AJS & Matchless Owners Club

Hi All,

Thanks for letting me join.
I got here searching the net trying to ID a "barn find" matchless of my late father in-law.
From the engine I guess it is a 1939 model 22 (engine stamp 39/22 so easy!)
However I can find pictures of AJS model 22's but no Matchless model 22's.
Am I correct as to what model it is?
We are unsure wether to continue with restoration as it needs quite a few bits, mainly gearbox etc.

Many Thanks
Edward
Derby

HI Edward,
Welcome to the club. what you have seems in very good nick for a barn find. I suspect the gearbox would be a Burman CP box which are not too difficult to get hold of in reasonable condition. I have most of one in my small cache of spares and a tin chain case that is for a G3 1940 WO which are not so easy to get hold of that i think might do the job. If you contact Rob Harknett (Pre War Officer), he will be able to advise you as to the model and whether what I have told you is indeed correct.

You have in my opinion most of the important cycle parts of the bike and the paintwork looks to be in very good condition and if it were mine I would leave it as is. This is something that I and many of our other members would envy as a restoration project, I would encourage you to do so as the end result is very rewarding. Good luck with your restoration.

Regards,
Tommy RE

Welcome, Edward.
I expect our resident expert; Pre-War officer Rob Harknett will be along shortly but my initial thoughts........
Do you have any log book, tax discs or receipt for the bike?
Perfect for light restoration!

(Post edited to remove my earlier waffle).

Probably the only part of this bike that is 1939 is the left hand AJS crank case. Rest of engine could be Matchless circa 1937 Forks may be AJS to match the front wheel which also could be pre 1937 AJS note the front brake on the right. Older Matchless had a rear wheel with the brake on the right, this bike has the rear brake on the left. Oil tank is pre 1936, petrol tank pre 1937 note it has single hole for knee grip fitting. Headlamp should be flat glass. Gearbox to fit what's here would probably be a pre 1938 Burman mod H. Very hard to find.
So a mixture of years and marques. The frame, front wheel, oil tank, looks more like a 1935 250 F/4. ( frame is used to date a bike ) If those parts are used to start building a correct machine, all other parts would be wrong. It would be almost impossible to build a correct bike as so many parts would be wrong, that you have. I cannot see if the bike has rear or entre stand. As you have most parts to build a machine, I would say just complete it with parts what ever you can make fit. At a guess using what you have, best you may have is 1935 F/4 with wrong engine, rear wheel and tank plus a bit more. But at least you could make something to ride and enjoy.
You are not showing up as a club member, am I to assume you are a guest on the forum?? May be worth joining the club, guess are limited to 90 days free use on the forum. Note fully paid up members get discounted dating service.

All my pet dogs have been mongrels and better for it so I would be happy to live with this beautiful mongrel.

pkr87 wrote:All my pet dogs have been mongrels and better for it so I would be happy to live with this beautiful mongrel.

Hi thanks for all the help and comments!

I will speak to my brother in law to see what we want to do with this. We have lots of things to sort with the estate and a couple of other bikes to sort. (Triumph tiger 70 and a wartime James ML)

Without upsetting or offending (hopefully) if we decided to sell would it be best to offer it here rather than on a certain bay that attracts all kinds of interesting people....

Thanks

Edward