Monday, April 16, 2018

Tank repairs...



Sometime last summer I picked up a couple of bargain Matchless/AJS tanks from a vendor in California to experiment with.  Both had traces of original paint and chrome, the latter of which was the subject of said experimentation.  I had dropped both in wood bleach, which cleared away a considerable amount of rust from the chrome surface however the pitting was too extreme.

I can't seem to find the photos from that specific test, however I will post them when they turn up.

I shelved the one tank for later as it had a poor repair to the bottom.  The second one was a much better prospect, having few dents and a lone screw broken off in the thread for one of the badges.   I decided that removing it wasn't a big problem and I needed the practice to perform the same operation to a 1966 Triumph tank waiting in the wings.

Unfortunately I was mistaken.  While I started off with a small drill bit, I somehow ended up punching a hole right through!

With no welder at the time, it joined the other tank on the shelf.

As the ice storm was hitting hard outside,  I needed to feel some sense of achievement inside the garage.

I fired up the old Becca Mig and began to build up some material around the hole.  This was then ground down flat.  I became ambitious and began to lead fill the tank.  This probably would have worked out better in warmer temperatures as you fight the ambient temperature to keep the metal hot enough.  I will need to add a bit more lead to finish, but overall I am pleased with the results!

With an all metal tank, this opens up to another planned experiment I am saving for the summer.

A true bugger up.

Some build up of material 


After some grinding 

Some lead filled in


After the smoothing out




Until next time! 

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Firth's 1952 Catalogue!



I confess to have been sitting on this one for a while!  Sometime last year, a few more of these wonderful time capsules came my way (expect two more in the coming weeks) and I hadn't gotten around to editing them.

As I sit here in mid-April listening to an ice storm brewing outside my window, I decided to make the time!

If you have visited here before, you know that I have tremendous affection for vintage literature, spending hours pouring through them.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!


Interesting to see the bilingual insert;  Mr. Firth was certainly well ahead of the curve when it came to marketing!


I recently saw one of these HMF (House Brand) Juster seats on Ebay, listed as vintage Bates Double seat!  I wonder what happened to the automatic prop stand?  Looks like a handy device...