Chris Hall

I was thinking along the lines of the path of least resistance. On the bike could the condenser be leaking to Earth  (the frame) but on the desk, assuming it’s wood, it’s insulated and therefore the path of least resistance is through the wire and plug back to body.

im no electric wiz kid so that may not even be possible.

29 minutes ago, Ron said:

I tested that Chris by running my drill at a very low speed. Slower I'd say than a good swing with the plug out. I really don't get this scenario??  Ron

I wonder if you have an Earth issue in the mag? 

1 hour ago, Ron said:

Well here's a thing! And it's happened before! I was not getting a glimmer of a spark from the mag. I even plucked up the courage to hold the plug lead end in my fingers and even with a good kick, not a tingle.

Put the mag on the bench, wound it up with a drill and it's sparking perfectly. We can see the the mag and dynamo have recently been overhauled.

This has happened to me twice before (Matchless G3 and Triumph 5SW) both with rebuilt mags. Even my long term mag guy couldn't give an explanation???  Ron

Overhauled or tarted up? Perhaps the speed had something to do with? I bet a drill is faster than kicking it over.

That is a WD/C tank, just modified.

It looks to me like that piece has been modified, I don’t think any British manufacturer would build a tank like that, it’s to labour intensive and therefore costs. Can you post more photos of your tank, underside, side and front will help massively.

Things will show up, they are far from rare bikes and it’s amazing how much will start showing up once you know where to look. For instance, I needed a centre stand for a WD/C, searched for a good 2 years with zero trace. Then, at the Newark auto jumble, I noticed an Enfield Rifle transit chest for sale, as I was looking it over I kicked something over with a clatter and the stall holder gave me a glare. As I bent down to recover the item I kicked, it turned out to be 2 NOS centre stands complete with wired on store’s labels, £10 each. Unbelievable!!

Petrol tanks, went to Netley marsh and bought 2 WD/CO, 1 WD/C and 2 post war Model J tanks (the type that were the same as the WD/C but with the large cut out for the cylinder head, may have been pre war J carry overs).

Its a good plan to identify the issues, get it running and then find the correct parts. Ron’s forever correcting things as new information comes to light. I’m always keeping my eyes peeled for parts and I’ll try and remember to post here if I see anything.

The rear frame is missing the brake pedal adjuster bracket but they can be made. The front frame looks to have sheared under the headstock so a professional repair may be required.

Regarding the petrol tanks, the one you’ve gone for looks like a late post war model G, the other tank looks to be correct. Can you post more photos?

Who’s make is the bolt meter?

Agh yes, I must have the latter simpler exhaust.

Lex. Can you not cut the end cap of the silencer at the weld, push the new baffle in and re-weld along the old seam? I think my original was in 3 parts, the centre body and 2 end caps. Thinking more about it, I think it was brazed or silver soldered at the joints rather than welded.

I’ve not even stripped mine down as yet, the M16 needs restoring first.

Any of the civilian authorities, so a fire watcher I would say yes, ARP, CD, Ambulance, AFS and dozens more.

Looks similar to the Civilian Duty Respirator bag except it has press studs rather than buttons.

That’s where I was born, my dad was based at Police HQ and we lived on the green next to the roundabout. All my dads side of the family are still in Culgaith or Appleby.

Where are you?

Should be easy to translate, all the markings on mine in Italian, have them in English underneath lol.

I’ve also a FIAT ID plate on mine so definitely was in Italy before sold to Greece.

I’m from Kendal, my parents are still there and I now live in Lincolnshire.

Keep us updated as I’ve got all this to come yet.

It does and people would be used to the design.

I thought the pistol grip and trigger style on that browning mount were familiar, they are direct copies of the grip and trigger on a BESA 7.92mm machine gun.

He’s/she’s lovely, I’ve always liked German Shepherds.

At first I thought you’d fitted a .50 cal to deter thieves.

That’s it, not many members as yet but it’s building up.

I picked up some Quad rings recently for the Halftrack and got a power set cover and new seat coming. I think I’ve identified the connectors for the firing solenoids but need to check the spec against what are on mine. I also picked up a battery hold down frame and step from the states.

Have you joined the Maxson FB page?

That’s interesting that the radiator is behind the engine and I love the starter set up.

3 minutes ago, Richard Farrant said:

Hi Seamus,

The engine may well have been changed at some time, I was wondering if the engine had a military rebuild, but possibly not as no job number or reference on the plate. The company appear to be motor parts company, I found a photo of there premises in 1950's on Google. The word "occulte" appears to be possibly French and could mean secret or hidden, so it may indicate that the blackout light is on. Why a French word? Maybe this is a lead?

It could have been occulted in English as the top plate is Normal which is certainly English. The British military still use the word occulted for ‘off’.