What model Francis Barnett is this?

[VintageBike]

Can anyone help John Edwards identofy the year and model of his late father's Fannie B? It looks in great condition.





Thanks

Nigel.

[Blue]

Looks like a Villiers 8D engine ... I'd hazard a guess that this bike to is an immediately pre-war (about 1939) 122cc 'Snipe'

Although having said that, i dont know when FB introduced the welded, pressed-metal downtube


I haven't really got any information on pre-war bikes, but I hope this can narrow it down - otherwise try the FB owners club
 http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/index.htm

[33d6]

Hi John,
It looks very like a late 30's Seagull. It is definitely fitted with a 250 Villiers but for absolutely positive identification you need to provide the frame number.
Cheers, Bob

[JOHNO]

THANX FOR THE REPLY, FRAME No IS GC3294 AND ENG VILLIERS 2&1/2 HP, MKXIVA, .. HOPE U CAN HELP!!, ALSO HOPE U REC THIS OK !!, I'M NOT HE BEST AT PC  USE, VERY,VERY MUCH A NOVICE !!, MANY THANX TO NIGEL FOR HIS HELP.

RGDS, GOD BLESS,
JOHN'O EDWARDS

[33d6]

Hi John,
The 'G' Prefix in the frame number identifies your bike as a 1937 model. The Mk IVA is definitely a 250cc Villiers made from 1933 to 1940. There were a couple of variants of this engine and the engine number prefix should identify which one. I would expect it to be either BYP or BY. BYP denotes the petroil version (the engine runs on a mixture of petrol and oil with the oil providing all engine lubrication) or a plain BY prefix which denotes the engine was fitted with the Villiers Autolube system having a separate oil tank where the oil is fed into the engine under pressure.
As the Seagull was the cheaper 250cc model in the Francis Barnett line up I suspect it would have the BYP petroil engine.
Given the bike has been on the road for 70 years the engine could have been changed around a bit in this time. Villiers engines are very amenable to a bit of parts shuffling.
Further information is very easy. The VMCC Library carry both the 1937 Francis Barnett catalogue plus all the engine technical info you need. There is a Francis Barnett Owners Club as well but from their website it would appear they lean more towards the later bikes. Whatever the case there are lots of Fanny Bee fans out there who would be only to happy to help you get such a lovely old beastie back on the road.
Cheers, Bob