By Robert Beech
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Raising the 'Beam |
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By Robert Beech |
| A Restoration Story - SSJ 537... (Part 3) |
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AUGUST 2002
Holiday
season, so I spent the rest of the month getting the bits and pieces round me
for re-assembly.
The
guys in the tool room at work have been great,
one of them used to own a S8 in his youth, and he is really enthusiastic
about the project, luckily he is also the foreman,
They
have made me.
New wheel spindles front and
back with the correct L/H threads
New rear brake linkages with
clevis and pins, all in stainless
New foot peg brackets
New steering damper plates
and friction’s
New rear
stantion caps
Plus loads of other bits
They
have saved me a bomb
A
supplier to the company also keen on what I am doing has supplied all the
BSF nuts and bolts in stainless F.O.C. Must send him a drink.
Handlebars handle bar clamp bolts (Special), fork top nuts. Came from Custom
Fasteners they advertise in all the old bike books, and I can vouch for
their service it is superb 48hrs max.
Add to
this about £250 worth of bits down at Stewart Engineering and we ready to
start.
BTW I
had a bit of Chroming done over this period. I can recommend
A C F
Howell
Croft
St
Walsall
01922
649992
They
specialise in chrome restoration for cars and bikes
£55 got
me one batch brought back to life which I reckon would have cost be £200 to
replace.
£15 got
me the driveshaft chromed, and all the top friction damper assembly
nickel-plated, worth every penny.
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| SEPTEMBER 2002 Assembly, all goes well except for the mudguards. Difficulty getting them seated right Front, well the wrong rear stay was in the box; I had had it sand blasted and powdered. A new one from Stewarts soon put that right. Rear, A strengthening plate been brazed into the top of the guard, frenched in so well I didn’t spot it. Hence the whole thing was sitting to high. Spent a lot of time extending holes and fiddling to get it right. Again every thing was clean and in finish paints. Lessons learned... A little time spent assembling prior to paint finishing pays I’ve recommended Custom Fasteners & Howells; I should mention Stewart Engineering. I have heard a few folks complain about the cost of parts from Stewarts, well I think we all wince when we have to dip our hands into our pockets. I can only say that if you compare their parts with modern equivalents their prices are not so bad, specially considering that they have to make or purchase in small batches and don’t have the economy of scale of the larger manufactures. It’s not his fault that we have brought a 50 year old bike, and the realisation that its restoration is going to cost us more than we hoped as just hit us. To have a one-stop shop where you can buy every last part you need is a bit special, long may they stay in business. I have found them not only useful for parts, but also advise and information. Dave Holyoake has a wealth of knowledge about S7’s & S8’s. More to the point he is more than willing to share that knowledge with useful help and advise. He is a busy man with a garage to run, so advance warning of your visit, your requirements, and questions you need answering are common courtesy. |
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E-mail: bsmc@classicglory.co.uk |
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www.classicglory.co.uk |