Hartlepool History Then & Now

A Troublesome Seven

What we know about this image :

To get from Hartlepool to his work in Fishburn, Jim Robinson bought a second-hand Austin 7 car for £65 in 1952. The engine used to seize up and Jim would strip it down and fix it overnight in time to go to work next day. The generator used to overheat and melt the solder on the commutator wiring thus losing all electrical power to the car. He kept a hand cranked generator in the glove compartment and used to hand crank this while driving to keep the car running until he could re-solder the wires.

Date (of image) : 1952

Donor : John Robinson

Creator : John Robinson

Location