Chris Hall

Just looking at the original plate again, it looks like the brake bolt I thought was in the speedo hole is in fact the fixed brake pivot. It looks like this plate is a rear from another manufacturer.

Here’s one of Jan’s photos of a rear plate (same as front without the speedo hole drilled).

Although it’s ally, it’s not the correct WD/C item. It’s likely not even Royal Enfield.

Damper knobs were available NOS from Burton Bike bits.

The metal work on the lamp is fine, the electrics are modern and the reflector is different. You should be able to clips separately, or you used to. The front brake has the anchor mounted in the speedo gearbox hole. It should be on that bracket on the forks that you see in your photo. You may need quite a few missing parts to correct both the speedo drive and the brake cable anchor/bracket. The alloy brake plate also looks odd, not the usual plate. Where the anchor plate slots up into the fork is also wrong. It shows a bolt but it should be a riveted stud. I’ve replaced the worn studs in the past so it’s a simple fix.

I think they are pre war J tanks that may have have found their way onto WD/Cs during the war. The ones I’ve seen also have dents in the front from what I can only guess as being fitted to later tele fork models. Perhaps someone with a J can confirm that’s what they are.

Have a look and see if you can find the letters WD where I put the red box. They will be smaller than the numbers and could be above the centre line of the numbers.

Does it look like a bulbous C tank with 2 Squared angle cutouts, one either side and one bigger than the other? Would it also have damage to both sides of the front as if forks have hit it when turned?

I would say pressed in as they are very uniform markings. I don’t think it means that if you don’t have the marks, it’s not WW2, it could simply be that they serial numbered spare tanks etc. I have no idea why they would number them but I’ve had at least 3 that way. I’ll check my WD/C and see if that one has the number. I’ve unfortunately sold the rest many years ago.

Is that an Aussie built LR?

The red box is where you should find it. This is a postwar CO tank so has no markings.

Are they made by a US company as they look like the hardware found on US equipment.

Hi Chris, would this be stamped on or painted? It’s a pressed number usually prefixed WD in one size followed by numbers in another. It’s a large font but shallow pressed so could be under years of paint.

Unfortunately. However, Tyler has a decision to make. Keep as is, restore as a CO or restore as a C. Or end up with a C and CO!! C Engines and gear boxes are easy to locate, centre stands are available as repro but the rear wheel is difficult to locate. CO frames are difficult to locate also but they do come along every so often. Decisions, decisions.

I also note the tank is likely one of the pre war/early war OHV tanks intended for the J and fitted to the WD/C early on, unless it’s a WD/C modified for the CO cylinder head. Careful examination for marking on the underside may reveal a WD serial number.

Jan, the late WD/C frames also had the tapered down tube. If you look at the photo showing the top of the gearbox, look at the bracket and you can see it’s not wide enough for a CO engine, it’s the width of the C so a spacer has been fitted. I had a post war C frame in the 19,000 range identical to this and I also had another slightly different where the fork damper anchor plate fitted.

I may have some bad news for you. Ask the seller if he has that WD/C engine still. The frame is a post war model C frame which has the same number as a 1943 WD/CO. The front frame tube from seat to top of engine plates has the tell tale spacer needed for the WD/CO engine. Also the rear frames have no boss for the rear stand as per the WD/C as it had a centre stand. The chain guard is a WD/C item also, as are the forks and I think the front wheel spoke pattern. so the good news is you can leave as is, restore as a WD/C with a replacement engine, gearbox and rear wheel or restore as a WD/CO by replacing the rear frames (difficult to find). Please don’t be disheartened as this is how most of us start and we end up with a WD/C, WD/CO, G, J, Jeep, Halftrack, Tank, spitfire and the list goes on.

Again, nothing much to report. Had to drop the kids off with Grandparents for 1/2 term last week and this weekend they’re back. I did manage to remove the radiator and it’s not looking too good. I think it may be making a one way trip to radiator heaven. I also pulled the carb and it’s not looking too good, I think it may be making a one way trip to Carburettor heaven. I also pulled the exhaust and it’s not good, it’s definitely going to exhaust heaven. I also pulled the water pump and it looks pretty good! I think I can save this piece!!

I think this would warrant its own thread. And you can start by screen shotting the eBay page and saving the photos.

However you remove the spot welds, it’s got to be more enjoyable than cutting them out of something like a Ford Focus!!

This is the one I went for, not branded but I think when I looked, it was the same as a Draper. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372659091272

Yeah the bottom one is the one I bought. The centre is spring loaded to keep it central but it does leave a stub to grind off. The benefit is that you can turn the cutter over for a second set of teeth and then replace the whole cutter when both sides are blunt. The top one needs replacing or re-grinding when blunt and I also found that if you missed the whole spot, it was difficult to drill again in a new place if it overlapped. It’s hard to explain how off centre the spot welds were on my GPW. It’s possible they were using hand held spot weld arms or very worn tools. Have a cold chisel handy!

I bought a kit off eBay and it’s not bad, 2 sizes of cutter, 3 spare cutters of each size. It took me some time to become competent, what I found was, you need to find the sweet spot to drill. If I could see both sides of the spot, I could find the centre. If I could only see one side, I struggled. I found that you think you have the centre of the spot if you only look at one side but you haven’t. You would expect the spots to correspond but I found they would often be staggered and you’d drill the centre of a spot, only to find you’ve only cut through the middle. when I cut my hat channels out, I ground the spots out with a thin disc. Oh and I found that if I didn’t keep the cutter square to the steel, it could snap a tooth off the cutter.

No worries, I’ve got a few to choose from.