Here is the film "Young In Heart" in two parts thanks to Scotland on Screen. This documentary shows the development, testing, and production of the Hillman Imp.
PART 1
PART 2
Dedicated to the preservation, stewardship, and enjoyment of old things.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Checkered Tape
The XS650 needed something a little extra to make it more interesting. Otherwise it looks just like any other black 70's rice burner parked in the lot. I put a stripe of Checkerd Tape down the tank and the rear fender. It really grabs your attention.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tax Disc Replica
I had the urge to put a replica tax disc in the holder for my De Luxe. There was a comical note in there when I got it written crudely on the back of a cardboard box lid. It read "Tax in Post". I'll just leave that note in there to be re-discovered later.
There are folks who make and sell nostalgia replica tax discs, but when have I ever spent money so frivolously? Especially when its something I can do myself.
Can any of you anoraks tell that the design isn't quite right for 1950?
Print it out (on your choice of aged printing material) around 3" in height and it should fit reasonably well. Cut along the dotted lines. My rubber grommet for the glass has seen better days. So I used an old piston ring to make sure it stays in place.
There are folks who make and sell nostalgia replica tax discs, but when have I ever spent money so frivolously? Especially when its something I can do myself.
Can any of you anoraks tell that the design isn't quite right for 1950?
Print it out (on your choice of aged printing material) around 3" in height and it should fit reasonably well. Cut along the dotted lines. My rubber grommet for the glass has seen better days. So I used an old piston ring to make sure it stays in place.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Extinguisher
After being frightened by seeing pictures of burned Sunbeams running the original Amal 267 carb (old leaky), I thought a fire extinguisher would be a good idea. While a period-correct extinguisher all brass and shiny would be very cool, if it didn't actually put out any fires it would be useless.
Just like carrying an umbrella protects one from the rain ever falling, carrying a fire extinguisher should protect my bike from ever catching alight. I got a good cheap black-chrome extinguisher from eBay. Its rated ABC and should be good for whatever. Its reasonably small, and came with a mounting bracket.
So, my first inclination was to mount it near the passenger footpeg holes. This proved impractical, because there was no convenient way to mount the top. The second inclination was to mount it behind the passenger seat. But with such a large mass , I'd have to make some fairly heavy brackets to support it without vibration.
My last thought was to eliminate the seat altogether and just mount the extinguisher behind the driver seat on the existing mounting holes. This is a two-fold advantage. I don't like the passenger seat, I'm not permitted to carry passengers due to my antique insurance limitations, and there are no passenger foot pegs. The second aspect is that there are big nasty holes in the rear fender that would no longer be "hidden" if I ever took the seat off. The extinguisher hides the big ugly rusted holes. Its not the most beautiful installation location, but it is practical.
I know it looks a little dumb, but what else can I do? Any comments.
The fire extinguisher won't win me any beauty contests, but I won't worry about catching "old leaky" on fire.
Just like carrying an umbrella protects one from the rain ever falling, carrying a fire extinguisher should protect my bike from ever catching alight. I got a good cheap black-chrome extinguisher from eBay. Its rated ABC and should be good for whatever. Its reasonably small, and came with a mounting bracket.
So, my first inclination was to mount it near the passenger footpeg holes. This proved impractical, because there was no convenient way to mount the top. The second inclination was to mount it behind the passenger seat. But with such a large mass , I'd have to make some fairly heavy brackets to support it without vibration.
My last thought was to eliminate the seat altogether and just mount the extinguisher behind the driver seat on the existing mounting holes. This is a two-fold advantage. I don't like the passenger seat, I'm not permitted to carry passengers due to my antique insurance limitations, and there are no passenger foot pegs. The second aspect is that there are big nasty holes in the rear fender that would no longer be "hidden" if I ever took the seat off. The extinguisher hides the big ugly rusted holes. Its not the most beautiful installation location, but it is practical.
I know it looks a little dumb, but what else can I do? Any comments.
The fire extinguisher won't win me any beauty contests, but I won't worry about catching "old leaky" on fire.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Ready for the Long Haul
The Guzzi is ready for a long trip, which I haven't planned yet. (But I'm ready.)
