David Cochrane and Phil Baildon (A7CA Historian) maintain the Pram-Hood Register, which was started by Donald Doughty in 1971. It is a list of the earliest Austin Sevens (cars with 6-inch diameter brakes built between 1922 and 1926 qualify) and contains as much historical information about the cars as we can find. Over 380 cars are currently listed, with several cars being added each year. A shortened version can be seen by clicking here. The register is used to help with dating a car and discovering when changes were made by the factory (and so help with getting a restoration correct). It keeps a continuing record of a car's history and can tell a previous owner if his car still exists. It also keeps a note of reproduction cars and cars built up from spare parts.

Don Doughty compiled a series of 21 newsletters from 1971 to 1980. These 'Early Seven Rumblings' contained historical notes, technical information, new cars found and minutiae of the details of the early Sevens, etc. Spare copies of some of these interesting newsletters are free to anyone who sends a self-addressed stamped A4 envelope to the address below.

If you have or know of any early cars, we would be grateful if you could contact us about them. The details we are seeking are: Registration number, Car number (on a plate on the n/s door pillar), Chassis, Engine and Body numbers, date of first registration, date stamped on the middle of the rear axle banjo, colour and brief history. You may find some numbers stamped on the nearside back of the rear chassis cross member (C, E, B). Please could you also e-mail photos if you have any. Here are some notes on where all these numbers are, and pictures showing where they are located.

Components of the early cars were given XL part numbers – these all changed to 1A part numbers after 1926. A list of all the ones known so far is here. If you can add to this list, please let us know!