Model A - on the bench!

 With the Square Four at Tom's house, the initial service on the FH complete and some of the running repairs to the W/NG finished we can swap the bikes around in the workshop and put the Model A on the bench. I've had this bike for 5 years or so and have been steadily making fasteners and collecting bits ever since so it appears very complete although I haven't done any repairs to the broken parts yet.

Let's have a look at a few current pictures.

Five years ago I wrote an article called 'Broken and Missing' which outlined what I found when I took delivery of the bike initially. What follows is most of the text from that article updated to reflect the state of play today. Some of the pictures in the text date from the original article.

Frame

To date, I haven't found any problems with the frame mainly because I haven't dismantled the bike yet. The paint is good, all the threads I have seen have been good or have been repaired in the last few years, but looking at the saddle I suspect the saddle nose mount will be quite worn.

The engine plates are all there, along with a pair of footrests from AOMCC Black Ariel Spares. The footrest bar is bent but is just a bit of 7/16" round bar. I have the two engine plate covers around the dynamo, both of which need weld repairs.

The rear stand came from Ariel Klub Slovakia and I have one of the last of the reproduction Es-way side stands.

Forks

The forks are complete and straight, but feel like they are quite worn - and these forks do not have bushes. The components, with the exception of the grease nipples are all there.

It may be that this bike has been assembled with no balls in the steering head - it certainly wiggles around as though the races are empty. It might be wise to sort this area out first to stabilise the machine.

One of the stay bolt holes in the fork end had a broken bolt in it - I drilled that out and reclaimed the thread a few years back.

Tank

The petrol tank, cap and oil pressure gauge are all there and in nice condition. The cap needs a small repair internally; the tank has a few dents but little obvious rust and the chrome plating is intact. There are three of the original mounting bolts; I will make a fourth. Some of the original mounting rubbers are there, but I have a complete set from Jeff Hunter Engineering.

The knee rubbers and their plates are all there, though the rubbers are thoroughly squashed and unusable. Again I have a replacement set.

The oil pressure gauge pipe and fuel tap are missing. I have acquired a suitable period tap with the correct adjustable corks from eBay:

It's a 1/4" BSP tap and has an adapter. I'll have to make a filter for it.

Front Wheel & Brake

The front wheel needs truing and a spoke replacing. I'm hoping to get away without replacing the original rim, but that will require much closer inspection. The few spokes I have looked at appear sound and the nipples turn - I have dosed them all with Plus-Gas. The wheel turns freely and smoothly.

The brake plate is there - the arm is there and it feels like the shoes are too. I have the brake rod and the torque arm; I've also sourced an adjuster and made the spring box.

You can see that broken stay bolt I mentioned earlier in this picture.

Rear Wheel & Brake

The rear wheel runs true and turns freely, but it is missing at least two spokes. The sprocket, which is integral to the brake drum is worn and will need replacement; the brake plate, arm and shoes are there but the wheel spindle nuts are quite poor, one is missing a spacer and the other is seized on. The chain adjusters were both missing but I have made a new set.

Since I took this shot, I have fitted the rod, made a new rear brake adjuster and realised the cam spindle is very worn. I made a new pin for the rear clevis but the front trunnion is very poor.

Engine

The engine turns over - that is about all I know! It's lost a few fins, and one of the valve caps is broken but I guess that is patina. The timing chain case looks fine. There appears to be a braze repair to the base of the barrel but only an engine strip will reveal more:

There's a lot of broken fins up there. See the big lump of braze?

Primary Transmission & Clutch; Final Drive

The chain & sprockets are there; the clutch looks complete apart from two missing springs and appears to lift when you operate the arm at the gearbox end.

I've seen much worse clutch drums than this:

There are several repairs on the primary chainguard like this, using rivets. The clutch dome is also split. I will probably weld up these riveted repairs as they are not adequately fixing the chainguard in place:

The rear chain guard is there and in good shape.

Gearbox

The gearbox appears to be complete apart from the kickstart spring and it's cover, and the kickstart lever cotter. The gearbox engages all three gears, but the hand change rod, one of it's clevises and some of the tank lever parts are missing. These are all parts that can be made on the lathe which is a good thing, as they are unlikely to be available anywhere.

I'm not sure about this kickstart shaft - it looks much longer than any I've seen...

Carburetter

The carburetter is the correct Amal model 6, with the right float bowl but that's where the good news ends. It's probably in very poor condition as I can feel the air and throttle slides rattling about.

We will have to make some difficult decisions about this. It's an old original carburettor and while you can buy a new 276, you can't buy a model 6. Buying a new 276 would be the sensible option of course...

There are no cables but I do have the remains of the fuel pipe.

