The BSA B31 that time forgot. Part 15. - Contact with the past..

 Albert here....So? what's buzzin' in the world?  Peter Kay's back!!!! Now I'd suggest that's way more important than any news on the state of the nation,  and far funnier than the Saturday night turners that currently performs daily in Parliment. Old Blighty is slowly sinking into oblivion and there's nobody manning the pumps.....

Down tha' yard int' Old Sidevalve Bar parcels have been arriving, which is pretty damn lucky 'cos the posties are either on strike or working to rule.. (Only cos' the Railway chaps did it first)....oh and the nurses too so better be super safe with power tools and such like 'cos there's nobody down int' hospitals to work the sticking plasters. Back to the parcels...at great expense and I'm not jesting I purchased an new oil pump and 'bling' sump plate for Lovely Maroon.('The BSA that time forgot' if this is your first read of any Vintafake blog) Now, the oil pump...although pretty much the only one on the market apart from an even more expensiver one in Dutchman land has rather a significance to your Uncle Albert in it's branding. It's of Hepolite' manufacture. Wow! Never heard of them? You would have if you had been engine building pre-1980, and who didn't?  Yes, a long time ago before Pokemon took away the kids brain cells and mobile phones were invented. Oil down finger nails...not man buns and hipster beards.

Hepolite was the brand...Hepworth and Grandage was the company. That's where my Grandad worked....All his working life. They were a manufacturer of Pistons, Rings and such like. The worlds best, race winners ...if you had Hepolite pistons in ya motor tha's knew what's what...

 

So, just had to have a Hepolite Oil Pump. Certainly not manufactured in Bradford anymore, Hepworth and Grandage long gone, in fact despite the Union Jack flags on the packet top will it be UK manufacture? C'mon let's pretend it's all Blighty.

Aye, Grandad worked in the piston ring department. In fact he was once called back to work during his annual leave to urgently make some piston rings for a ships engine. The ship was stuck in port unable to sail without replacement Hepolite parts. 

So, Lovely Maroon's new oil pumping heart has a connection to a family member long passed. How good is that? Not only that but, the bling oil sump plate is thicker than the original so I made some longer studs and nuts in stainless to fix it to the engine (rather than use 'modern allen socket bolts' as suggested and sold). Hey, hang on I haven't finished the connection yet. My tap and die holders were made and used by Grandad. Rather fitting his tooling should help to make the fixings that seal the oil pump in place. An honour to use for such an important job.

 

What a connection.....hang on there's more!!! The tin badge in the picture was his. Celebrating 'Hepolite Golden Jubilee 1907 - 1957' He not only celebrated at work that year but at some time the same year he celebrated my birth too!!!! I was born 'at home' as they called it...A time when 'Dad's to be' brought boiling water and towels to the bedside just to keep them busy whilst the midwife and 'Mum to be' did all the shouting and pushing behind closed doors. When I say 'At home' I mean I was born actually at Grandads house. My mum wanting to be where her family was.....Now if ya don't think all that ain't connecting with the past then ya not in the same groove as me!!!!!

Posh!!!! Get kettle on, it's time for a cuppa......Wot no beer? Yep.....

The BSA B31 that time forgot. Part 14.

Vintafakers....and anybody else who wants to stay a while on my blog out of the way of daily politics...I promise not to mention Boris! Fook...just have!...Sorry!  The lunatic is trying to make a comeback, 2 day's from now he could once again be steering out great nation further onto the rocks.....Phufffff!

Lovely Maroon? Probably a lady, (hope so) is the BSA B31 that time forgot! (A veteran of 15 Prime Ministers) She's being waiting so long to get her motor running...heading out onto the highway... I promise it won't be long now. I've been doing bits and bob's on her but progress is slow. Massaging her rough bit's back into shape and trying not to spend too much money doing it. Scrimping on mechanicals though isn't the best idea as the risk of breakdowns increases, (probably in the remotest place) so not something I'd be encouraging on myself. With this is mind I raided my piggy bank and bought new internals for the E3L type dynamo. Staying with the 6v set up rather than getting involved in 12v conversions. Not like I'll be doing any long distant night rides. The outer case of the dynamo I'd painted a couple of years ago, just never got around to finishing the job. Until now!!!

Field coil in, oilite bush soaked in lube and pressed into the side casing, armature (UK made!!) next in, followed by the other end casing and new brushes. At this point I had to research how to test the dynamo by 'motorising' it. Wow...everyday is a skool day! It motored!!!! One thing I found unobtainable was the felt lubricating washer that sits on the outside of the oilite bush, surely an essential part in prolonging it's life longevity? Not even availabe to the rich BSA Gold Star boys?

Haha! Albert has a cunning plan and one that Eric Clapton would be proud of. After much research I found a felt washer with almost similar dimensions....Used on guitars....Sold on pk's of 10 for the strap button...at £3 a bag inc post!!! Layla...da..da..da... While my dynamo gently weeps...waaa...waaaaa!

