I purchased my Mark 3 Sport in Adelaide, South Australia in 1975. It has waited patiently in my garage for attention until last August when I was made aware that 2007 is the Centenary year of the marque.
Fortunately in the mid 1980's I was posted in Paris and was a member of the LDCC. I took the opportunity to meet Reg Holmes who introduced me to Bill Douglas and Eric Brockway at the Motorcycle swap meet in Bristol. I have very fond memories of that time. I showed these gentlemen the attached "before" photo of my machine. I was promptly asked, "what do you need for it"? I made a shopping list that included tool boxes, centre stand, both chain guards and several other items. The list was promptly filled and those parts were boxed and relegated to a patient wait for action with the rest of the machine.
The new magneto I purchased at the Bristol meet for the princely sum of 60 quid from a little guy who received it in payment from his brother in law for painting his house! I recall Bill Douglas having a wry grin and remarking that "Grandpa always said that more Douglas's went over the fence than through the gate"! Eric made the comment then that Douglas parts had become a defacto second currency in Bristol. Eric also gave me an original copy of the Mk3S photo that appears in "The Best Twin" and I have largely used that as my guide, having never seen a fully restored Mk3S that I recalled.
In defence of my tardiness I was distracted by further postings overseas with the Foreign Office and the restoration of a couple of BSA's, one a '37 V twin Y13 which won best bike at the recent National BSA Rally here in Australia (story and photos
here), and a '39 SS80 Brough Superior.
I am grateful for the encouragement and good advice that I have had from members of the forum, Reg Holmes, Alwyn Hunt, Roger Gibbard, Brian Thorby and Trevor Pickett to name a few.
The engine detail shows the Brian Thorby inspired PCV breather unit in place of the oil filler cap. I made minor modification to Brian's design but used the same BMW PCV valve and it works a treat. The only other "mod" I made was the two small radius tubes on the carbies to direct the throttle cable away from the exhaust pipes. I would comment that in the unusual event that I ride the machine in shorts as I am occasionally wont to do when doing minor fettling checks, I will try hard to remember that the leg shield bolts do tend to get quite warm!
I have had to rehone my painting skills, the tank was quite a complicated undertaking, doing the bike in two pack as I did. The clear has to be on over the base coat within a couple of hours and when you are playing with four colours (silver, black, white and blue) on the tank it is quite a challenge. Clearing over the water slide transfers was also approached with some trepidation but It worked out beautifully and I am very happy with the result.
I even decided to have a go at seat upholstery as I have inherited my late father's industrial sewing machine along with, I hope, a modicum of his sewing ability.
The Dougy is proving to be a really nippy and comfortable little machine with a nice rorty head turning note. I'm going to really enjoy riding it, why didn't I restore it sooner?
Once again, thanks to you all for your help.
Peter Davey
larger view
Larger view
Larger viewA truly remarkable transformation Peter!
Alwyn
