Austin Seven Club's Association
and
Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs

CA7C actively supports the A7CA and FBHVC in the promotion of the Austin Seven and our right to continue to enjoy the freedom to drive our cars on the highways and to safeguard that right for future generations.

 

A7CA BadgeThe Austin Seven Club's Association (A7CA)
The Association exists to promote the pre-war Austin Seven car through its umbrella of Austin Seven Clubs. The Association was formed in 1969, with the view of bringing together the various Austin Seven clubs that then existed. Now just about every Austin Seven club worldwide is a member or associate member.

The Association produces a high quality quarterly magazine, in the style of the Austin Seven handbooks, which are available through the member clubs of the Association.

The Association is run by a committee which is made up of members from the various clubs.

The Association's website, www.a7ca.org  contains a lot of useful information on the history of the Austin Seven and related items.

The Register of Surviving Austin Sevens is of interest to anyone who can recall the registration number of an Austin Seven in the family and would like to see if it might still exist.

Timetable for the introduction of various models.

Pictures of cars.

Information on paint and upholstery.

Publications, Handbooks and Parts Lists.

The Surviving Austin Seven Register
There are probably still a number of Austin Sevens in the world that are not listed in the current Chassis Register. This could be because either the owner is not a member of an A7CA recognised Austin Seven club and therefore does not know about the register,or updated details have not been received from their Austin Seven club in the last calendar year. 

It is very easy to check if your old car survives by going to the online A7CA Surviving Chassis Register search facility at http://a7ca.org/chassis-register/ and entering the registration mark. 

Any owners of Austin Sevens and Big Sevens can help by sending in the full details of their car(s) using the Notification Form.

Identifying your Seven - The Austin Motor Company used car, engine and chassis numbers to identify the vehicles.   To assist you in the identification of the various serial numbers to be found on Austin Sevens please have a look at 'Quote This Number' (PDF file).  Or go to http://a7ca.org/chassis-register/  then find link in the 1st paragraph.

 

The Online Austin Seven Archive  -  https://archive.a7ca.org/collections/handbooks-and-parts-lists/
The Archive consists of a number of collections which have been built on over a number of years covering: Trophies; Handbooks and Parts Lists; Index Cards; Paints and Colours; Technical Drawings; Photographs and People; Show Brochures.  It is an ongoing project by a group of volunteers which is continually being added to.

 

 

FBHVC LogoThe Federation of Historic Vehicle Clubs
The Federation is a grouping of over 500 Clubs and Museums together with some 1500 Trade and Individual Supporters.

The aim of the Federation is to uphold the freedom to use old vehicles on the roads without any undue restriction and to support its member organisations in whatever way it can.

A bi-monthly Newsletter keeps club, trade and individual members up to date with the latest consultations and proposals for new legislation etc.

The Federation monitors proposals for new regulations and directives from the EU, and subsequent enacting legislation from the UK Government, to ensure that we can continue to drive our vehicles without unreasonable restriction; without modification; and without the need to conform to the performance, roadworthiness and environmental standards which are applied to the generality of modern vehicles and not adversely affect the continued driving and enjoyment of older vehicles, ie Bio-fuels which are not suited to our engines; testing of fuel additives to stabilize ethanol-based fuels; roadworthyness testing.  For the latest information see Fuels | Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (fbhvc.co.uk)

The Federation has an on-going research programme which supports the primary objective of upholding the right to use historic vehicles on the road without either restriction or need for modification, thus keeping yesterday’s vehicles on tomorrow’s roads.

The reports include a very detailed picture of national interest in historic vehicles, as well as an exploration of historic vehicle characteristics and owner spending patterns together with an update on employment trends and employer perspectives towards the sector.  The information is useful when discussing the historic vehicle movement's concerns with Government's proposals for changes to motoring legislation.

In October 2006 the Federation published two research reports entitled:
'The Historic Vehicle Movement in the United Kingdom: Maintaining our Transport Heritage'

'The Historic Vehicle Movement in Europe: Maintaining our Mobile Transport Heritage'

The UK report has a 2009 Supplement with additional data on 'Ownership and Use'; 'Club Membership'; and the makes of vehicles owned.

The 2011 Research Report  'A £4 billion hobby - The economic & social benefits for the United Kingdom arising from interest in the preservation and use of vehicles that are over 30 years old.' updated the information from the previous surveys.

The 2016 National Historic Vehicle Survey http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/research provided an update to the 2011 report.  It has shown that more than 8 million people in Britain have at least some interest in historic vehicles – be it owning, reading about them, visiting events, or maybe simply enjoying them when they drive past on the road.  There are more than 1 million vehicles registered before 1985 in Britain. The value of all of historic vehicles in Britain today is estimated at £17.8 billion. The economic value of the historic vehicle sector in annual spending terms is around £5.5 billion.

International trade (i.e. exported products and services) is growing as a proportion of turnover for British companies providing services to the sector – it is now estimated at 25%, up from 20% in 2011). This equates to an estimated £662 million per annum spent in Britain by foreign historic vehicle enthusiasts. Historic vehicle related employment has risen to 34,900 from 28,000 in 2011 – a 25% increase reflecting the growing spending, increased vehicle numbers and the positive attitude of businesses towards future turnover growth related to their historic vehicle activity

The 2019 National Cost of Ownership Survey https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/research provides an update to our 2011 report and to create a new and fresh valuable resource to the industry.  The number of historic vehicles on DVLA database has increased to 1,241,863.  Some 9.8m people in the UK are interested in historic vehicles.  The average distance covered by an historic vehicle is 2,214 miles per annum.   Around 21m people see historic vehicles as an important element of the UKs heritage and 11.3m people think historic vehicles should be exempt from restrictions of low and ultra-low emissions imposed on other vehicles.  Apparently 5.1m people are interested in owning an historic vehicle whilst 60% of owners say owning an historic vehicle is one of the most important things in their life.  An owner spends an average of £1,489 per historic vehicle per annum.

FBHVC has also published a ''Guide for Users of Historic Vehicles' offering advice to owners on the maintenance, understanding of their vehicle and the extra driving standards which drivers should aspire to when using their vehicles on the highway.

The recent Newsletters can be downloaded from the FBHVC website at www.fbhvc.co.uk

The Federation promotes 'Drive it Day' each year on the Sunday nearest to 23 April to commemorate the Thousand Mile Trial 1900 and we organise a club run to support the event, inviting our members to drive any pre-war Austin which they own.

 

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