Triumph Valve Timing...................Covered

Got the timing cover back from the polisher, tried a different guy to the regular bloke who normally does it. The Triumph case needs a more sympathetic approach than a BSA cover,  there's the seating area for the pressure relief valve on the front face and the pressure outlet just to the right in the picture. These surface must not be subjected to the mops as they need to remain flat, if they are to have any hope of keeping the oil in. He also stayed away from the original 1954 brass patent plate, the lettering is still crisp on it so there was absolutely no point in chiselling it off just to replace it with a modern repop in black and silver.

Geoff has also removed the crank end bush from behind the pressure relief valve and fitted an "O" ring and circlip. This forms a tighter seal around the crank nose ensuring that more of the vital black gold gets to the big ends instead of leaking away as the bush wears. Note the figures 54 cast in just above the E3218 part number, showing this to be a 1954 casting and therefore most likely to be the original cover for the motor.

Photo from Biker Metric

After finally getting to grips with the idea of hunting teeth and non-aligning timing marks it may have been an idea to whittle a timing cover out of Perspex or Lucite as Mark Drews has done on the primary of his killer rigid. That way countless hours could have been spent at shows and events boring the asses off of people demonstrating the effect!