It's In The Bag...................Thanks Lucas!

This oil tank form The Factory Metal Works has been on my watch list for months. Looking, nay lusting, at it almost on a daily basis, already plumbed for Triumph fittings and cooler than a walrus' cod piece, I knew I had to own one.

Well there's no time like the present, (or no present like the time if you're a clock maker at Christmas) and the order went in.

All the stuff from Lucas, that I've seen, reeks of quality workmanship. Don't let the price put you off with his parts, that will be long forgotten when you're still admiring the piece in years to come.

I went for the unpolished, centre fill option, there's no shame in showing these welds off to the world, although a hinged seat now becomes a necessity, I can live with it.

They Say You Can't Polish A Turd...........

............. but you can wipe the shit off of a diamond!

Been looking for a set of big bearing 500 cases that will do justice to building a motor for the Delta Head.  Tiger 100 cases are fine and other than the stamped number are the same thing, so for all practical reasons they would do fine. If we only do things that make practical sense, then we wouldn't do most of the things we do, and most likely have a big H#nd@ sitting in the heated garage.

I found out from Pete (Lurkingclass on JJ) that he had this set of '55 TR5 cases that needed a little love but were available. Most people here in England think of the rigid Trophy when they hear TR5 mentioned, but the model carried through until 1959 in limited production all it's life.  Only 4594 standard TR5s were built between '49 and '59 plus 178 highly desirable TR5Rs, not many by Triumph standards and being predominantly off-roaders who knows how many survived.

As you can see in the pictures there has been some very good repair work done on the dynamo ear, and there's witness that the motor was run subsequently, albeit without a dynamo. More evidence of dirt usage.

Being a sucker for punishment and determined to run a set of BB TR5 cases here in England, just for the kudos,  we made the deal.

Gave the pair of cases a cursory clean, before taking them to a retired toolmaker in the village to see if he could right the wrongs to the dynamo mount. Not a bad effort I'm sure you'll agree, and whoever did the initial weld repair was a master of his craft, no porosity or blow holes seen throughout the machining process.

Other than that, and a missing cam bush, the cases are in superb condition, It's as though the damage was a blessing in disguise and people passed over them because of it.

Rather than vapour blasting, which always leaves a degree of uncertainty, they were cleaned with hot water and washing up liquid followed by carb cleaner and a brass bristled wire brush. They will now be done again to get right into the corners etc. as the repair has been so successful.

Greasy Kulture 35

Issue 35 of GKM has just dropped on the mat, as ever well worth the read.

A real bonus is the first real English article that I've seen on Mark Drews' legendary T110 show bike featured below;

It amazes me that in the article it says that it's a bit of a Marmite bike, that people either love it or hate it. Now I don't like Marmite, but I can't  honestly understand anyone not liking this.

If you don't know the bike, or you do and want to see quality pics of it, hit Guy up for a copy

HERE