Sunbeamland

Archie’s Tales

Here is a little story from the nonagenarian legend that is Archie Beggs that gives a little insight into life on the Wirral between the wars.

Tales of Old Tom Ainscough

Tom was born in Wigan and originally intended to become a dentist, but a
change in legislation requiring extra qualifications made this too
expensive. Due to the depression of the early 1920s, the family moved
across the Mersey to Moreton, where land was cheap. They bought a wooden
bungalow. Moreton was underdeveloped, with no surfaced roads,
electricity, or sewerage — hence the name “Bucket Town” (or Debtors’
Retreat).

Most people lived in caravans, some in DIY wooden shanties, and the more
affluent in ex–World War Army huts. It was not unusual to see furtive
handcarts being pushed by those unable to pay rent deciding to “do a
flitting.”

Tom managed to learn how to drive a steam wagon by helping a neighbour,
Billy Bontoft, who had a Foden. He had started off with a Mann’s wagon
and then a Yorkshire wagon with a transverse boiler, which he said “you
had to run down a ginnel to fire.”

Starting the Haulage Business

Tom and his brother Jack decided to go into the haulage business and set
up the firm Walter Ainscough & Sons (Old Walter was a sleeping partner —
literally). Their first wagon was a Foden from around 1913, registration
M2632, bought from a scrapyard in Birkenhead. It was completely worn
out. Tom steamed it home even though nothing worked, and it demolished a
neighbour’s fence. The neighbour shouted, “You should be ashamed of
yourself!”

The gearwheels were worn to razor-sharp teeth, and Tom’s father helped
by chiselling the tops off and remeshing them.

The Sandstone Wall Job

Tom and Jack had some loads to deliver to a large builder’s yard at
Heswall. Exiting the gateway, they accidentally swiped an ancient
sandstone wall, which collapsed into the dry ditch. Tom assured the
builder that the damage would be repaired, and as they drove away said
to Jack, “Let him fix it himself — there are only a few more loads to
do.”

To their surprise, the job went on and on. The builder kept asking about
the wall repair.

“We are just waiting for the man,” Tom said. Then he had a bright idea
and approached one of the neighbours who was out of work.

“Do you want to earn a bit of cash?” “What’s the job?” “Building up a
sandstone wall.” “But I’m not a brickie, and I’ve no idea about it.”
“No,” said Tom. “You only have to look like you’re doing it while we are
getting work in. I’ll take you up in the morning and bring you back at
night.”

Much to Tom’s surprise, the loads kept coming, and the stonemason
gradually rebuilt the wall, finally finishing it. When it was done, the
builder came to Tom and said:

“Will you give your man this seven and six out of my own pocket? He is
so painstaking and careful. I’ve watched him from my office and seen him
pick up a stone, study it for ten minutes before deciding where to place
it.”

“Yes,” replied Tom. “He is a real expert. We had to wait a bit to get
his services — he was working on the Liverpool Cathedral.”

Renold Chain details for Sunbeam motorcyles up to 1929

I came across the 1929 edition of a Renold Chain catalogue that lists the chain specifications for a wide variety of motorcycles, motor cars and commercial vehicles. I’ve scanned the page for Sunbeam motorcycles and hope that it is of some use.

Sunbeam 3-speed gearbox bearings, 1928 and 1929 onwards

Thanks to Chris Fisher for suggesting suitable quality bearings for the 1929 onwards 3-speed gearbox I’m putting together at the moment. The gearbox will be a CT close ratio type and is for a 1928 Model 6 that has been modified in the deep and distant past to house a hybrid OHV motor. The motor employs 1930/1931 crankcases with 1927 single port head breathed on by Chris Odling to take a new Amal 289. So, the whole bike is a “bitsa” but now goes very well with a 7.5:1 forged Model 90 piston from the sunbeamland shop.

I might point the “Model 69″ up a couple of hill climbs once the gearbox rebuild stops it dropping out of 2nd gear and we fit a 19” rear rim – it will then take a pair of the excellent Avon race compound Speedmaster and GP tyres.

1929/1930 Bearings:

1. 1 off RHP LJ1-2RSJ
2. 1 off RHP MJ7/8-2RSJ
3. 2 off RHP KLNJ3/4J

The earlier 1928 wide case box has a smaller mainshaft diameter and consequently an RMS 6 bearing in the case rather than the RMS 7 of the later type. In this case the RHP MJ3/4-2RSJ looks like it could be a good fit.

1928 Bearings:

1. 1 off RHP LJ1-2RSJ
2. 1 off RHP MJ3/4-2RSJ
3. 2 off RHP KLNJ3/4J

With the outer bearings being sealed it might be a good idea to consider implementing a small breather hole in the gearbox filler cap.

1928 Sunbeam Model 6 Longstroke up and running

It was great to get an email from Tony Petherick to say that the new forged piston we supplied was working well in his 1928 Longstroke Model 6. It’s lovely to see one of the iconic Sunbeam models retaining its valanced guards and running with leg shields too. In addition to its lighting kit, the bike also features footboards and an enclosed rear chaincase that hasn’t been lost like so many others.

Tony has fitted more sporting cams to the bike and reports that it runs very well after advancing the inlet cam by two teeth from the marked position. Does anyone have any ideas on cam timing using different cams on these bikes? It was a common “dodge” to fit the 60:30 OHV cams to the sidevalve bikes..

If anyone has a spare petrol cap for the bike please get in touch as the one fitted isn’t quite right and Tony would be keen to give a genuine Sunbeam item a new home.

1927 Sunbeam Motor-Cycle Manual

Thanks to Nick Smith for this copy of the manual for 1927 and earlier Sunbeam motorcycles. Well worth a read if you have one!

1929-1930 Sunbeam Model 90 foot-change gearbox

A very interesting picture here of the footchange arrangement used by the works Sunbeams in the Senior TT for their 3-speed gearbox. This was perhaps not Sunbeam’s greatest technical achievement and likely one of the reasons that after their victory in 1929 the Rudge factory was so dominant in 1930. The crash box from the hand change models is retained with the exception of a shorter main shaft that moved the clutch inwards and necessitated a dished engine sprocket. As can be seen, the lack of a positive stop mechanism meant that the lever is simply moved up and down to different positions in order to select a gear. A V-shaped spring does the job of the hand-change gate by engaging in a notched plate to hold it in particular gear with a spring-loaded catch that makes it harder to shift from middle gear. This is to avoid overshooting 2nd when changing up or down.

My own M90 has the same setup and it works well enough but Sunbeam soon moved on to their own 4-speed constant mesh type gearbox and later adopting 3rd party units supplied by Burman.

Hepolite pistons for pre-war Marston Sunbeam motorcycles

The ever helpful Vic Youel provided me with this copy of the Sunbeam page from the Hepolite Sunbeam catalogue some time ago. I thought I’d share it as it has proven useful on many occasions.

1931 Sunbeam Model 9 for sale

A friend just let me know that his rather nice 1931 Sunbeam Model 9 is now for sale. Obviously in lovely condition and fitted with a highly desirable 1929 single port engine. A great bike for someone? Send an email if you would like contact details.

Amal carburettor specifications

People are often asking about the correct carburettor model and settings for their pre-war Marston Sunbeam motorcycles. Well, those helpful people over at Amal have long produced free catalogues that offer just such information. The “Amal Pre War Supplement” being of particular interest.

Here is a scan of the relevant page for the Sunbeam models covered by the catalogue.

The Vintage Motorcyclists’ Workshop by Radco

For anyone running or working on vintage motorcycles, The Vintage Motorcyclists’ Workshop by Radco is a vital addition to any toolbox. My own copy is never far away.