I think you are grasping at straws Steven if you think you will find an AC Petite mechanical expert to solve all you issues. They are very obscure and an "expert" will be even more so. Alan Budd doesn't do all his work himself on his car but uses Villiers services. You may want to speak to them. I'm not saying that Alan will not be able to help you though. With these very unusual cars its often a matter of learning for yourself as you go. You should subscribe to RCN anyway. I'm shock to hear that you are not already doing so.
Hey Bob,
Nothing obscure about whether a mechanic has spent significant time trouble shooting these cars, and verifying that he is still breathing. Hard to find- yes, but considering the number of Petites originally built and the fact that they probably actually travelled the roads in your country for at least several years, it does seem likely that there would be a few qualified mechanics still out there. You know how helpful this can be as you have helped me out with a couple of jams that I've got myself in for lack of information on my Nobels. Thanks again for helping me sort out the hubs and springs correctly.
Big Al and Alan Budd have both been extremely helpful getting me information that they had available to them. I did just now finally leave an in depth telephone message for Alan Budd with the exact info requests that I need answered, after emailing him these same requests to both email addresses a number of days earlier.
The Villiers engine and car's electrical system are so simple that I have been able to successfully muddle through problems with these systems on my own. It is the Burman gearbox and clutch actuation mechanism as well as the column controlled shifting mechanism (on a rear engine car!) that has been giving me headaches. They suffer from poor design/ materials as well as both idiosyncratic and enigmatic as well as at least partially unknown (to myself) set up procedures that undoubtedly contribute to the car's reputation for terrible shifting. I've done plenty of learning as I go, its time to cut to the chase and hear the voice of experience over the telephone lines.
My intention is to get the car shifting as good as it ever was designed to, BEFORE making mods to allow it to probably end up being the best shifting Petite there ever was. This way I can keep it as original as possible whilst creating a good driver.
When I first attempted initiation of my subscription, I was simultaneously trying to find out which back issues I should bundle in, so as to complete a most useful compilation of articles related to the technical aspects of the microcars that I own. At that time a contributor/ member advised me that the articles relating to the specific makes that I was interested in were not to be expected to be primarily technical in nature. I am a grease under my fingernails, grass roots microcar enthusiast that lives to get all my microcars on the road. So I repeat my requests; 1) is there anyone out there that can help me get the data that I am in need of
2) Is there an index of past issues that would accurately identify what technical issues for which cars were gone into with each issue? I am particularly interested in AC Petite, Nobel, Peel, and Frisky articles.
Thank you,
Steve