NZ Tru-test project build.

K

kiwiandy

New Member
#1
#1
Hello.
I brought this bike about mid way through last year off a guy at work.
The original plan was to build it up original but the more I looked at it the more I found wrong. At some point the rear wheel has been changed to a drum brake and in the process they have gas axed the drop out off to make it fit. I was going to make a new drop out and weld it in place but checking everything over realised the whole frame was twisted and given most of it had been rewelded have decided to make a completely new frame.
My neighbor had an old home made 3/4 inch tube bender under his house.
It was rough but cleaned up alright. Ive just completed the the bending of the frame sides. Next im going to make up the gussets then start welding!
Im also striping down the 3 hp B and S for a rebuild. I found a guy on Ebay with repro. decal sets. Are these new vinal decals good? Do they look like the originals?
Andy.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#3
#3
yeah im definately keeping the original for future repairs. The biggest problem I have with repairing it at the moment is the fact the bends have quite a large radius and I cant find the right bender. Ive also always wanted to have a shot at a stratch built frame. Will have more pics soon.
Andy.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#9
#9
yeah they came out alright. Im starting to weld it together now and have found a few areas that need some "minor adjustments":doah: The home made bender I used doesnt do identical bends every time. I dont think the tube locates to well. Before welding I turned up some dowels on the lathe that were a good interferance fit in the tubes. I used these on the joins to align and strengthen them.
The engine I have is the original 3hp B and S. Its the old late 60s early 70s white engine. Im rebuilding it and keeping it white with fresh new decals. Im going to the frame gold so it going to have a 50s custom look to match the 50shoebox coupe im building.
Andy.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#10
#10
here are a few pics. It cant be seen to well in the pics but im going to have to clamp and pinch the front of the frame to fit the steering tube. once you start to weld the frame you find out real quick that the sides need to be really symetrical. Ive found that one frame is about an 1/8 inch longer. Hopefully once I pinch the front in it wont be noticeable.
 
Yellowhand

Yellowhand

#11
#11
kiwiandy said:
The engine I have is the original 3hp B and S. Its the old late 60s early 70s white engine. Im rebuilding it and keeping it white with fresh new decals.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I did read that in your original first post...

I just thought you might be seriously trying several different engine choices as the bike slowly comes together...

I never seem to be able to stick with the original plan when doing a build from scratch, and I thought maybe you were the same way.

New ideas keep popping up as parts get made...
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#12
#12
New ideas keep popping up as parts get made...[/QUOTE]

Thats for sure!
I finished welding the bracing bars today. Once it was all ridgid and solid I found it was quite easy to make a few tweeks. As shown in one of the pics below, you can see one frame is visibly longer. To fix this I recut the top tube at the welded joint and pulled it in. This fixed both the length and angle on the front bar... better to be lucky than good:biggrin:
With this rewelded I used the vice to pinch in the front tubes and locate the steering tube. I used a magnetic level with an adjustable angle finder to get the correct rake. Simple and fit for purpose. I have tacked up the steering tube and will next dumby up the handle bars to check alignment before I finish welding and make up the gussets.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#15
#15
Yeah fortunately for me (I dont have a 7/8 tube bender) the bike I got had a new set of forks. These bikes were produced for a period between maybe late 60s to late 70s and at some stage someone repopped some forks. I should have them mounted tomorrow so will put up some pics. All comments or advice welcome.
Thanks.
 
Yellowhand

Yellowhand

#16
#16
Getting a straight set of forks is a lucky thing...

I've seen so many old, unrestored rollers for sale with the fork legs bent way back that seeing a decent one with unbent forks looks odd.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#18
#18
Today I finished turning up the bronze steering bushes and then pulled them into place using threaded rod as shown in one of the attached pics.
I also made up the plates for the rear drop outs and tacked them in place. From here on in everything will be just be tacked till it runs then pulled down for final welding. Im going to have to rethink the rear wheel mounting as where it currently sits the lever for the drum brake hits dead in the middle of the frame:stop: I can now see why someone has gas axed the rear corner off the original frame.:doah: Looking at pics I have found of other "original " bikes these were originally fitted with a caliper type brake that ran on the chain spocket.
 
K

kiwiandy

New Member
#20
#20
Hello.
I havnt posted anything for quite awhile but have been doing bits and pieces as time permits. All the welding on the frame is now finished (I think!) and im now piecing it together to make sure everything fits before pulling it apart to powder coat everything. Im reasonably happy with how its going and am now really motivated to have it finished before this summer. I will put up some better pics of how ive done the brakes etc in the next few days as I would be interested in some opinions on if they will work alright at speed.
Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top