Just had to increase the internal hole by careful kraft knifing and there you have it!. Oiled up, and feeding goodness to the Oilite. 

Not done yet though..Sometimes this repro stuff isn't up to much, and my guess is the new bakalite end cap has origins in India...ok for a Royal Enfield but nope, no good for my Lovely Maroon.

The oiling hole covered by a gorgous copper swiveling cover had to be rescued from the old cap and fitted to it's replacement. In Dad's old workshop I found a copper rivet that was a match made in heaven. Only needed to be fixed on somehow after careful drilling and countersinking A 2mm starlock washer sourced on line( in a pack of x5 for £1.75) solved the problem of peening over the rivet end and in the process avoided the risk of cracking that wonderful Deli bakerlite cap. Chuffin quality! With value added after engraving the electrical terminal pick-ups D and F it's as good as a real 1950s one.

 

POSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never mind the time, it's beer o'clock. And don't just open one I've got a reet thirst on!!!!..

Hang on.........

Not Covid19...Now Bigger 'Shi*show

Greetings Vintafake Fans! Is anyone still out there? 16/10/2022.  So, Covid19 wasn't the worst thing to happen in world history, and in the 8 months (almost to the day that I last posted) I can hardly remember all the shi* that is now the new normal. It used to be 'Sausage Wars' and the odd fisticuffs over a few Jersey molusc's with the 'Frenchies'....   Now most of the western world has got one finger on the Nuclear button...Any post from here on in could be the last. So, enjoy while you can.

Treasure in 'The Old Sidevalve Bar. There's a lot of it. Well, I think there is, and one such jewel is my trusty Schrader Spark Plug Air Pump. I take it everywhere with me. Perfect working order with not a sign of perish on it's pipe. 

And the 'chicks' are just begging to have a go with it. Hold it tight, and see what sort of pressure it can pump. Now, I wouldn't say I would let my tyres down on purpose but............................If just suppose there was an 'enthusiast' dressed only in bathing costume and witches hat nearby then maybe a demo could be arranged..................

Unfortunately I don't have the box...which according to publicity of the day was rather special.

Ah well never mind. Probably wouldn't suit me....I'm sensitive to colour clash.

Till next time stay safe..and if you can do anything to help save what's left of 'Old Blighty' that would be much appreciated.

News Flash Gordon and even more Covid19.

 Greetings. Albert here. Still alive and officially jabbed 3 x times. Well ok, once with some dodgy stuff from India, which may or may not hinder any Euro travelling I may wish to participate in. Time will tell. As per usual a bit of news first then onto the story....Date today 19/02/2022. Oh, have you noticed the Vintafake clock is now at zero hours....Shedtime any day of the week now....

Almost a year from my last post (22/03/2021) so what's happened in the world? Phuff, Brexit has sort of fizzled out in the news, but no change, we're still fooked, same old bickering at borders. Fish wars? Sausage wars? all came to nowt. Still can't take a packet of cheese and onion crisps over the channel. Covid19? All restrictions regarding masks, work practices, parties just lifted... UK government not tracking cases and deaths anymore.....Get back to work ya lazy blighters! Covid test kits in very short supply.....Like it never happened. Russia gearing up to start a war...!! Is this how it all ends??? In a big nuking?

Closer to home, in fact in 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' I made a fascinating discovery. Only due to the fact that I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I need to downsize my treasure. 2 x old innertubes were de-classified and heading towards the dustbin when I noticed the puncture repairs on the tube that had been fit in the front wheel of 'Lovely Maroon' the BSA B31. Oval on shape, red in colour and embossed with the wording 'Stenor Patch'. Curious to what a Stenor puncture outfit tin may look like I turned to the electronic encyclopedia commonly known as T'internet. 

Steno - inventor of the Stenorizer. A clamp like creation with what appears to be an embossed heated plate that bonds the patch in place when under pressure. Wow! Straight out of 'Practical Mechanics' magazine, with added Flash Gordon....

Here's my Stenorized tube.

A Stenorizer -  for sale on Ebay....over £100 Great British Poonds

If ya had a time machine ya could see one in action at Earls Court.. Set the dial to 1959!

As a secondry observation, (and when you have an interest in puncture patches you notice these things) the 2 x other patches on the long suffering Dunlop inner tube were actual cuttings from a sacrificial donor which most have holed so badly it was unrepairable.

Got this theory, 2 x owners....one could afford the best professional puncture repairs money can buy and the other having to make life choices....is it a posh patch or the kids eat tonight and I go down the shed looking for a bit of old rubber?...Aye....back in't day.

Flash!!! For Fooks Sake!!! Don't let Ming get the Stenorizer!!!! He'll destroy the earth!!! 

(Which is where I came in, but it's now Putin with a Stenorizer and a finger on the switch)