More Norton’ing…

Another big part of the puzzle fell into place today, in the shape of an ES2 500 iron barrel, it has had a repair or two in its life, as you would expect, it is also on the top end of the bore size at 82.3, but I am looking for a late 40′s AJS piston to fit in there, but if I fail in that direction I shall have a look at getting a liner fitted, and taking it back to standard (79mm) bore size.

Roll out the Barrel

500 Barrel

I also started looking at how to fix my newly aquired Smiths tacho, which I want to fit in a jaunty old fashioned classic race style.

Tach Mount

Norton Dash

My Norton Clubman Project, Cont…

Did I mention I found a head and rocker assembly? No! well I have, they both need a little work, as is the way of buying parts no one else wants :laugh but fixing aint so hard if you know what to do and where to go.

First thing is to get it all clean, to see what needs fixin, so a trip over Easter to the vapour blaster soon had something I could work with. First was the rocker cover, this had a broken stud hole, and a hole through the box, looks like someone got a bit too keen with a vice while doing something, and cracked the cover. So a trip to my local alloy welder soon had it all back good as new, and for no charge too

Next is to send the head away to have valve guides and valves fitted, I may even have it ported too, I also need to open it up to accept a 500 barrel, as this head is from a late model 350. All good fun.

Here they are sitting on the bike, I just need to find a barrel now, an alloy competition barrel would be nice, but any 500 barrel would be great if I can find one.

 

Head and rockerbox

 

My Norton Project… Cont.

My next job is to convert this old damaged Triumph conical hub into a Manx style single leading shoe race style hub, and although it won’t be correct in every detail, it will be close enough to give the look I am after.

Conical Hub

First job is to remove all the fins from the outer edge, luckily this one was already damaged in this area, this may have helped in me getting it cheaply off of eBay, Then it will be away to be powder coated black, before I start to convert a Norton brake plate to fit.

My hub now stripped of the vanes, was today tidied up on a lathe ready for the next part of the operation, this is to have made and installed a set of cooling
fins just like you would have on a manx or inter, but it is not as easy as that, as you will see.
The first problem that you have to overcome, is leaving room to insert the spokes, and to make it look somewhere near “right” you will need at least two fins, but you only have 16mm to play with on the hub. So let’s see what I am talking about…

Well first we need to go and find some bikes, that have the correct hubs fitted, now that may be a little tricky in your neck of the woods, but for me, I just pop up the road….

Garden Gate Inter

International

So here is am International hub, as fitted to the Garden gate Inter above… Three fins, tapered hub, and crossover spoke pattern, I can’t afford one of these, even in the rare chance of one ever coming up for sale.

Inter Hub

And here is the Inter brake plate, single leading shoe, small air scoop, just the look I am after, but I will have to make my own, out of a standard Norton SLS brake plate.

SLS Brake Plate

More Later…

My Norton Project… Odds & Ends…

I picked up a couple of bits for the Norton on Saturday at the Kempton bike jumble, one of the parts was the front fork brace and mudguard support, I found
it in a box of old junk, and it cost me just £2.00 or $3.00 for the colonials out there.

So today I thought I should just check to see how it all fits together, this is not the wheel I will be using, as that is yet to be built, but it is a 21″ wheel so is right for testing.

 

Dry Fit

 

New Handle bars

 

My next job is to convert this old damaged Triumph conical hub into a Manx style single leading shoe race hub, and although it won’t be correct in every detail,
it will be close enough to give the look I am after.

 

Conical Hub

 

 

First job is to remove all the fins from the outer edge, luckily this one was already damaged in this area, this may have helped in me getting it cheaply off of the Bay..

 

Broken Fin, A good thing.

Then it will be away to be powder coated black, before I start to convert a Norton brake plate to fit…

 

 

Freshly Minted…

I love to see what friends have been up to over the winter months, fettling away in the garage, sweating, cursing, spilling blood, just so they can ride something new or old for the coming summer. Well today was one of those days, I took some pictures a while back of this Manx/Inter engine on the bench..

Norton Cafe Racer

There it was all in bits, being worked on, and now here it is all complete, and on the road, and it sounds awesome. Sure it has a few small leaks, the odd screw loose or missing, but these shake down runs will sort all those little niggles out. And who wouldn’t like this in the garage.

Cafe Racer

Norton Inter/Manx

Just a cool bike, well built.

My Norton, an update..

A few people have asked me how I am coming along with the Norton project, so I thought I would take some pictures today, and give a little update…

As of now I am still pulling parts together, to build the motor, I now have a most of the bottom end, plus a barrel, and a 350cc head, that has been machined to fit a 500, I have rockers and rocker cover, oil pump (x3), cams, etc, although I would like to find some late model 16H cams, for my bike, but they are proving hard to find.
The gearbox has been rebuilt, so is ready to fit, rear wheel is away to be built, still looking for a front hub, so as you can see I am getting there slowly, but then no one said it was a race.

Norton Clubman

Norton Engine and box

Norton project

Velocette, Norton’s & Plungers…

Today was a good day, today was the first “build” day,  I now have a few parts, and today they started going together

I had the rear plunger rods machined, and so today I took the frame, plunger rods, springs, and covers, over to Mick’s place to get some help fitting them on the frame, Mick has a homemade spring compressor just for doing the plungers, a job that would be tough to do without the use of a spring compession tool.

Norton Plunger Suspension

 

Garden Gate Suspension

 

And when I got back home I fitted the headstock assembly with the new bearings that turned up this week. I also have the parts needed to put the Roadholder forks together, so things are moving in the right direction.

There was a nice Velocette there while I was getting the rear suspension fitted, and a Norton on the bench too.

 

Velocette 500

 

Norton Single

 

 

 

More of my Norton..

I spent a little time tarting up the frame, well I had to do something about all that red primer that had been daubed  about with what can best be described as a relish!  but a morning of spray on oven cleaner,  warm soapy water, and 400 grade wet and dry, soon had the frame ready for some paint.

And this is the result…

Paint and Polish

well that was yesterday, and my kitchen still smells of paint this morning!  so as I was going to get some pictures, I thought I should see how the new oil tank will look when repaired, painted, and fitted, sometime in the near future.

Oil Tank

I also have to find out how these tanks are hung on the frame, which probably means going to look at old Norton’s, oh well, someone has to do it

More Norton Inspiration…

I have sorted a few more Norton pictures in way of inspiration for my project,  and as it happens, I have managed to get hold of a proper Manx/Inter oil tank like the one shown here,  not as pretty, not very cheap, and not ready to fit! it will require lots of work to be made useable, but it is one of the iconic parts that make the bike look right, even if in reality it isn’t.

Norton Wheel

 

Front Wheel

 

 

 

More Norton’ing…

As I needed to pay for some parts today, I took the chance to get some more pictures of the Norton that has been the inspiration for my project,  I hope I can make my one turn out something like it, even in just a small way, if so then I shall be pleased. One of the hard parts when building a bike from odd parts, is getting the patina just right, I don’t want my bike to look restored, but old, and well used. This in itself will pose problems I am sure.

 

Norton Clubman

 

Tank Bracket

 

Amal 10TT

 

Oil Tank