Well it appears that I turned traitor before I even got started.
I thought I was well under way to having a deal in place for an A7, but the guy never responded after our phone call, I tried to contact him but got a blank, and now the advert has gone, so I assume he sold it elsewhere and didn't have the courtesy to let me know.
So I went out looking for something else....and bought a nice Rudge Special 500cc.
As soon as I saw the Rudge I knew I had to have it, so that's set my A7 ownership back a while, maybe later in the year.
I'll check back in once I'm back on the scent of another A7 plunger.