Exhaust

The exhaust is there, the plating is poor but no worse than many. The fish tail appeared one day delivered to the railway I volunteer on by a very kind club member. The AA badge is missing from the silencer and the silencer bracket is bent; one or two of the clamps are missing:

Another small issue with the exhaust is that the silencer has been pushed into the bracket - which looks a mess.

Oil Tank & Lines

The oil tank is present, as are all the oil lines and unions. The tank cap is missing, but I am using one that came from Italy on the W/NG for the moment.

Mudguards, Stays, Carrier and Number Plates

The front mudguard and it's bridge were missing. I made the bridge using the W/NG one as a model and the guard has been replaced with a pattern D guard from Feked trimmed to the right length and drilled for stays. The original number plate and it's mounts are there, the front stay is also there as is the front stand - the front stand is pretty rusty and will need surgery.

At the rear, both parts of the guard are there but there will be some welding to repair fatigue cracks. The carrier is there and in good shape, but all the fasteners are missing; the double mudguard stay for the detachable section was missing, but was delivered from Scotland after turning up in the previous owner's stash.

Something that looks a little odd, and it seems to be quite common on these late 20's Ariels is that the detachable part of the mudguard doesn't line up properly with the fixed part - leading to the bike looking as though it's mudguard is too big. This may be something to do with where the stays fit, or whether the stay is inside or outside of the mudguard blade.

Headlamp & Tail lamp

The Lucas H52 headlamp and MT110 tail lamp are both in place; the headlamp is quite battered. The plan is to dismantle both lamps and clean them; I have a sandbag and will knock the headlamp shell back into shape, hopefully the rim as well. The lamp mountings are bent - it looks like the front end took a knock perhaps.

The rim is in particularly poor shape:

The H52 is very interesting - it has no internal wiring, just contacts:

I'm delighted these are all intact.

This is a later number plate. It's clearly an original, but it doesn't have the registration number painted on it - so where did it come from? Perhaps from the previous owner's stash of parts?

Handlebar and Controls

The handlebar, twist grip and both inverted levers are there. There is just enough plating on the bar to show it was once chromed. There are no handlebar rubbers, clips or cables.

I found the Bowden-type clutch lever and the double air/ignition levers from eBay at vast expense.

Dynamo

The dynamo is the correct Lucas E3, and looks to be all complete though I believe part of it's clamp is missing. The drive end bracket has a large crack right across it.

I've realised I don't understand how the dynamo clamping arrangement works - there appears to be some sort of bridge across the engine plates, but haven't seen a picture yet. Something to research.

I'm hoping to get the end plate clean enough to use an adhesive repair.

The chain cover is also there, and will need a weld repair to one of it's feet.

Battery & Electrics

The battery tray and it's clamp are there, though the clamp will need further repair and some nuts turning up on the lathe. There is the remains of the wiring harness attached to the headlamp which looks like it was rubber sheathed; the dip switch, horn button and horn are missing.

The sales catalogue from 1930 indicates that the electric horn option was a Lucas Spartan type so I have sourced a 6 V version and built a handlebar bracket for it. It might be a bit big...

Magneto

The original Lucas KSA1 magneto has been replaced some time in the past with a BTH KC1, so this is probably a period repair or upgrade - the factory despatch record does not mention a non-standard magneto being ordered.

Saddle

The saddle is in place, with all it's springs and spacers - the nose bearing is pretty worn and the cover is missing. I'll make a new cover.

Toolboxes

The toolboxes are both entirely missing. I will make new boxes, learn to work leather and make the leather fronts, and find as many tools as I can. I've started already as you can see from this post...

Next steps 

The policy this time is a refinement of the two stage approach I usually take, that of restoring with no painting or plating followed by commissioning and then repainting and plating. This time it's going to the four Rs:

• Replace missing parts 
• Repair broken parts 
• Rework worn parts 
• Refinish everything

I can't wait to get stuck in!

W/NG - broken MT110

 Checking over the W/NG yesterday whilst babysitting the two youngest revealed a bike that started, whose lights worked with a new battery but no brake light. A bit of nosing around soon found the problem - all the wires to the Lucas MT110 rear lamp were torn out of the fitting somehow. Since it's been sitting in Thomas' garage surrounded by bicycles, tools, other motorcycles, lawn mowers and the accoutrements of three small boys it's hardly surprising that it's suffered some damage. 

The problem is that I have very little time to repair the lamp before I need to ride it back tomorrow. I bought the lamp back to the workshop to give it a dose of looking at.

The first job was to sort out a way of replicating the contacts in the lamp base. I discovered that these boot lace ferrules I had in the terminals box have a slightly belled end and you can thread a new wire through, spread the strands out and add a blob of solder.

That's the first problem fixed.

