Matchless G3/L Restoration

[Stefano]

O.K,

What with the ongoing restorations of the James, the WOT 2 and a Triumph T110, plus the endless saga of the CD/SW (and a Superleggera Touring bodied Lancia Flaminia....... just don't), I thought it was time for a little comic relief and therefore have decided to get stuck into my G3L. (must be mad)

It's from contract C14499, which makes it quite a pretty one, seeing as it should still have the metal tank badges, allied to the canvas grips and full set of panniers. In any case, when I aquired it (bought is too strong a word) it really was a mess.

The rear end had been hacked about with a very agricultural sprung back end grafted on, it also had deeply valanced mudguards and a humpbacked petrol tank à la Moto Guzzi Dondolino (very nice....)

Basically, when stripped down, I was left with a front frame, a set of forks, an engine and gearbox, an oil tank and both wheels. Over the years I've sort of pieced it together: correct headlamp, all the handlebar levers (Amal in this case), rigid back end, both stands, fuel tank, saddle, a pair of repro mudguards, the proper WD footrests, etc, etc. So far so good.

Then it turns out that the rear frame is wrong, because it was of a type used only on the first contract G3L's.... So back to the drawing board and a new rear end is located. It needed a bit of work because as far as I'm concerned the G3L's rear frame is chronically under-engineered, so the rear plates needed a fair amount of welding and much hitting with hammer - I actually wonder if the forged rear wheel plates were actually any stronger than the earlier steel plate sandwich type.

After that a few helicoils were needed and the oil tank / battery carrier studs needed sorting (and what a crummy job that was )

Here are a few pictures of the frame going through the motions (notice the fancy Italian aftermarket aluminium primary chaincase - a shame it took AMC so long to do the same thing)

Edited September 28, 2011 by Stefano

[Big ray]

Good to see an old bike coming back to life, please keep us posted with your progress.

[79x100]

Do you struggle being so far away from the UK jumbles ? I'm only three hours from the Calais ferry and I couldn't manage without a jumble fix two or three times a year at least.

 

How is the James by the way ?

[Stefano]

How is the James by the way ?

 

Ah... Well the James is pretty stationary at the moment, I really need to get the wheel bearing cups & cones sorted (plus the spindles), and then I should be on the home run (fingers crossed). Obviously, being so far away from the u.k. means that sourcing parts for bikes can be a bit fraught, but patience always wins through in the end. And when a forum like this can enable you to tap in to the thoughts of people like Steve Madden the chances are that you'll do a proper job. The biggest problem really is trying to restore the bigger stuff, and the CD/SW and WOT2 have so far represented an almost vertical learning curve . Strangely enough, I've had more problems with finding parts and advice for the Fordson, since on the Morris front I've been lucky enough to get to know Rory Ballard and Tobin Jones, and they have proved to be first rate lads. Without their help the chances are that I would have probably given up hope by now. The same goes for my 25 pounder - Rob (rnixartillery on the forum) has been of colossal help to me in trying to get all the bits I need - like the saying goes, "it's not what you know but who you know". So far I can safely say that I've been very lucky .