wdbikemad

Well, for what it's worth, individuals can always contact me as well as I co-wrote the bloody book that they occasionally and club verification officials often refer to................(ps - Ron, you're excused here as my Uncle !!!!)

Observing the current post with interest...........this is not the first late-war 3HW I've seen with a much earlier "TEC" dated frame................. We must always remember that 3SW production was fairly prolific pre-war and up to the end of 1940 when the Triumph factory was largely destroyed during the Coventry blitz.........Triumph were then basically "in-limbo" and operating very much on an ad-hoc/temporary basis until their new factory at Meriden was ready during early/mid-1942..........by then, 350cc OHV's were the flavour of the day with the WD as opposed to the earlier 350cc side-valves............... I have no doubt whatsoever that Triumph, at the time of the factory's destruction during late-1940, had a substantial number of completed 3SW frames in stock, and probably more already supplied to the WD as "spares"............it would seem that the "TEC" dated stamp refers to the build-date of the frame, not the bike into which fitted...............I suspect that Triumph were able to salvage a fair quantity of already completed frames from the wreckage of their factory, added to those spares already held in WD ordnance stores, the model having been supplied pre-war too................this would also probably be the case with crankcases too............... We must also consider wartime workshop rebuilds of Triumph's, with serviceable parts re-used in rebuilds............engine and frame stampings meant little to the WD as a bike was known entirely by it's primary identification serial ("C" number), nothing else...........if parts were interchangeable between earlier and late model's, then the WD would use them, regardless of origin or original purpose................. As for the ad-hoc Triumph production in temporary premises in Warwick between 1941-42.............with reduced manufacturing capacity, most of the machines so constructed during this period were largely built up from existing stocks of parts, new castings and foundry facilities being limited in the extreme...............The OHV's constructed during this period were specifically noted in records as "3H", NOT the later "3HW"............and as we all know, the essentially pre-war 3H model differs from the later 3HW a fair bit in the top end of the engine department............................ As time continues to march on, I doubt if we will ever know the true answers for certain nowadays, but I think my summary is reasonably speculative...........Lol

Ron, so sorry to hear that you are still under the weather chap.........backs can be problematic things.........had my issues there for over 25 years.................mind you, leaping off the wardrobe onto the bed never really helped.........lol......but didn't care at the time.......! :-) I do like a bit of period damage to be retained on any bike...........adds to the history and character I guess...........we will probably never know if this damage occurred during wartime or later, but still a nice touch I guess and certain you will work some sympathetic magic into this.....................best Ron, Love from Vee and me :-) xx

I've had acupuncture.........short-term fix, aided by the attractive young lady doing it.......Lol...........might come down to the Vee option Ron !!!!!!! Lol

Didn't take a lot of effort to get the cycle parts sprayed once blast-cleaned.........khaki paint matched by a local auto-paint specialist to a sample from my frame.................. Work also progressed on the Flea's engine, which was found to be in surprisingly good condition internally...............biggest worry was that at some point in it's post-war life, it had been fitted with a Bantam-type Wipac flywheel magneto assembly, although the original Miller assembly fortunately remained within the many spares acquired along with the bike.............I had to buy a (Bantam) extractor to get the magneto flywheel assembly off the engine prior to stripping, but then went through my various spares, the original parts, etc, and was able to rebuild the Miller assembly in perfect working order prior to re-fitting...........:-)

I wouldn't bother with all that rubbish Ron..............I had an MRI scan a few years ago now prior to retirement from the police...........told me basically what I already knew, in that I had chronic osteoarthritis going from my ankles up to my hips and lower back (similar to rising damp !)............the reason....? Getting old !!!!!!! Probably like you, I often forget my age and still carry-on the same as I was doing 20-30 years ago now.........nothing wrong with a spot of good medical advice every now and then, but doubt that this will change you as it didn't me...................just grumble on I guess :-)

One other thing to consider is that Royal Enfield 4-strokes of this era employed a rather unique big-end bearing assembly, so good lubrication with clean oil is absolutely critical..................

Chris Hall, mate, explains it exactly..........odd that years later we discover the reasons why hidden in a years old book written by the RE service manager !!!! Lol

The Flea into the workshop...........time to study, start the strip-down, and go through all the WD/RE spares I have accumulated over the years to see exactly what I have, and don't have..........work also progressed rapidly on the engine..............

Probably a case of the above Ron............from what I remember about my own WD/C's, when rebuilding the engine ( also applies to the WD/CO by the way) it is absolutely essential to spend time making certain that all the oilways, vents and drillings in the crankcase assembly are perfectly clear and unobstructed..............common sense maybe on any bike, but far more critical perhaps on an Enfield................................

