Walter is in Surgery Part 2

Further exploritary spannering reveiled the extend of Walters woes....
Poor Walter ! The first item to catch my eye was the weld across the big end area of the conrod....Phew ! That was a major repair !!!!!!!

 Quickly followed by the extensive chisel marks on one of the big end bearing nuts

 and yet more welding on the other. 

The gudgeon pin retaining bolt is A.W.O.L .too

Suddenly a quick rebuild seems a distant memory.........
Walter old chap, we may be some time.....please be patient...

Don't forget to keep checking in on the 1925sidevalver blog for now we have vital clues that may help us piece together the history of this little fellow.......Interesting ? I'll say it is....!
Albert over and out....

Walter is in surgery

It's been a while since I lasted posted news on Little Walt I know. I have to confess there has been no progress for almost 6 months...Little Walt has been waiting patiently......
Scandalous ! How much longer before there is any action I hear you cry !
Motivated by the arrival of my chum Basil K Splutterpipe bearing gifts..(large sticky buns and scrummy do-nuts for munching in the coffee break ) I saw no reason not to spend a few hours in the sunshine doing a bit of vintage motorcycle fettling and bun munching.
First job, undo 4 bolts and lift out the 175cc Sturmey Archer power unit....

and transfer to the operating table in 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' for a detailed exploration of his inner cavities.
What would we find inside this?   Oh !  The suspense !!!!
First the timing casings were removed. Inside lay the tiny cam followers.......Well at least there are 2 even if they are rusty and badly worn....

Off with the barrel and hurray ! There is a piston complete with rings !!!    Phew......

But looking down the gapping orifice onto the crankshaft I can warn you now it was not a pretty sight......
(The rust is a minor challenge......)
Stay tuned all you 1925sidevalvers, have no fear, for as soon as there is more news on Little Walt I shall be back on my keyboard making sure you are the first to know....

Albert ....over and out.

A bit more down in the workshop.

Albert here, logged on and ready to upload todays workshop news..........Phew, dont get toooooo excited 1925sidevalvers....

Here's what happened. Next operation on the lever project was the fixing of the Yorkshire made bosses to the mounting clamps of the Deli levers....(Two curry regions united into one.....)

First - I tinned the boss, preperation was a thorough rubbing with wire wool soaked in Bakers type Soldering Fluid, then up to temperature before a good application of Tinmans solder.

Second - same technique on the mounting clamp.


Third - drop boss into clamp, re-heat, adjust position and add an extra run of solder for good luck.

That's it for now. More sidevalver action coming soon....
Alb.

More down in the workshop

Welcome back 1925sidevalvers. Here be part 2 of the lever saga.

Next job was to centre bore the mounting boss with a pilot hole. Then follow through with a larger drill. Suitably sized to make re-fitting the lever blade possible and also the cable. The larger drilling I stopped withing 6mm of the end of the boss. Enough body left to support the cable outer. However I haven't yet decided whether to tap the hole and fit a cable adjuster......

Final part of tonights operation was to bore a 6mm hole in the side of the boss to allow for the barrel of the cable to enter. A slot will then need to be cut from this hole to the end of the boss for the actual cable to slide through. (This will take place after the decision regarding tapping for an adjuster is made.)

So, that's where we are at the moment. Now you all know as much as me !

Down in the workshop

Greetings 1925sidevalve fans. Our little Walt has been getting some attention down in the workshop. A mixture of Vintafaking and Engineering Excellence have been slowly melding together over the last couple of days, read on to find out the hows, whats and whys......
Somethings will never do ! Locking twistgrips ! Whatever next ! It's enough to have a chap thrown out of the vintage brotherhood........

Here's a couple of pics of Walt before work commenced..........

Now I just happen to have...............(because I imported a huge quantity of them from a special Walla I know in India) a pair of inverted levers. "Velly vintagey and velly reasonableey pricey"

Only problem....they are made to fit 1" bars, and Walter comes in at a reduced size of 7/8"
Hum, thinking cap on then old bean............and while you are thinking do something about the booming shine ! Bling-Bling-Bling..
Let the vintafake commence....didn't take too long with a bit of fine emery paper....The chrome was wafer thin and soon the soft shades of the base metal (brass) were shining through.


Before and after. Wonderful, even if I do say so myself.

Now first job on the engineering side was to start making a boss that would go inside the handlebar and also double as a mount for the lever. Had a lucky break in the fact that the external size of Walters handlebars were the same size as the original mounting flange. I planned on making a boss that went through the centre of the lever mount and fixed into the handlebars as original with a hidden screw.



Above, one boss and one cut lever mounting.

Further updates to follow shortly.....Keep visiting 1925sidevalver and be first with the news...
Alb over and out.

Greetings.
I'm not a fan of the seat that is currently fitted to Little Walt. I want a more 'vintage' looking affair. Some sort of leather pan type would be ideal. Walters saddle springs don't tick any boxes with me either.........they are set at the wrong angle and look very BSA Bantam.
Time to raid the piggy bank. Here's my purchase. Two springs. How delightful on further examination they turn out to be a matching pair ! Left and right handed coils ! Wonder who made them ? and for what ?

Now, what does my Raleigh parts book suggest ? Not a lot, I can see from the main diagram that they are technically wrong but hey, it's my bike. But what's this mention of Gough and Nonpariel under the chapter title ?
Turns out Gough & Co where a manufacturer of quality saddles. Found a couple of pics of their bicycle jobs on Google but no motorcycle seats. Nonpariel ? You tell me........

Saddle springs in 1925 ? £0. 0. 9d each.
Saddle springs in 2011 ? (secondhand) £10.

My pocket money.

Greetings 1925sidevalvers. Albert here. There has been a small movement on the Walter. I've spent all this weeks pocket money on a couple of lovely pieces. First flash of the cash brought through my letterbox a reprint of the original parts manual. Full of exploded diagrams showing every part one could purchase way back in 1925. Plus the cost ! Phew.
Today an ebay buy - A throttle lever......Nickel plated........Delightful and just wonderful to hold....
(Sad old git ain't I ?) I'll have to source or make the rest but hey....so what.

Reference book - No34 Cost new - 1 shilling!