BSF Nuts and bolts

[Brian Cape Town]

Hi people . I recently imported a Mk 5 into South Africa from the UK, usual stuff used to have them years ago, and have started the restoration.

Firstly, the machine is all there nothing missing including a 30 year old battery!!
I had the Mag rewound in the UK  as it was bound to be faulty in some way the condenser if nothing else, (and so it proved) The next approach was to strip down the engine for I felt that standing for such a long time the crank was sure to be full of sludge.

The results proved interesting all the workings appear in excellent condition the bores unscored with just one piston ring trapped, looks as if there was heat expansion and no gentle persuasion would shift it so the ring broke and the grove had to be dressed to allow the other ring to fit.

The crank has no play and when oil is pumped through the oilways by means of a pressure oil can it flows freely. Now you chaps I am reluctant to have this pulled apart mainly because although we have BMW experts here it seems an unnecessary risk, any opinions??

However when pulling the pots off the crankcase revealed an earlier sad encounter with either a thrown rod or a lamp post and requires some carefull welding, I have been put in touch with a couple of 'experts' so should be OK. Tips here welcome.

The most difficult thing I have come across is an absolute desert of BSF nuts and bolts in SA. I am going to the UK in May so Will try to fill a pew pockets with suitable sizes.

My question is are they freely available in the UK or perhaps there are some 'recommended' suppliers.

Cheers Brian

[Chris]

Hi Brian
A useful supplier of nuts and bolts in BSF and Cycle threads in the UK is a firm called "Nooky's Nuts". They attend most of the motorcycle auto-jumbles (Swap Meets?) and supply nuts and bolts in £1 bags with the number of items in a bag determined by the size. i.e. you get more 1/4" nuts in a bag for your £1 than 5/16" or 3/8" nuts. They also supply by mail order. Their address is C.W. Bradford, 49 Park Drive Wickford, Essex. SS12 9DJ. Tel. 01268 761687.    Chris.

[Doug]

Brian,

If it was running as recently as thirty years ago, there is a good possibility it already has been running on a diet of detergent oil.  So any ancient sludge in the crank pin traps that was prone to be loosed probably has done so long ago.  If you can peer into the sump, or drop the oil pump and poke your finger up the hole, you can get an idea of the potential amount of sludge in the crank by the amount of sludge in the sump. 

Mark cranks do not like being pressed apart and together too many times, the eyes tend to stretch and go slack.  So you are quite right to be reluctant to disassemble it.  But if you do have a sludge problem, you ought to bite the bullet and take care of it now.  You could just knock the crank pin plugs out, but that will tend to extrude any sludge into the connecting rod bearing and the oil galleries.  You might be able to drill and tap the plugs, then pull them out if they are the tablet type.  But some plugs are one piece dumbbell like affairs (see picture), so either way it is a push/pull.  But these just drag the sludge along, rather than acting like a piston an extruding it through the oil galleries.



-Doug

[Daren W Australia]

Hi my supply of old bolts comes from a family buisness that sells to the tobaco industry. They still use machines from the pre war era made in England. Regards Daren

[Brian Cape Town]

Thanks people
Brian

[eddie]

Thanks people
Brian

Brian, If you are visiting the UK, try Namrick Limited of Portland Road, Hove, (nr Brighton), Sussex for your BSF and Whitworth Bolts. They stock just about every size used on postwar Douglases either bright zinc plated or in stainless. They also do very handy 'variety packs'!! They can also be contacted on line at www.namrick.co.uk
I am also in agreement with Doug - if your crank is servicable, then leave it alone - when it comes to finding someone with the expertise to rebuild these units properly - they are very thin on the ground. Using the 'experts' in the UK has proved, in the past, to be a bit of a lottery. I have rebuilt several postwar cranks using stepped crankpins running in INA needle roller bearings. This method requires the rods to be bored but most of them are now oversize due to previous rebuilds. If you need any more info, I will be happy to send it on.
                  Regards,  Eddie.