R.E. model A

[wetdog]

some bikes just make poor financial sence , ive made the same mistake (several times)  , alldays allon and a  B40 are my biggest mistakes , lost on both ,   best to sell as projects or spray matt black and ride , this last option is good fun and you don't have to worry about devaluing/falling off etc

[murdo]

My uncle thinks that dad's R.E. was a '39 model that he bought in Jan/Feb 1940. He is sure it was a ridged frame with tubular girders and the tank was painted grey. He traded his '28 AJS on the Enfield before the shortages of war started. He used to ride the 8 miles to the farm he worked on at the time, and I remember him telling about running it on lighting kerosene and mothballs (naphthalene) to make his monthly petrol ration go further (he got very quick at cleaning spark plugs). In '43 he got a job in town (still not old enough to join army) and had to hide the bike so it would not be comandered be the army. 

[murdo]

Have decided to hang the model A up in shed for the moment until I can go back to where I found the rest and have a better dig around and maybe find some more of it. The other option was to put some more modern Enfield (Indian) bits into it and maybe use a Villiers or Japanese engine. The end result would be a barstard child and probably worth even less than it is now. 

[murdo]

Have been back to the dump where I found the bits with a shovel, and after an afternoon of old tins and bottles have only succeeded in finding the gearbox, a small frame piece, magneto end bit and the rusted mudguards. Have hung the bits up with the rest on the shed wall but don't have enough to be worth trying to restore. 

[murdo]

Have been collecting a few bits and have decided to see how far I can get.
My question is about the frame castings joints. How are they braised/welded to the frame tubes and what is the best method to get them apart to replace the rusted tubes?

[33d6]

Hi Murdo,
They are brazed joints but they were pinned together before being brazed so you need to drill out the pins before trying to disassemble them.
The pins were usually just small nails to keep things together whilst doing the job so easy to drill out. Generally, if you clean the surface with a fine file you can see where the pin was inserted.

Have fun.

[murdo]

Yes 33d6, fun indeed.
I heated the top frame tube to melt the braze, but what I didn't know was that the top tube was 'double tubed' and fractured around the joint. It came away in my hand once the brass was soft and I had to heat and chisel out the bits left in the head casting. Am going to attempt the seat mount end tomorrow now that I know what to expect.

[murdo]

Got the seat mount off the tube today. Crafty little buggers had put two pins in the joint. I had drilled out the one I found but the second caused a bit of a struggle.

[33d6]

I don't think the factory built the 'A' with you in mind 75 years later. Very remiss of them wasn't it. Either that or they did think of you and killed themselves laughing at the song and dance they would cause.

Now is the time to start sourcing the tube you need. It used to be easy enough but many of the old imperial sizes are now hard to find. What sizes will you need? Both O.D and wall thickness.

Just so you know you're not alone I'm currently rebuilding the frame of a 1939 Montgomery Terrier. It gives new meaning to the word 'nasty', but I love it. So much more interesting than just another boring Triumph or BSA. 

Cheers,

[murdo]

Very remiss of them 33d6.
Have purchased some tube locally from Metaland, and I had a piece here for the seat to gearbox piece. Top tube was 1 1/4" x 16ga with doublers inside. I have used 32mm x 2mm with skimming a bit on ends back to 31.75mm to fit castings. The front down tubes were 7/8" x 12ga, and I have used 22mm x 2.5mm. So far so good.

[murdo]

I googled the Montgomery Terrier, and looks similar to the Enfield.

[murdo]

Could anybody please tell me why they put the muffler on the left side? Was this to hide the 'dirty' chain or to just make it more difficult to lubricate/adjust?

[33d6]

Probably to avoid the kick start. Easier to move the exhaust than pay Albion good money for an extended kick start lever. Not that I'm cynical or anything.

Cheers,

[murdo]

Maybe, but all the four strokes with similar frames (eg Model B) had the kickstart on the right with the muffler. Have seen other brands of small twostrokes with muffler on left too. I have put mine on the right so that I can get to the chain for maintence. Using an Enfield kickstarter it clears the pipe fine.

[murdo]

Have been doing a bit on this Enfield in between other projects. Is not all original Enfield, but I think will be good enough for a rideable rally bike.