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It's not a new thing but a year or so back, DVLA began to interpret the long-standing rules differently whilst at the same time claiming that nothing had changed. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/reconstructed-classic-vehicles It's really for vehicles built from autojumble spares that have never previously been together. The term 'rebuilt' is best avoided when dealing with DVLA as well. Most enthusiasts view it as taking apart, painting and putting back together again but DVLA's most recent interpretation seems to suggest that they view the term 'rebuilt' almost as remanufacturing.

Staf, you also perhaps need to bear in mind that there may have been a difference between No.1 and No.2 Companies. Just because Brigade wanted it done in a certain way doesn't necessarily mean that all subordinate units interpreted the instructions identically. In general, there shouldn't have been a formation sign on motorcycles but over on the M20 forum, they've just posted a picture of a Guards Armoured provost entering a Dutch town with the 'All Seeing Eye' on his M20...If the Brigade of Guards could get away with it, who's to say ? The BSA in the earlier picture has what look to be a quite hastily painted serial. maybe a replacement machine and painted by the section fitter ? I often think that less is more when it comes to markings and accessories but there is no doubt that in some circumstances (such as Belgian markings in a Belgian location) it will be much easier to engage with the casual observer and perhaps access some of those fast-disappearing living witnesses. It's only paint anyway and if you decide after a couple of years that you don't like it, an authentic overpaint will only add to the patina !

At the point where they were training in the UK, Brigade Piron should have been complying with standard British practice but it's quite likely that the closer they got to Belgium and certainly once they were there, they began to adapt. No-one would have noticed a Belgian roundel or formation sign in Western France but there would have been a certain cachet in entering a Belgian village on a motorcycle so-marked, not to mention increased access to fruit, beer and most importantly madamoiselles / meisjes ! My view when undertaking this sort of impression is that you need to take a really narrow view on the moment in time being portrayed and then back it up with photographic evidence. There is a world of difference between Southern England in June 1944 and Brussels in May 1945.

After taking over the Sturmey-Archer box, Norton tidied up the positive stop that Sturmey had developed when they began to offer foot change (although hand change remained an option up to 1939). In a similar way, Nortons apparently had to agree to continue supplying boxes to Brough under the licence conditions. (The boxes were actually made for them by Burman) Aren't Scott boxes odd things with chains inside or was that just the early ones ?

Simon, are the horizontally split pivots the type that are normally fitted in combination with the top levers ? Did Triumph use Amal controls ?...presumably as I don't associate them with Bowden or Doherty. Have you tried Peter Long at Cornucopia ? He always used to list a wide range of replica levers but he hasn't updated his catalogue for yonks.

C8886 was specified for delivery at 850 machines per month commencing November 1944 commencing at TL50418. Delivery could have been later but is unlikley to have been earlier. It was certainly built to a 1944 contract. By this stage, and particularly in the case of the 3HW, many were sent to the Far East as part of the build up for the continuing war against Japan. There will be no surviving record of any subsequent allocation. The only clues that you might find would be in the form of workshop rebuld stamps etc. There is a reasonable chance particularly as it has matching numbers that it remained in reserve stock at RAOC Chilwell before being sold off.

"Take the Money" "Open the Box !"

There is some foreshortening in the photograph, but the coachwork looks tall for a standard station wagon. It's a type that lends itself to Shooting-Brake bodywork though. There appears to be a rolled and strapped tent or net obscuring the bonnet line. Chrispy, do you have your father's service record and know exactly which unit he was attached to ? Can you visit the National Archives at Kew ? War Diaries are generally only for GHQ Chaplains departments but may indicate where he was posted. Any diary could (but probably won't !) refer to 'The Padre's Chevrolet'....even an Ordnance or REME diary might have a reference. It means a lot of archive work but the answer could be there. Days spent in archives are something that most people either love or hate. If it's something that appeals then I'd very much recommend it. The diaries are often hand written and give a 'feel' for how things were which no subsequently published account can come close to. You can also look at the establishment for the type of unit that he was with. There will have been other vehicles too. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=chaplain&_ser=WO%20169&id=C14376 The Museum of Army Chaplaincy might also be worth contacting. http://www.army.mod.uk/chaplains/23363.aspx

It's quite rare for even the most re-painted motorcycle to have been chemically stripped. It may be worthwhile to have a good look inside frame tubes etc. as quite often there will be traces of original paint there - unless it's a Royal Enfield that went back to the factory in 1945 for reconditioning. I don't believe that Triumph did this.

Has the solder melted inside the instrument ? There isn't much inside them so it's certainly worth prising open the tags on the bezel and having a look. Although a 'repair' may not be possible, you have a very nice dial and early pattern bezel. It may well be possible to combine with the best parts from a later +/- (rather than 8-0-8) dial or from an ammeter that has been damaged.

