Bruce White

Then I saw this Meteor replica at Austin's Over Australia, in Adelaide, several years ago and decided there and then we needed one!

This sports seven is from Victoria, Australia. The Club in Victoria had in fact made a mould many years ago. The car used to produce the mould was the yellow Meteor shown in the first photograph above. The mould was leant to the South Australian Austin Seven Club and several fibreglass replicas appeared. Mine was one of them. The project has put many of my spare seven bits in the shed to good use and the cost of making the body components from fibreglass makes the project reasonably inexpensive.

The stages to date have been......

Drawing up plans from an original Meteor, in this case the yellow Meteor.

Making the body shell, guards, and nose piece. "Marking up" the fibreglass body to take the internal timber frame

Constructing a replica timber frame (similar to the original)

Making the clamps and "glassing" the timber frame into the fibreglass body shell

Temporarily fitting the body shell to the unrestored chassis

Modifying and restoring the long wheelbase chassis to suit the project

Final body shell fit to chassis

The next stages will be......

Modify steering column to suit

Rebuild the Reliant motor (ex Greg Stevens)

  Adapt an Austin Seven four speed gear box to fit the Reliant motor/clutch assembly (this should be fun....)

Finish "nose" piece and radiator components to suit

Complete body work

Estimated completion date December 2005 (with luck!)

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