Next is to sort out the earth connection. I thought that the original earth wire was soldered to the outside of the lamp holder - turns out I was wrong about that but what I planned to do was put a washer type fitting inside the lamp base and solder a wire to that, like this:

I eventually found that actually the original wire was soldered to a brass washer which was still there, and which I could have used. Hey ho.

The next bit, and apologies for the terrible picture, was to add some heat shrink to the rear lamp and brake lamp terminals to add a bit of extra strength. This is actually a bit long and inhibits the deflection of the connectors as they go into the bulb holder. 

Reassembling the lamp left me with something that didn't work at all. I pulled it all the part again and realised that the inside of the bulb holder was corroded and I wasn't getting an earth connection. The Dremel fixed that along with a bit of sandpaper.

So that left it all working again and hopefully I can bring the bike back tomorrow. I might pull this lamp apart again and use the original brass washer, since the spring is not in very good shape and is rather weak.

W/NG - Number Plate and Rear Lamp

 For a while I've felt that I wanted to impart a more traditional English look to the back of the W/NG, which for years has worn its Italian number plate and lamp:

I chose the 5647-35 number plate which I found on eBay. It's designed for the flat 'D' mudguard with no rib, so I have cut a notch in it for the rib.

It's got a replica MT110, which would have been a standard fit for civilian machines in-period:

Model A - Missing & Broken

I'm beginning to wonder if buying old motorbikes is just an excuse to make stuff in the shed - the QR50 has had so many hours put into such a low value machine that I am beginning to wonder if it will ever end. So here I am with my first proper vintage bike - one that even the specialist Ariel suppliers hardly cater for, with the exception of course of the Ariel Klub Slovakia and this promises to be a veritable feast not only of turning, fabricating and welding but also for sewing and a new skill, leatherwork.

It's also together, patinated and has some history. I've been in touch with the VMCC Central Scotland section to see what they know about this bike, since it comes from their patch and has hardly travelled.

So, how to approach it? In case you have forgotten, here it is:

So as you can see, it is pretty much original. All the bits you can see are period and most of them belong to this bike; the front mudguard is from the next generation - it is post 1930 and is the valenced front guard fitted to girder forked models after 1931, so it is in-period and may well have been with this machine for a long time. It is not, as I have written elsewhere, an example of the similar guard fitted to the front of my SQ4 - which is of course fitted with a telescopic fork.

So once again, like the W/NG, we have a patinated period bike with all original bits (matching numbers) and this one even has it's original registration - this is a real treat and has to be treated with respect. We will be following the 'repair and make safe' approach we did with the W/NG, collecting and repairing missing parts and where we have to refinish (heat damage from welding for example) we will attempt to do so while blending the original finish. We are very lucky in that the tank is in very good shape - but it also introduces a bit of a quandary, since the chrome tanks have a superb black finish lined gold & blue, with areas of chrome exposed, and this black finish really makes the bike look the dog's dangly bits. Here's a 1930 Model G, the top of the range, with the same tank:

So here's the plan. By and large, we will leave the finish as it is. I will repaint the tank panel, but attempt to age it and the lining to show that it is there and show some of it's former glory. I will replace the front guard with a D section guard of the correct size - the post 1930 guard looks superb on the later bikes but is not in keeping with the vintage look - but if someone turns up an old picture of this bike wearing that guard it may have to stay. I will buy that soon, get it painted and leave it to age for a year or two. I have the W/NG to model where the damage should be. There is also a fair bit of silver and purple paint on the rear guard, the chain cases and the rear number plate - if that can be cleaned up, so be it but those areas may need painting.

Other parts will be repaired, or replaced if they are completely missing. I plan to make parts that would have been plated from stainless, but fasteners will be blacked and painted carbon steel. Here's the detail:

Frame

To date, I haven't found any problems with the frame mainly because I haven't dismantled the bike yet. The paint is good, all the threads I have seen have been good, but looking at the saddle I suspect the saddle nose mount will be quite worn.

The engine plates are all there, along with the footrest bar and one footrest. I have a spare one which needs repair but might do, but these are fairly easily available from Draganfly anyway. The footrest bar is bent but is just a bit of 7/16" round bar. I have the two engine plate covers around the dynamo, both of which need weld repairs.

The rear stand is completely missing - this will have to come from Ariel Klub Slovakia unless I can figure out how to make the legs or can miraculously find one...

Forks

The forks are complete and straight, but feel like they are quite worn - and these forks do not have bushes. The components, with the exception of the grease nipples are all there.

Tank

The petrol tank, cap and oil pressure gauge are all there and in nice condition. The cap needs a small repair internally; the tank has a few dents but little obvious rust and the chrome plating is intact. There are three of the original mounting bolts; I will make a fourth. Some of the mounting rubbers are there.

The knee rubbers and their plates are all there, though the rubbers are thoroughly squashed and are probably unusable.

