A plea on the VMCC forum found me a little job this week - local BSA B33 rider Richard was looking for a new points backplate - the old one had a stripped hole at the contact set clamping screw.
I volunteered to help - I do this sometimes, it’s a good way to meet new people, it costs nothing and it’s always nice to practice one’s skills. A quick Google revealed that while you can get contact sets, caps and condensers for these ‘distributors’ - Lucas 18D2 or similar, used by BSA, Norton and Royal Enfield the backplate is not available:
The 2BA hole had no thread left and the screw was in a bad way too. I started by marking the hole position on the back, with a scriber:
Laid on the usual copper bar heat sink, I set the TIG welder to 35 A and filled the hole from both sides.
I ground it flat with the Dremel and a file, drilled it for tapping 2 BA (4 mm) and recut the thread.
I cleaned it up with a wire brush. It took a bit of Googling before I was sure I had it assembled correctly:
Having delivered it back to Richard, and seeing his lovely B33 which he has owned for 16 years I was pleased to learn it started straight away. I must have assembled it OK!
It was great to find a few beers on my doorstep the next day. That’s the kind of fee I like.
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