Ha Ha !!!! Bless him.........Ron's a real old trooper and where would we be without him ? I must say that I'm very much enjoying following this particular restoration as I've always held a soft spot for the Model C after once owning two and doing many, many miles on one of them.............. One interesting snippet of information contained in C.A.E. Booker's title on Royal Enfield in the Pearson series of books contains the following ............"On certain of the WD/C models supplied to the Army, the vent hole in the (oil) filler cap and also the vent in the rear of the oil compartment were omitted in order to prevent the ingress of sand under conditions of desert warfare. Alternative vent holes into the timing case were provided. It may sometimes happen that an unvented filler cap, as used on these models, may be fitted to an engine which should have a vent in the filler cap. If this occurs, pressure builds up in the front half of the oil reservoir so that the oil level is forced down in the front and build up in the back of the oil reservoir until it overflows through the rear vent passage. The remedy is to drill the vent holes in the filler cap and baffle. As there is no objection to the use of these vent holes for normal conditions of use, it is desirable always to use a filler cap in which the vent holes have been drilled"

Vee is laughing Ron, but she would consider it if it would help, all 4'11" of her..............!!!!! Lol :-) xx

Bless you Ron.........Vee sends her love and hope you get back to firing on all cylinders soon chap.............can't be easy for you so well done on what you have contributed so far............:-)

Sorry to hear about your back Ron...............any professional update on that ? I did mention that you shouldn't still be leaping off the wardrobe in the bedroom at your age but you wouldn't listen........Lol !!!! Horns for early war bikes can be a nightmare...........I suspect they followed much other equipment, on the basis of using up existing pre-war/civilian stock prior to some form of standardisation and in the meantime using whatever else was available........after all, you couldn't have the delivery of a bike held up simply because of a horn................ Aside from period photographs and using manufacturers spare's lists/Lucas/Miller lists of the period, the only person who I can think who may know a bit about horns is Taff Issac (Taf the Horn) but if you phone, set aside at least a couple of hours plus some sandwiches and refreshments as you will be on the phone at least that long............Lol...........:-)

Yes, I'd agree with Ron on this one, that the domed glass ammeter is essentially a pre-war item that was carried over into early WD production............... I'm sure our font of knowledge on here Rik can provide an accurate summary as his very original ex-BEF 16H has one.........Lex could also probably advise............

Hi Ron.........you will discover that the CZ27 ammeters are capable of being disassembled although with due care...........possibly (in my experience) a job for the kitchen table in the warm !!! The bezel is held on with tabs, that need to be gently bent to remove the bezel from the ammeter body..........beware of old brass that does not always take kindly to bending, although today we have Araldite to repair broken tabs.....Lol.................you will find that the ammeter glass is stuck in the bezel with (originally) a thin rubber ring and some rubber adhesive..........this will have long-since hardened holding the glass firmly in place so it's a case of some gentle persuasion here....................once loosened, simply a clean-up and some modern sealant and replacing the glass a 5 minute job..................:-) - PS - a lot of these essentially pre-war Lucas ammeters with domed glass retained the Chrome-plated bezel even on early WD production.........my 1940 16H still has the original domed glass ammeter fitted (that works !!!) and this has a chrome bezel................unplated/painted came later...........

Here we go............note, no eyelets on this example undergoing trials during the late-1970's.....

I purchased this trial nylon 58 Pattern from Silverman's a few years ago now.........note the absence of the adjusting eyelets.....this one is faintly dated "1977"................but (somewhere) I also have the same but with the adjustment holes, also dated 1977........ I'll see if I can find a front image of the nylon 58 set in service trials............note the nylon large pack !!!!!!

I have some excellent "EXP 2" kidney pouches..............

The ML and the Flea shared the same small-size Mansfield saddle assembly, only differing in the rear springs fitted........... To assist you Bjorn, here are some images of the Mansfield saddle frame and mattress spring assembly as fitted to my Flea........quite a distinct shape............the cover is also pretty unique and carries a brass-stamped "Mansfield" badge to the rear........I actually cast one in resin using my original one from the ML as a pattern, and once painted up looks the same.........I still have the rubber mould here.......... Repro saddles sold today are normally advertised as "Bantam" size, etc............they're not too bad overall and most is covered by the cover once fitted to the bike........however, the metal of the saddle frame shape is not quite so with a bit of bending and re-jigging you can get it to resemble the original pretty well although having an original to copy is a bonus.........as for the cover, I made a template of my original and then sent it off to R K Leighton to have it copied although I asked them to supply the fixing clips and rivets loose for me to position and fit accurately...............