Cracking story, Degsy. Keep it up.

There was a Villiers-engined pre-war Excelsior with a Wehrmacht Heer numberplate in one of the Bulldog Drummond films ! That would be worth copying :-)

Ron's restoration tales are best heard on a French campsite or a jumble field :-)

I believe that the 1953 ROAD TRANSPORT LIGHTING (REAR LIGHTS) BILL (which was, unusually for the UK, retrospective) introduced a minimum size for rear lights, compulsory number plate illumination a reflector requirement and a compulsory stop lamp. A separate rear reflector can deal with the first aspect but slightly negates the desired military rear end look (as does the number plate, of course) and with a bit of ingenuity, a stop function can be included, perhaps with a resistor and an LED lamp but the illuminated surface area and number plate lamp will remain a problem unless you fit an extra lamp as well. The chances of being picked up on this are much less than they were thirty or forty years ago (at which time most policemen had done military service and knew exactly what was what). Even lighting that conforms will seem quaint to modern policemen.

Another good man down ! High-maintenance lady friends are much more trouble than understanding long-suffering wives !

Someone has removed an advert from the Car & Classic website. They had advertised a 1945 airborne Cushman at £13,500 on 18th September. I can imagine that anyone who sold one in August is probably now lying in a darkened room banging their head on the floor.

Thanks for coming back on that Jon. It's been bothering me. I couldn't reconcile the Webb-type centre spring and bottom lugs with the flat oval rear tube that looked Druid or Brampton - which they clearly aren't - I wondered if they were someone's attempts to get around design registrations. Are the friction dampers on the top pivot ? That's not where I would have thought would be best. Are they metric threaded ? Doherty were in Aston, Birminghma and quite close to Nortons who used their controls pre-war. If original, this might point towards a British-built version. Certainly a rare thing :-)

If you're not going down the historical accuracy route, I've got an NOS fibreglass Commando Hi-Rider tank on the shelf with flip-top cap. It would make the G3 look like a G80 Street Scrambler.

I don't know Matchless tanks but it wouldn't be correct to think that the upper surfaces of English motorcycle fuel tanks of this era were one-piece. The factories simply didn't have that sort of press tooling. Norton tanks are made of a top panel with the sides joined on along the top edge (with the multi-part base also)...As the war progressed, standards of finish and weld fettling dropped right off. ...Your tank is pretty badly corroded though...I think that I'd carry on looking for a replacement.

Ron, is there a waiting list to apply for a test ride ? No-one has experienced one of those for about seventy-five years. I'd love to know if it's as light and lively as it looks. :-)

Nick, has anyone been through the Ministry of Supply ledgers in The National Archive ? It's a lot of work as there is little apparent order but from mid-war onwards, MoS took over purchase of RAF contracts from the A.M. and R.N.from the Admiralty and the same sequences of numbers were used. The ledgers won't confirm census or chassis numbers but will usually state 'RAF' if that is the case. Is the lack of a Catalogue Ref. No. on the Contract Plate an indication that there was no WD (Army) Cat. Ref. ? This page copy shows Norton contract S7010. There isn't a lot of information beyond the quantity ordered but sometimes even that can help fill in a gap. The ledgers may at least save looking for non-existent Ordnance receipt cards.

These people in Cardiff say that they will make one-off or small batch shoes :- http://www.industrialfriction.com/brake-shoes/ I've never used them so it's not a personal recommendation.

Just looking at your filler cap gasket, if that is NBR bonded cork and you have any ethanol in the fuel where you are, it will turn into a wrinkled mess quite quickly. Plain cork would work or viton-bonded if you can find it. The originals seem to have been some sort of paper / card gasket layered gasket material - although tougher than just card...whatever you do, itll never be completely fuel tight if the tank is brim-full.

Cheers Ron, With my preference for NOS mixing chambers, I've never had to do it....simply an idea in the back of my head that the screws were BA. What do you make of the jet block, Ron ? Ever seen one ? I've had late carbs with chromed slides and stainless steel needle jets but never seen a block other than the three-piece soldered brass types.

I've never seen a monkey-metal (mazac) jet block with a brass insert like that one. I can only assume that it is a late-war economy measure. I'd be inclined to fit a new brass jet block and check the slide for wear carefully too. I think that you're being a little unfair to the British Army. They certainly never fitted Del'Orto air filters and the broken needle jet could well have been done by a previous private owner too. There would be no reason for a REME fitter with a huge stock of Ordnance stores to re-fit a broken part like that. The expanded end to the throttle-stop screw seems to have been a factory aspect as I've seen it on NOS carbs - presumably to ensure that the screw couldn't fall out if it loosened. Isn't the thread 2BA rather than Whitworth ?