Nut and bolt sizes for socket sets

Servicing, Repairs & Restoration for your Austins.
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iamrafkid
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:48 pm

Nut and bolt sizes for socket sets

Post by iamrafkid »

Fellow members,

In spite of owning a 1929 Burnham 12/4 and a 16/6 for the ast two years, I still don't know what type of sockets I should be buying for routine mantenance use with the vehicles. I have a mixed load of tools from the last forty years but I need to get some new/old sockets to do the next big job - refelt seals on the half shafts. So my question to you all is: Are my vehicles AF, Whitworth, or some other abbreviation of socket and spanner size?

It would be great if you could recommend some suppliers of said tools as well.

Regards,

Neil
Martin27
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu May 26, 2016 9:38 pm

Re: Nut and bolt sizes for socket sets

Post by Martin27 »

Hello Neil
When I acquired my car (1927 20/4) I was somewhat disappointed to find a previous owner had replaced a number of fasteners with UNF, UNC and horror of horrors Metric! I am still, 12 years later discovering yet more metric bolts and replacing them with the correct BSF.

Throughout the 20's, Austin used British Imperial threads, i.e. mostly BSF, BA for the small sizes, Whitworth into tapped holes in soft metal such as aluminium castings and the occasional odd ball as in Admiralty threads. These all used Whitworth spanner sizes with the exception of BA which is a separate series of course. It was not until the onset of WW2 and the import of USA machinery that Unified threads (UNF, UNC etc.) with AF spanner sizes were adopted. Some imported machinery, such as the Hotchkiss designed engines used by Morris had metric threads but not Austin.

I insist on buying British made goods wherever possible but unfortunately most of the well-known British tool brands have been swallowed up by foreign firms and buying British is becoming ever more difficult. It appears that the only truly British spanner manufacturer left now (as far as I know) is King Dick of Birmingham. They are not the cheapest on the market but good tools are never cheap. The King Dick website has links to a number of retail suppliers but I have had good service from Prime Tools of Radstock, Bath.

https://primetools.co.uk/shop/?filter_b ... e_brand=or

Best Regards
Martin
Barnsley
iamrafkid
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:48 pm

Re: Nut and bolt sizes for socket sets

Post by iamrafkid »

Martin,

VMT. Exactly what I was hoping for as a reply. Excellent. Like you, I keep finding a mishmash of nut and bolt sizes on the vehicles. Which all gets a bit confusing when you have been away from spannering for thirty-two years, as I have. What fun though. The 12/4 had me taking the head off and regrinding the valves recently, what joy when it fired on the first touch of the button.

Regards,

Neil

Martin27 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 11:11 pm Hello Neil
When I acquired my car (1927 20/4) I was somewhat disappointed to find a previous owner had replaced a number of fasteners with UNF, UNC and horror of horrors Metric! I am still, 12 years later discovering yet more metric bolts and replacing them with the correct BSF.

Throughout the 20's, Austin used British Imperial threads, i.e. mostly BSF, BA for the small sizes, Whitworth into tapped holes in soft metal such as aluminium castings and the occasional odd ball as in Admiralty threads. These all used Whitworth spanner sizes with the exception of BA which is a separate series of course. It was not until the onset of WW2 and the import of USA machinery that Unified threads (UNF, UNC etc.) with AF spanner sizes were adopted. Some imported machinery, such as the Hotchkiss designed engines used by Morris had metric threads but not Austin.

I insist on buying British made goods wherever possible but unfortunately most of the well-known British tool brands have been swallowed up by foreign firms and buying British is becoming ever more difficult. It appears that the only truly British spanner manufacturer left now (as far as I know) is King Dick of Birmingham. They are not the cheapest on the market but good tools are never cheap. The King Dick website has links to a number of retail suppliers but I have had good service from Prime Tools of Radstock, Bath.

https://primetools.co.uk/shop/?filter_b ... e_brand=or
Martin,

VMT. Exactly what I was hoping for as a reply. Excellent. Like you, I keep finding a mishmash of nut and bolt sizes on the vehicles. Which all gets a bit confusing when you have been away from spannering for thirty-two years, as I have. What fun though. The 12/4 had me taking the head off and regrinding the valves recently, what joy when it fired on the first touch of the button.

Regards,

Neil
Best Regards
Martin
Barnsley
Martin27
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu May 26, 2016 9:38 pm

Re: Nut and bolt sizes for socket sets

Post by Martin27 »

Hello again Neil
Just to confuse matters further, Zenith carburettors are French so you can expect these to be metric and certain pipe fittings i.e. fuel lines and vacuum to Autovac made by Enots are BSP threads but use AF (Across Flats) hexagons.
Regards
Martin
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