The photo showing the para on a ML was a well-known James publicity image............ But if you study the image closely, the Para is actually a Canadian......note the "wings" worn on the left breast rather than on the sleeve as with British para's..........note also the Canadian pattern ammo boots without toe-cap............the fighting knife is typical for Canadian's with access to both British and American gear................ ML's were never actually used by parachute troops as no drop-cradle was ever developed for the ML.........the ML weighed a good 30-40lb more than the similar WD/RE Enfield (which was used by para's and had it's own drop-cradle) which could make-up a critical weight disadvantage on operations.........that said however, the ML was arguably of far more robust construction that the Flea and consequently more "durable".......ML's, however, were deployed in glider's alongside other airborne units although their greater usage from 1943 onward was for use by ground-based assault troops in places such as Sicily, Normandy, etc, where their light-weight enabled easy carriage on other vehicles such as Jeeps, Carriers, etc...........

Now in the workshop................. Note the RE engine number plus the stamping for the frame number of the bike into which originally built (also first contract)....seemingly, a year after civilian registering in the mid-1950's the Flea was fitted with a replacement engine, though also ex-WD.......this is noted in the log book..............most original WD Flea's should have the frame number stamped on top of the engine as per this example.............the "V" prefixed number is a separate factory build number for the engine and it is thought that the "V" prefix indicates the fitting of a Villier's carburetter............. Second image shows the frame number on the right-hand side of the headstock............note the original WD SCC No.2 brown paint beneath the green................third image shows the contract plate wrapped around the centre stand.........this is hugely unusual but seemingly original to this bike.............most first contract Flea's have this plate clamped around the left-rear upper frame rail, just above the chain-guard..........subsequent contract had it affixed to the rear mudguard just beneath the tail-lamp..................

Inspired along by our Ron, I thought I'd post a series of images and stuff regarding our Flying Flea that has been fully restored within the last two years.............. Here's the bike as acquired........... First contract Flea, Frame 8083...........according to the old buff log-book not civilian registered until the mid-1950's as an ex-Government vehicle........seemingly, this Flea was one of possibly 1,500 retained post-war by the War Department for possible use but they seem to have spent that entire period in store prior to disposal...............we must remember that post-war the WD retained reduced Airborne Forces, plus glider's, so the Flea would potentially have remained as part of Airborne issue equipment.............. It was first civilian registered in Norwich, Norfolk..........it then went through a series of owners all in the North Norfolk area, largely Cromer, and the last recorded user was a Doctor in the early 1970's who no doubt used it as a runabout when visiting patients..............it seems to have then come off the road......it was bought in Lincolnshire very reasonably too, and according to Jan despite being first contract was not delivered until September 1944 to the War Department at Cambridge, that area at the time being extensively populated by Airborne forces............. The bike was surprisingly original when acquired.........purists will note the non-original timing cover which had been upgraded at some point to a BSA Bantam type WiCo-Pacey flywheel type, but the bike came with a whole host of spare parts including the correct wartime Miller timing cover and fittings so no worries there............. Other WD-specific parts still present included the Miller headlight, the fuel tank filler cap, the Villier's carburetter and filter, the exhaust system, toolbox, folding footrests, kick-starter and contract plate..................

I've always had very mixed results in trying to replicate the "Parkerised" or "Cosletised" black finish on nuts, bolts and studs...............the original finish was the result of economy and cheapness, and in the case of the WD durability of finish was never a concern...................... The original instructions were that fasteners so finished were supposed to be regularly protected with a film of oil...............but even in today's far more relaxed times I have personally found it a challenge to keep the blackened fasteners on my W/NG from acquiring a film of corrosion........very infuriating, time-consuming to rectify and just generally annoying..............I'm now thinking of replacing all so affected fasteners with plated items as I'm fed up of having to regularly attend to them to prevent corrosion............. I have tried various blackening methods, including "gun blue" and also chemical treatment as used in military badge-making to darken metal insignia, etc, but none have proven capable of staying of the rust..........even damp air over the winter months caused corrosion................ I'm now at the point of buggering the entire lot off in place of durable plated fasteners, original or not.................

On a personal basis, probably along with many others, I really appreciate these progress restoration blogs............so thank you Ron for this.............it gives us all inspiration and ideas................. I wish I had done this with my recent restorations of the James ML and WD Flea, although saying that I could provide a reasonable "blog" by photos I took during the build................. I am one of the privileged few to have seen our Uncle Ron's bike collection, and it is hugely impressive too...........he never mentions the WD vehicles in there too, but in fairness the old duffer is getting on a tad........Lol............. But our Ron has got a rather impressive workshop facility that enables him to produce these magnificient results for our delectation..........Ron has worked very hard all his life, and now in retirement he reaps the rewards of all that hard work.............he also never mentions the fact that he does all of this often single handed, and is too proud to admit he is disabled following a serious motorcycle crash a few years ago now that has made one arm problematic................. Sorry Ron, but you are a true hero and inspiration to so many people in the WD bike movement..........I've known you for many years, my wife Vee loves you to bits and I hold the utmost respect for you.........always serving others and sharing your collection........a true friend and honest man.............(sorry to embarrass Ron but you know you deserve it.......:-)......)