Ron

Even Hitchcock's get it wrong sometimes Chris! I hear comments often from guys who run with no oil in the chaincase "Because it always leaks straight out" But I've fitted chaincases to most makes with success and I always put oil in. The thinking that it doesn't need oil (like the rear chain) is erroneous. The primary chain is running 3-4 times faster than the rear chain and in an enclosed hotter environment. Show me a bike that doesn't leak a bit of oil, and it's probably Japanese Ron

Tank fitted and heart pounding I added some petrol. The left side NOS tap was weeping all night so I had to drain the tank and re-cork the tap this morning. With that done there are no apparent fuel or oil leaks now. The exhaust system is next on the agenda , But I decided to kick the engine over anyway. It fired on the first prod and then died immediately. This continued for a dozen kicks or so, until I gave it some choke, and it then fired up and continued running on a fast choked tick over until I pulled off the choke and it then ran quite smoothly, all be it noisily However I'd momentarily forgotten that these are slack wire advance so I'd started and ran it on full retard. I'll attend to the exhaust before a re-start. Ron

Ha Ha! Good to hear from you Jan-Willem... 2 year old son! How on Earth did that happen?...... Are you wearing one of those ten gallon hats now and ditched the clogs for cowboy boots? Yee Haa! Ron

The primary case seal arrived and fortunately I didn't need to cut it down. I glued the bottom edge with 'EXTREME' silicone and wedged it while it set.... to stop it drooping. Then lots of grease smeared all round the seal to ease the cover on. The crankcase, gearbox and chaincase are all topped up with oil with no signs of any leakage..........Yet! Ron

Mine is quite a late contract bike from 1944. I did it in desert trim......Just to have something different. I have lots of pictures on file and can take more if required. But might be a good idea to take Jan-Willem up on his offer to make contact......and raid his garage. I think he's in Texas. Ron

No head gasket is used on a 3HW. The head should be lapped onto the barrel with valve grinding paste by swiveling it backwards and forwards until an even, mat grey finish is produced to both surfaces. Ron

Andy, If I'd wanted easy, I'd have been a Pharmacist or something Ron

The wiring is finished and all working and I've fitted more parts. Hitchock's phoned to say that the primary seals are in stock, so that's on it's way with a couple of other final parts, and the speedo cable is on order. The saddle is still away having its new cover made. Ron

Ha Ha Jan. I was nearly going to ask you about the speedo cable. I think your first one was 1/2" too short. But I have the advantage of being able to confirm it with JJ by phone before manufacture. I try to make it like a story book with pictures. Great minds think alike! Ron

We have lights!! Just the horn to finish wiring in to complete that task. I've bead blasted the bright chrome rims of the refurbished speedo, ammeter and new stainless switch panel screws.. I'll measure up accurately and order a cable for the Jaeger pattern speedo. Ron

I've just heard from Hitchcock's. Allan says they've had a run on the rubbers and new stock should be in be end of week. Jan. please carry on with the BSA stuff at your leisure. Ron

Thanks for the heads up Chris. This bike didn't have an original to study! It just had a piece of foam rubber glued around the inner case. I'm waiting for an update from Hitchcock's on availability, in the mean time Jan has offered to loan me a new one to be replaced at a later date. Ron

Now I see that Hitchcock's don't have the primary case rubber seal in stock.....Bugger! Anyone know if the 16H seal will do or if available? Ron

Whew! Thanks Jan. I didn't want a bollocking off Ben!! Ron

Nice one Jan. Only real difference I notice, is Ben's top shelf of the number plate is angled down to meet the original holes?: I had to bend it down which doesn't seem right. But the plate and the holes are original, apart from it being all bent and twisted when I received it and I never saw it attached to the bike originally......Anyone got a picture? .....Out of interest. Ron

Even better with the back mudguard fitted. I think I need to concentrate on finishing the wiring next! Ron

Cracking on now! I've been building up the rear end, clutch and primary drive. It's been taking a while to work out which nuts and bolts go where. Ron

I've been building up the front end and apart from the clutch cable, all the controls and cables are installed. Ron

Well my area of interest is mainly war time. I don't know of a 620cc at all. Just the 700cc meteor and constellation from the 50's. Maybe you should make enquirers with the Royal Enfield Owners Club who will have archive records of all models. Ron

PS. Picture. Ron

The Constellation was a 700cc twin with tele forks from the late 50's. onward. Ron

Yes the WD/L is 570cc Graham. But I'm not sure what you're asking about that is 700cc. Are you talking about a military bike? Most of these bikes will need a decompressor and timing retarded for normal starting. Ron

Spent time over the last two days, sorting out what goes where and assembling parts. As has been discussed in an earlier post, these first WD/C's had dull chrome or nickel parts and Ben went for nickel. Inevitably some fixings will be missing not least the metric nuts and bolts that I threw away. These will have to be replaced with cad nuts and bolts from my own stock. Ron

The plating is back and very nice it looks too! I've got some serious sorting out to do with this lot now. Ron

It's probably a bit less than 1/4", but once I realized they were different I couldn't use the original line as an exact reference. I wondered if it's a discrepancy during the assembly of the tanks. Or is it that Ben's tank has spread a bit? Some bikes do have a support bar underneath the tank to stop that happening. I really can't imagine that there were different fuel pipes. A blooming good job that I checked it and did a trial fit to Ben's tank, as it would be impossible to stretch it at all. Ron