| 30th December 2001 |
|
I have now leak proofed as much as an old
Triumph will and the bike is running as sweet as a nut, the engine is so
quiet and ticks over without missing a beat, I discovered that a new
speedo would cost £170 so set about repairing the old one, after a nice
can of WD40 and a couple of hours soaking the speedo freed of and now
works, of course now I was ready to fit it DOH no speedo drive on rear
wheel, I bought one that may work from
BritBits and
will try to fit today. Once this is done it will be time to try and re register, I have recieved dating certificate from VMCC who tell me that it is 1948 not 1947 hmm oh well, unfortunately we cannot find original documents so I will have to lose the original number which is very sad. |
| 23rd December 2001 |
| The bike is running :-) YES HOORAY I did it, thanks for all the help that everyone gave me, the bike needs a bit of leak proofing etc but the major work is done... |
| 23rd December 2001 |
|
Ok here goes, I got a spark at the plugs yesterday :-) and all lights
etc are working, finished all the oil pipes of etc and the next stage is
to fill oil and try and start.... So long as the timing is right and the
engine rebuild good we should have an engine starting soon. This is
great as I aimed to get the bike done by my Dads anniversary which would
be nice. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR |
| 21st December 2001 |
| Well its nearly finished about another half a day should see it running :-) checkout the latest pictures |
| 5th november 2001 |
| it has been a long time since i updated but checkout the after gallery the bike is now looking like a bike and things are going very well, still cannot find a battery carrier but possibly be able to make one. the tank was returned to me which spurred me on to do more work ;-) |
| 16th august 2001 |
|
it has been a long time since posting progress on this
project so i thought i would update the news and wait for the crap
weather to allow me some picture taking, well the weather is still bad
and so i thought i would update the news for now.
a lot has happened since posting last i now have all parts back from enameling ;-) and the frame is up and together as far as possible with the wheels and forks in place. i have fitted the seats, wheels, brakes, mudguards, oil tank headlamp shell, handlebars and little bits and bobs. it stands up now in the garage looking like a real bike ;-) i have been slow on the bike as i have just started a new company which is taking most of my brain power during the week and most weekends too, but i would like to ask if anyone out there knows where i can get a battery carrier as this is turning out to be a little difficult to obtain. if you do have an idea please email me i will try and put up some more piccies as soon as i can get some good weather, oh by the way the tank is still not back yet ;-( but is nearly done at last, i know i am not ready for it yet but it would be nice to have it as the final piece of the bike. i really hope my dad is watching all this happening as he would i am sure be happy with the way his 35 yr old bits in a box is shaping up ;-) |
| 13th may 2001 |
|
as promised i have now uploaded the pictures of the
restored wheels and engine, the wheels were professionally done and
outsourced but the engine is all my handy work ;-) as i used to be a
fully qualified mechanic it was an easy job once all the bits were
obtained. the mag and dynamo are also pictured attached to the engine
and these were professionally done also. i am told the paintwork will
all be finished by friday 18th may so the build can at last be started.
i have managed to find a petrol tank gauges panel and got this from the usa secondhand for £60.00 which i thought was a bargain, it was a terrible state when i got it but now after much hard and painstaking work it is ready to be recovered. the tank is about three weeks away maybe more from being completed as it had two dents from the handle bars in the front and this has slowed the process of chroming right down as it has to be lead filled then polished and then sent to the chromers. one thing i have learnt is that not everything has gone to plan and been made easy but its still great fun and is giving me great amounts of pleasure. i have not been able to do a few things i wanted to like chroming the valve push rod tubes and having the cylinders painted but these can be done later when i have more money. |
| 12th may 2001 |
|
on another note: there is a new south coast bike event being launched on may 17th, the whole one side of bournemouth coast road by the pier is to be shut of to bikes only, there will be some cool events going on and loadsa bikes ;-) have a look at the site for all the info it is expected that this will be huge and also will carry on a long time. www.bikersatthebeach.co.uk see you there i will be on my blade (blue and gold) with a www.rudecar.co.uk sticker on it on the back seat panels. or call my mobile number if you are there 07866 581353 i am told there will be a lot of classic bikes etc there too so get down there ;-) |
| 12th may 2001 |
| at last i have the wheels all back and rebuilt also i have aquired the 2x inlet valves hooray, i am going to take some pictures of the wheels and engine along with the mag and dynamo when thy are all done. the frame and panels etc will be enammelled by the end of next week so its soon time to start the build, i am really looking forward to it. |
| 8th april 2001 |
|
all bushes fitted to camshafts in crankcase, bottom end
of engine now rebuilt up to the cylinder head, i am still waiting for
two inlet valves so i can finish the engine completely.
so far so good, i am sending the rest of the paintwork of to be done on the 10th april, then when that is back along with wheels and tank in about three weeks its time to start putting it all together ;-) i am updating the restoration pictures today to include the engine so far and the electrics that were done |
| 1st april 2001 |
|
frame stripped, forks stripped, engine stripped and
cleaned. in the engine compartment i only need to replace the camshaft
bushes phew. i am fitting new pistons, valves etc.
picked up all my bits on saturday i got them from brit bits in bournemouth, they were very helpful and patient thanks guys ;-). check out their shop and website. so next move is to get frame off and other related body parts, the big job i have is getting the camshaft bushes removed, so i think a few phone calls are needed to find someone with the tap to remove them. |
| 29th february 2001 project costs to date £1708.00 |
|
got all my bits back as well as having back the fully
restored magneto and dynamo at a cost of £240 but well worth it,
so now it starts. i have got my list of parts required which is a lot
;-( £700 worth without all the odds and sods i will be
needing as i go along ordering on saturday. i have sent the tank and
wheels to be rebuilt repaired chromed and sprayed, should be back in 3
weeks, and make me £678 lighter.
just finished scanning in all 1946 illustrations from the parts book so i can gt them laminated for use in the workshop, also my uncle terry my dads best mate since they were 10 i think built me a pucker workbench one rainy afternoon. i have to start tomorrow on stripping down the forks and getting the frame ready to be blasted, all other parts are blasted and ready cost was £90.00. major problem was getting amaranth red paint, i found a brand new unopened small can of it amongst my dads stuff in his garage phew, so my paint guy has taken that to get a match, he is mixing enough so i have some spare when the bike is done so if anyone needs a sample contact me.... once the forks are done it is time to start the engine rebuild, at last i feel it is starting to come together.. |
| 16th january 2001 |
| unfortunately the guys that were restoring the bike are having to shutdown due to health reasons, so i am going to do the restoration myself wish me luck ;-) |
| 16th january 2001 |
|
does anybody need hosting? if you do and its for classic
bike stuff then let me know i have my own server and all hosting for
classic bikes will be free under the address www.rollingthunder.org.uk/yoursite
no adverts no catches etc.
email@rollingthunder.org.uk
just email me tom@rollingthunder.org.uk
|
