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Secret
Restoration of a Cold War
Warrior
At precisely 8:00 am on the
morning of 8th April 2006 the members of East London & Essex
section embarked on a secret undertaking to restore a1951 Matchless G3LS late
of the Luxemburg Army. The location was in rural 
manufacture
of the said motorcycle. The bike had been purchased from Jurgen Bohm, through
an advert placed in the October issue of Jampot. In keeping with cold war
procedures a clandestine rendezvous was arranged to collect the bike adjacent
to the autobahn system, where it was hidden in the back of a van: driven of
course by a mysterious third party.
Like all military projects
detailed forward planning had already taken place, and in the best tradition of
the services all personnel were volunteers. Prior inspection by Capt. Roy
Bellett (or should that be corporal) had established the requirement for a full
strip down and repaint. Although the engine and gearbox were both working they
required attention; especially the clutch and drive train. The electrical items
also needed a thorough overhaul along with the wheels and brakes. The various
items required were 
supplied
from a variety of sources: along with the professional services of former
sidecar racer Derek Yorke, to rebuild the wheels. Because of the need for
secrecy the rebuild took place in a newly constructed shed well away from
prying eyes. The shed was equipped with all the tools & equipment likely to
be needed including a clock to ensure that the timetable was adhered to. The
objective was to completely rebuild the machine, and have it running in Twelve
Hours!
The frenzied dismantling started right on time, with components being removed examined and cleaned ready for painting. It was important to remove the wheels early as the hubs and rims needed to be painted in army green before they could be rebuilt. Although this was easily accomplished with the rear; the front was proving very difficult as the lower fork caps were corroded onto the studs, and the front torque arm could not be released from the brake plate. Eventually, by using heat and brute force the caps came away, but the torque arm had to be removed with the wheel once the mudguard had been prised free of the forks. Further attempts to remove the torque arm resulted in shearing the boss from the brake plate. This could have been catastrophic but fortunately a spare plate was procured from under the bench. Both fork legs were taken away, by Dave Slater, to be cleaned and reconditioned with new seals. The engine and gearbox were left until last as the rest of the bike was dismantled around them. Some difficulty was encountered undoing the clutch centre because it kept tuning. In retrospect it would have been easier to remove the clutch centre with the back wheel and brake still fitted. By 11:20 am the bike had been completely dismantled and all parts had been allocated for refinishing.
The various sheet metal parts were transferred to the painting area to be rubbed down and primed ready for the topcoat. Most of the preparation was done by Ken Burton but the petrol tank, which required filling and sanding, was entrusted to the Captain’s son Josh. The primer coats were applied by aerosol spray, but most of the topcoat was applied using a spray gun and compressor. The most important item still requiring spraying was the main frame loop which was sprayed in army green at12:10 pm. To speed up the drying and help harden the paint, many of the components were placed in the sauna cabinet. Armours supplied a new exhaust pipe and silencer in bare metal. These were given several coats of high temperature black engine paint that hopefully will not discolour too much. Whilst the major parts were being painted all the small fasteners and clips were cleaned, degreased and treated with chemical black: a process entrusted to resident chemist Dudley Woods.
It was Napoleon who said that an army marches on its stomach, so for this operation catering could not be ignored. There was a constant supply of hot beverages, courtesy of the tea urn, breakfast at nine, snacks at eleven thirty, followed by lunch at two thirty: all served by the captain’s wife and daughter, Karen and Lucinda. They both managed to maintain good humour even though they were surrounded by a bunch of overworked & stressed old fogies.
Once the wheel rims and hubs were dry Derek Yorke and his nephew James Rogers were able to start rebuilding the wheels. A new set of spokes had previously been painted so that they could be safely handled. The build commenced at about 10:50 am with the spokes being laced to the rims. By 1:30 pm both wheels were fully finished complete with new tyres and tubes. It certainly pays to employ experts for such tasks. Talking of experts; Ron West checked and serviced all the electrical items including the dynamo and control box. Everything was connected to the new wiring loom, supplied by Colin Farrington, and tested prior to each being fitted in its correct location.
The
engine was partially stripped to check the condition. The barrel and piston
were quite badly scored, so were replaced by a refurbished set supplied by AMC
Spares. The bottom end was found to be in good condition and was not disturbed
apart from cleaning the oil pump. The cylinder head was cleaned and de-coked
and the whole engine was reassembled using new gaskets and seals, from Jampot
Spares.
Reassembly commenced around 12:45 pm when the frame sections were deemed dry enough to be handled. The rebuild was quite straight forward apart from time spent searching for various parts that had been mislaid. Frequently the item was not being refitted by the same person who removed it, resulting in a few harsh words. However the longest delay occurred when the ball in the clutch rod mechanism went missing. It was eventually found lurking in the cleaning tank: in all it wasted nearly an hour. For safety reasons the handlebars and controls were not fitted until quite late: along with the cables and wiring loom. Once the pipes were finally reconnected, oil was added to the tank and gearbox. The final part to be fitted was the fully reconditioned seat and the bike was then ready to go.
With less than fifteen minutes to
spare the machine was lifted down from the bench out into the cool night air.
Just at that moment it started to rain, but it did not dampen proceedings too
much. The tank was filled with petrol, the carburettor primed and the
kick-starter prodded. “The clutch is slipping,” announced the
captain, with some concern. A screwdriver was produced, the inspection cover
removed and final adjustments made. One more swinging kick, a cough, a splutter
and the old army bike was running. The time 7:55 pm:
Story: - Alan Jennings Photography: - Alan Jennings/Roy Bellett
Acknowledgements: -
Leonard Brookes Ltd. Paint supplies.
Billericay Coachworks Ltd. Paint sundries.
Jampot Spares Ltd. Various new components.
AMC Classic Spares. Refurbished components.
Colin Farrington. Wiring Harness.
T Johnson. Control cables.
Armours. Exhaust system
And of course the following
members of East
Vic Sayers, Will Powell, Reg Green, Keith Gray, Dudley Woods, Ron West, John Puttock, Dennis Fox, Dave Pratt, Roy Bellett, Peter Bearman, Dave Slater, Dave Nicholls, Ron Mathers, Peter Berry, Alan Jennings, Ken Burton, Ian Testro, Geoff Gibbons, Dave Kewell, plus friends Les & Dave and not forgetting Roy’s family.
· Footnote 1: - The whole process was observed by journalist Steve Wilson and his resulting article is reproduced in PDF form on these links by the kind permission of Real Classic Magazine and Mortons Motorcycle Media. Part One Part Two
· Footnote 2: - The completed machine passed the MOT test on 10th April.
·
