1946 "G8L" mystery

Information relating to the Matchless G80 or AJS Model 18 500cc Heavyweight.
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FerG3
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1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by FerG3 »

Does anyone have any information on what appears to be a batch of what are G80s produced in 1946 with a "G8L" stamp on the crankcase? There appear to be a few of these still around plus the odd engine. The stamping appears totally corrct and original.....no reworking or overstamping. Was it just an aberration or is there a story behind it?
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Rob Harknett
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by Rob Harknett »

This topic has been discussed many times since the mid 1930's when the model was first introduced. Quite recently here http://www.jampot.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... er#p107783
FerG3
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by FerG3 »

Yes, Rob, but no actual answer to my question has ever been provided as far as I am aware. Perhaps we will never know!
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Rob Harknett
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by Rob Harknett »

The link I put was the first I found on this forum that mentioned G8..
I also looked on the prewar e group messages, but I do not think you would want to spend time looking, if I found all what has been discussed in the past. There were some references discovered that referred to model G8. Which you just need disregard as meaning G80.
Quite often a different topic will draw in the G8 question. That adds even more time to discover what has been said in the past.
Some people have spent time asking for other engines and numbers for G8's Still not really discovered why they were stamped G8 instead of G80.

There have been a few mystery stampings going back years. Some quite easy explained, like a B stamped could have meant the bike went out with Bowden instead of Amal levers. There were engine number stampings prewar with G8 instead of G80 or G90 also AJS with 8 instead of 18. Sometimes the small print in literature explains some of these mysteries.
You could perhaps solve the mystery yourself, by what parts were used on your early post war bike.
Ashampoo_Snap_2017.04.17_20h16m22s_004_.png
Note the old prewar part numbers starting with 2 digits like 38 for 1938 followed by a model number, like G8 and G9. These numbers may be found cast on the parts. You may even see AJS model numbers like 8. within the pt. no. They never bothered about the zero for G80 and G90 or the one for AJS model 18. Seems they sometimes also never bothered on the engine number also. Maybe your bike used up some old G8 parts, so they stamped it G8. Too late now after 70 odd years, to take your engine apart to see what's inside. To see if it differs from what should be standard parts fitted. Some prewar and early post war machines had R stamped. We assume this meant roller instead of ball bearings.
Some will just accept their bike is a G80, others may hope to prove they have something special in their bike being a G8.
The workers never bothered when they built them. They simply referred to what they were working on as 500's or 350's. That was not just AMC. You will find AJS of Wolverhampton bikes with numbers only stamped, some prefixed with the year letter code, others not. I guess that depended on who built the bike. Maybe years ago it was old Harry who always stamped G80 engines he built as G8.
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FerG3
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by FerG3 »

Thank you, Rob for summing all this stuff up! Much appreciated. Well at least I think I can put to rest a couple of other theories I had heard suggested, including dealer-assembled special!
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GOLDSTAR
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by GOLDSTAR »

are you the chap who posted a similar question on the BSAwdM20 site a short while ago? kind regards
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Rob Harknett
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Re: 1946 "G8L" mystery

Post by Rob Harknett »

matchlesswdg3 wrote:Thank you, Rob for summing all this stuff up! Much appreciated. Well at least I think I can put to rest a couple of other theories I had heard suggested, including dealer-assembled special!
If it was dealers they were stamping G8 for G80/G90 Matchless and 8 for 18 AJS from mid 1930's onwards. Dealers certainly did not make the parts castings, cast with G8, G9, 8 etc. part numbers. The manufacturers did that.
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