The oil pressure gauge pipe and fuel tap are missing. I have acquired a suitable period tap with the correct adjustable corks from eBay:

It's a 1/4" BSP tap and will need an adapter - beggars can't be choosers.

Front Wheel & Brake

The front wheel needs truing and a spoke replacing. I'm hoping to get away without replacing the original rim, but that will require much closer inspection. The few spokes I have looked at appear sound and the nipples turn - I have dosed them all with Plus-Gas. The wheel turns freely and smoothly.

The brake plate is there - the arm is there and it feels like the shoes are too. I have the brake rod and the torque arm but no adjuster or spring box.

Rear Wheel & Brake

The rear wheel runs true and turns freely, but it is missing at least two spokes. The sprocket, which is integral to the brake drum is worn and will need replacement; the brake plate, arm and shoes are there but the wheel spindle nuts are quite poor, one is missing a spacer and the other is seized on. The chain adjusters are both missing - I will probably source these from Acme Stainless, since the W/NG parts book, which includes both pre and post 1930 part numbering suggests they are identical to W/NG ones which are available.

Engine

The engine turns over - that is about all I know! It's lost a few fins, and one of the valve caps is broken but I guess that is patina. The timing chain case looks fine. There appears to be a weld repair to the base of the barrel but only an engine strip will reveal more:

Primary Transmission & Clutch; Final Drive

The chain & sprockets are there; the clutch looks complete apart from two missing springs and appears to lift when you operate the arm at the gearbox end.

I've seen much worse clutch drums than this:

There are several repairs on the primary chainguard like this, using rivets. The clutch dome is also split. I will probably weld up these riveted repairs as they are not adequately fixing the chainguard in place:

The rear chain guard is there and in good shape.

Gearbox

The gearbox appears to be complete apart from the kickstart spring and it's cover, and the kickstart lever cotter. The gearbox engages all three gears, but the hand change rod, one of it's clevises and some of the tank lever parts are missing. These are all parts that can be made on the lathe which is a good thing, as they are unlikely to be available anywhere.

I'm not sure about this kickstart shaft - it looks much longer than any I've seen...

Carburetter

The carburetter is the correct Amal model 6, with the right float bowl - what sort of condition it is in is anyone's guess. I can feel the air and throttle slides.

There are no cables but I do have the remains of the fuel pipe.

Exhaust

The exhaust is there, the plating is poor but no worse than many. The fish tail is missing - I might make one from cold rolled carbon steel sheet or stainless, or I could buy one from the Ariel Klub Slovakia. The AA badge is missing from the silencer and the silencer bracket is bent; one or two of the clamps are missing:

Oil Tank & Lines

The oil tank is present, as are all the oil lines and unions. The tank cap is missing.

Mudguards, Stays, Carrier and Number Plates

As I've discussed, the front mudguard and it's bridge are missing. I'll make the bridge using the W/NG one as a model but the guard will have to be replaced. The original number plate and it's mounts is there, the front stay is also there as is the front stand - the front stand is pretty rusty and will need surgery.

At the rear, both parts of the guard are there but there will be some welding to repair fatigue cracks. The carrier is there and in good shape, but all the fasteners are missing; the double mudguard stay for the detachable section is also missing, but I am told it is on the way from Scotland

Headlamp & Tail lamp

The Lucas H52 headlamp and MT110 tail lamp are both in place; the headlamp is quite battered. The plan is to dismantle both lamps and clean them; I will make a sandbag and knock the headlamp shell back into shape, hopefully the rim as well.

The rim is in particularly poor shape:

The H52 is very interesting - it has no internal wiring, just contacts:

I'm delighted these are all intact.

Handlebar and Controls

The handlebar, twist grip and both inverted levers are there. There is just enough plating on the bar to show it was once chromed. There are no handlebar rubbers, clips or cables.

Both the Bowden-type clutch lever and the double air/ignition levers are missing.

Dynamo

The dynamo is the correct Lucas E3, and looks to be all complete though I believe part of it's clamp is missing. The drive end bracket has a large crack right across it.

I'm hoping to get this clean enough to use an adhesive repair.

The chain cover is also there, and will need a weld repair to one of it's feet.

Battery & Electrics

The battery tray and it's clamp are there, though the clamp will need a weld repair. There is the remains of the wiring harness attached to the headlamp which looks like it was rubber sheathed; the dip switch, horn button and horn are missing.

Magneto

The original Lucas KSA1 magneto has been replaced some time in the past with a BTH KC1, so this is probably a period repair or upgrade - the factory despatch record does not mention a non-standard magneto being ordered.

Saddle

The saddle is in place, with all it's springs and spacers - the nose bearing is pretty worn and the cover is missing. I'll make a new cover.

Toolboxes

The toolboxes are both entirely missing. I will make new boxes, learn to make leather fronts and make those, and find as many tools as I can...