1929 Excelsior (UK)

[chaterlea25]

Hi Paul,
With your mix and match BTH / Miller components it will take some effort to make it work
I'm sure I can find the Miller 3 brush diagram in one of my Rudge books ??
But, I seem to remember there's a  resistance fixed to the switch in my headlamp?
Again need to go and look !!
I wonder if there's a resistance on the underside of the cut out??

John

[PaulBurton]

Hi John, thanks for your reply - sounds like it might be some fun sorting this one out! There is no resistance on the underside of the cut out and no sign of one in the headlamp (only the strap connections between terminals 2&4; 3&6 as shown in the photo). If you are able to find your Rudge version of a Miller 3 brush setup that may well shed some 'light' on matters! Thanks. Paul.

[chaterlea25]

Hi Paul,
Since you do not have a resistance for the switch, causes a problem 
It will not work without one, the resistance is switched in on the charge position to limit the dynamo output
and bypassed when full charge is needed when the headlamp is switched on
Hopefully the Rudge Miller diagram attached will give you some help on the other switch functions?
( I would still advise to fit an electronic regulator DVR2)

John

[iansoady]

Liking a challenge, I decided to keep the 3 brush dynamo on my 1931 Sunbeam. It's not brilliant but works as designed and I have no intention of riding it in the dark......

If it's of interest, the half charge resistor in the Lucas setup is 8 ohms.

[PaulBurton]

Hi John & Ian. Thanks for your replies - John for the Rudge diagram and Ian for some encouragement to persevere with the 3 brush setup (likewise, I will never be out on the roads at night!).
Looking at the Rudge diagram I noticed that the resistor was bridging terms 2 and 4. Looking at the inside of my Miller I see there is a bridge (photo on my post a couple of days ago shows this) so I have suddenly (and belatedly) realised this could be a resistance - even though it just looks like a copper/brass connector, So I dismantled it and checked with the multimeter and low and behold it came up with 8 ohms!
The puzzle now is why is there a second resistor (also measured at 8 ohms) between 3&6?
I'm so sorry to have misled you chaps by saying there was no resistance - anyway, I guess this is good news.

[PaulBurton]

Hi Excelsior friends out there! Pressing on with the restoration of the 1929/30 350cc and now turning my attention to the mudguards. I have the originals but they are pretty rough so any thought of recovering them seems a bit academic. Any ideas of who can best copy custom mudguards given the old ones as patterns? I have tried various local workshops here in Portugal, they are usually good at off-beat jobs but seem reluctant to take this on. Any good recommendations in the UK? Thanks.........

[cardan]

Vintage Steel do beautiful repro guards: http://www.vintagesteel.com.au/

Cheers

Leon

[chaterlea25]

Hi
In the UK Simon Stephens has taken over Renovation spares
He does it on a part time basis,
I have sent you a PM with his contact  email

John

[PaulBurton]

Thanks Leon & John, I'll follow those leads 

[murdo]

I like the 'budget flat pack'!
"For the budget conscious not too fussy about shape and have a few weeks to spare." 

[iansoady]

How is Renovation quality these days? I had  a Norton mudguard from them about 25 years ago and it was good quality but heard that later they weren't so good.

[chaterlea25]

Hi,
My Brother purchased a couple from them recently and all is good

John

[PaulBurton]

Hello to any of my previous contacts on this subject. I have been getting on with the restoration and the final touch was getting the replacement exhausts (stainless steel) fitted. The bike is all ready to get lifted down to ground level and then I can see abot firing her up. Here are a couple of pics as she is.

[iansoady]

Looks good.

[cardan]

Well done Paul! It's come a long way from the photos at the top of the thread.

Leon