[halfa]

Brilliant job! She looks like she’s just rolled out of the factory. What green is the toolframe ? Cheers

[halfa]

Lovely, I’d have it in the house on display!

[halfa]

Brilliant job !

[halfa]

Great job on the pressure gauge. Whilst having some stickers done on my van recently I got talking to the guy doing it, who also makes signs for shops etc. I asked him about engraving Perspex and he told me he couldn’t see any problem with recreating your cover, he has 2 ways of doing it, one being a computer controlled engraving machine and he also has a laser engraving machine.

[halfa]

Great find ! I love the cobra emblem on the cover. Well done.

[halfa]

Yes the gem tank caps are identical and the carburettor float was from an gem JAP engine too. The magneto refurbishment story you described was exactly what I came up against. Not because he didn’t like them but because he is so busy with motorbike ones. But with some persistence and the fact he only lives 5 mins from me, he agreed to help me out as a bit of a one off. I’m glad he did because he really knew his stuff. I will suggest to him there could be a market for him working on the wico A’s.

[halfa]

After a little break during the cold weather I started sourcing a few parts I needed to help finish her off mechanically and looks wise. The old carb float had a crack around the central stem so that would explain the over fuelling. A suitable donor carb was found and the float was perfect. As for the other running issues I decided to get the magneto professionally tested and overhauled, not cheap but worth every penny. She now starts on the first pull on the strap. Cosmetically all that was needed was some chrome caps for the oil and fuel tanks. A rotten Howard gem donated them and they look great with their aged look. I just need to post a cheque off to Geoff for some water slide transfers.

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[halfa]

Spot on Geoff, mechanism stuck, given it a good oiling and its beginning to free up. I’ll let it soak in for a few days. Cheers.

[halfa]

Thanks for the tip on the ultrasonic cleaner, I’ll have a look around and invest in one. I’ve looked at the mag and the impulse does operate but when it trips it just goes with a little click but if I’m not mistaken shouldn’t it go with a nice snap ? Is there a spring involved in the mechanism that may have failed ? Thanks for this all this help.

[halfa]

Correction sorry, .150 retarded. Should be at .375 btdc my points opened at .225 btdc. Please correct me if I’m wrong I’m learning as I do it. Cheers.

[halfa]

Now the re assembly is mostly complete I decided to give her start up, she ran roughly and after turning off all I can get now is a few seconds of spluttering and banging. So all of the usual things were checked spark etc and the carb was given a good blast out with solvent cleaner fuel lines replaced. None of which helped so I took the head off and checked timing which was .150 thousandths too advanced. Hopefully this will help but it’s all very strange as she ran lovely beforehand and nothing has been done to engine in the meantime apart from external cleaning. But before reassembling the engine I noticed that there is a fair bit of sideways play in the piston. So I’m thinking re ringing may be worthwhile at this point. Can anyone recommend a supplier they have used for Norton piston rings. Thanks in advance.

[halfa]

That makes sense, yes the rounded part is missing then but I think I have the correct u bolts and plates as they have a couple of notches pressed out on them. These now obviously locate the top of the knife centrally on the plate whilst it pivots. Thanks

[halfa]

Had some help today with putting some bits back together.

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[halfa]

Looking great ! Can’t wait to see her with some stickers.

[halfa]

Ah that’s where I went wrong, I put some pressure on it then started heating it up. I’ll leave it to cool off next time. Cheers for that tip.

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