I got a set of Hebco-Becker bags with mounts intended for an EV. I had to make a bracket on each side to correct the mounting points for my Aluminum, but they still worked out rather well. I still need to provide a third mounting point to give the mounts rigidity in the horizontal plane. I plan to pass a strut behind and attached to the license plate bracket and onto the mounting clasp latchplate. That should give the extra side-to-side rigidity required.
The bags didn't come with the colored plates which bolt to the outsides of the bag. I just filled the holes with RTV for the present time.
No more slipping out between the XS650 and the car now.
Next could be a hydraulic clutch???
I got a set of Hebco-Becker bags with mounts intended for an EV. I had to make a bracket on each side to correct the mounting points for my Aluminum, but they still worked out rather well. I still need to provide a third mounting point to give the mounts rigidity in the horizontal plane. I plan to pass a strut behind and attached to the license plate bracket and onto the mounting clasp latchplate. That should give the extra side-to-side rigidity required.
The bags didn't come with the colored plates which bolt to the outsides of the bag. I just filled the holes with RTV for the present time.
No more slipping out between the XS650 and the car now.
Next could be a hydraulic clutch???
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Petrol Taps
After consulting with the gurus at the ClassicGlory mailing list to confirm the Enots and Ewart type petcocks were rebuildable; I dove right in and stripped them down. Unfortunately KYL95 has a mismatched set of petrol taps. Left side is the original Enots type and the right side has a Ewarts valve.
The Enots type came apart easily and it was obvious that the cork seals were the original ones. There was still a good bit left of them. Still I'm impressed with the resilience of natural materials such as cork. I decided to use real cork to replace them since I didn't have any neoprene handy. The challenge is cutting the wine cork the right thickness, and making the cut parallel. I managed a couple attempts with limited success until I got the feel for it. Lengthwise with the grain obviously works better, and some gentle sanding gets it to the correct thickness. I did a pressurized water test before reassembly and it works fine. The slider is a bit scarred up, but its still pretty smooth.
The Ewarts type was a bit more challenging. The rounded cork shape was not something I was prepared to replicate at the moment. That would mean drilling out the centerpunch and then re-creating the whole brass inside part. So I cheated. I clipped the bad edge part of the cork plunger with a razor blade, and fitted a viton o-ring around it so that the o-ring would seal the plunger to the outside and stop it from leaking outside. It doesn't seal 100% in the closed position, but as long as it doesn't leak down the side of the bike anymore. I think I'll have to make a more permanent solution here... like maybe the correct Enots valve.
I didn't take photos of the fuel filters taken out of the tank. I should have since they were a sight. The right side was nearly blocked with varnish and junk. The left side had some varnish on in, but wasn't nearly as bad. A little carb cleaner and some gentle brushing cleaned them up nicely.
The Enots type came apart easily and it was obvious that the cork seals were the original ones. There was still a good bit left of them. Still I'm impressed with the resilience of natural materials such as cork. I decided to use real cork to replace them since I didn't have any neoprene handy. The challenge is cutting the wine cork the right thickness, and making the cut parallel. I managed a couple attempts with limited success until I got the feel for it. Lengthwise with the grain obviously works better, and some gentle sanding gets it to the correct thickness. I did a pressurized water test before reassembly and it works fine. The slider is a bit scarred up, but its still pretty smooth.
The Ewarts type was a bit more challenging. The rounded cork shape was not something I was prepared to replicate at the moment. That would mean drilling out the centerpunch and then re-creating the whole brass inside part. So I cheated. I clipped the bad edge part of the cork plunger with a razor blade, and fitted a viton o-ring around it so that the o-ring would seal the plunger to the outside and stop it from leaking outside. It doesn't seal 100% in the closed position, but as long as it doesn't leak down the side of the bike anymore. I think I'll have to make a more permanent solution here... like maybe the correct Enots valve.
I didn't take photos of the fuel filters taken out of the tank. I should have since they were a sight. The right side was nearly blocked with varnish and junk. The left side had some varnish on in, but wasn't nearly as bad. A little carb cleaner and some gentle brushing cleaned them up nicely.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Brackets on fork tubes?
Since my own S7 Deluxe is the only one I've ever seen in person, I have nothing to compare it against. Can anyone tell me what these brackets are supposed to be for on the top of each fork tube? They rotate under the bolt which closes the top of the fork tube. There's a small hole in each one where the end is bent up. What were these intended for?
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