Ali Baba and the 40 Store-Bashers.
Geriaviator,
The Bond was very stable in normal circumstances. I only managed to lift the inside wheel on a couple of occasions, and then no more than a foot or so. I can see the advantage in your teacher's method in RH bends. If his plugs were always fouling, then either he was putting too much oil in (I found 20:1 better than the recommended 16:1) or he was running rich (the needle in the carb could wear and you could drop it down a click). I found the three-prong plugs the best (KLG ?); if one point fouled up, you should get a spark from another.
Every 5,000 miles or so, the exhaust port would coke-up, and power faded out. Not to worry, head off, manifold off, BDC, poke coke into cyl. with blunt screwdriver, TDC, wipe coke off head, reassemble. All 2-strokes of the time needed this (do they still ?)
If he had succeeded in fitting the Velocette 500, then the tractor unit would have wrenched away from the bulkhead, punched through the front and vanished into the middle distance. Not to be recommended ! I thought that the power increment from 122 to 197 (5hp to 8hp) was dodgy enough.
Even the smaller engine would wind it up to 40 mph, at which speed road-holding was at best tenuous and at worst non-existent. The last ones had a 249 (?) weird thing which could be switched to rotate backwards (to give you reverse drive). As by then they had fitted springs to the back, maybe it could handle the extra power. They lasted well into the mid-seventies.
I would think the fiancée had something to do with the change of wheels. Exactly the same happened to me.
Your turn, now. I look forward eagerly to more tales of Abdul, Graham and their villainous associates in Khormaksar ......D.
Smujsmith,
Sad to say, Spitfires of all Marks were treated as "hacks" then, as there were so many left over from the war. I would imagine you could pick them up for a song at any military surplus sale (why didn't I invest my Gratuity in half a dozen, and store them in some old barn ? - I'd be a millionaire now !)......D.
pulse1,
Would that be the one with the gold stars on the paintwork ? And did they try putting the V-12 into the Daimler Sports 250 ? And there was a half-size replica Spitfire flying in the US with the Jaguar V-12 under the bonnet. Could they have been the same engine ? Long noses were common enough, I remember the SS I and SS II of the late '30s - it was all show, there was nothing to speak of underneath.
Don't know your chap (try Union Jack ?) but - "There were Giants in those Days".........D.
Cheerio to you all, Danny.
"Be careful of what you wish for - you may get it"
Last edited by Danny42C; 19th Mar 2013 at 23:02.
Reason: Typo.