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BSA four wheeler 1931
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:35 pm    Post subject: BSA four wheeler 1931 Reply with quote

Rear view of my 1931 BSA four wheeler.

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Roger-hatchy



Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 2135
Location: Tiptree, Essex

PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More Very Happy Very Happy
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:05 pm    Post subject: bsa four wheeler Reply with quote

I bought the chassis and some body parts from the BSA front wheel drive Club. It had lain in a garage in Brighton for several decades. I was fortunate because I had spares for my BSA Trike, they used the same body engine gearbox etc.

The most difficult part to source is probably the radiator shell and I had a spare. I also had an engine and gearbox. The car is FWD and the gearbox and diff are combined.

The BSA Club is a great Club and helped me to find the missing parts.

I am posting a picture of the chassis after shotblasting and painting.

I will post further pictures later.

[img][/img]
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The following picture is the chassis and parts as collected, they had just arrived in Portsmouth from Brighton.

The parts are in the foreground and comprise the chassis back axle and to the left the boot lid and one side of the body, plus a box with oddments in.

[img][/img]
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The following is a picture of the bodywork remains perched on the painted chassis. I did this before beginning to build a new floor to get some idea of dimensions.

Most of the body parts were only good for patterns. I eventually managed to save the two doors.

Woodwork is something I usually shy away from. I decided to try and build the body myself.

I bought a secondhand band saw for ten pounds at a local car boot sale.
Last of the big spenders.

Note the steering box on the front right of the chassis.

My Morris 1800 is in the background.

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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shocked that really is a case of "in at the deep end" isn't it!!

RJ
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick, thats the kind interpretation, the wife has a more pithy description.

As you are following the progress I have a further picture showing the floor I built, I followed this by cutting the uprights and assembling the body work.

The metalwork on the body is to brace the door pillars and it bolts down to the floor to strengthen it.

I am still struggling with the pictures hence one at the time.

regards Kels.
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a picture of the trial fit of the old rotten woodwork on to the new floor, I did this to make sure the body would fit properly.

I then used the woodwork as a pattern to cut out new pieces.

I was surprised how well my cheap bandsaw managed the job. I was even more surprised that I managed It.

I must admit that I reshaped some of the wood by using my angle grinder and a sanding disc.

The top rail with the rebate was contructed by laminating strips of wood.

The rebate is to take the plywood sides of the body.


Regards Kels.
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictures of the body, as the build went on. I managed to source some ash from a fellow enthusiast.

Originally BSA used cottonwood, maybe the woodworking experts would like to comment on their choice.

The body is then covered in ply, looking back I wish I could have purchased a better quality.

The body work requires to be completly flat after it is assembled.

BSA used a vinyl covering directly onto the wooden body and any blemishes will show through.

At the stage shown there was much smoothing down to be done.

The body is the same as the Trike BSA but has cut outs to allow it to fit the fourwheeler chassis. It could be described as a Vee Twin engined Trike with a modified chassis and rear axle.



Regards Kels.
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A bit out of sequence, here is a picture that shows some of the frame work before I covered it with ply. Hanging on the wall is one of the rear mudguards a bit rusty, hope it is of some interest. The black bar in the foreground is a trackrod hung up to dry after painting.

Regards Kels.
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is a picture showing the body almost ready for it's covering. The brass windscreen is perched precariously on top, still awaiting chroming.

I trial fitted the rear wings at this point, I wanted to make sure they would fit before the body was finished off. As you can see they were pretty far gone. I replaced sections and kept the MIG welder busy.

The offside wing was the worst, I used Jenolite and spent hours with a wire brush until scrubbing the surface stopped releasing rust.

Looking back it might have been simpler to have bought some suitable motorcycle guards and made a new inner skirt.

The rear axle was fitted and I renewed the brake linings, bearings and silentblock bushes

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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Really coming together by that stage wasn't it Smile

RJ
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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes Rick, as I look at the pictures I am amazed at how much work I've done.

Once I had sanded the body down, and coated it to seal it, I covered it without anything between it and the wood.

BSA built them as cheaply as they could. Some rebuilds use foam to hide imperfections underneath.

They always look wrong to me.

I am pleased with the result, the next picture shows the body prior to fitting the rear mudguards.

I made a mistake by posting the finished body work first. I could have claimed a rapid rebuild otherwise, took all last year in reality.

I still need a few items like a PLC lighting switch for the dashboard.

I will probably take the engine out of the Three wheeler when I get along far enough with the rebuild. It has a modified engine, modified for reliability with an oil feed to the big end, instead of relying on splash.

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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This BSA was only sold in 1931 and not many survive, it was one of the first front wheel drive cars to go into production in Britain. Alvis made some fwd cars earlier but in penny numbers.

It is interesting to drive because of the controls, the gearstick comes out of the floor between your knees.

It has a central accelerator, brake on the right hand side.

Ignition advance is manual and the control rods can be seen in the picture, R.H.. ignition control, L.H.lever is to make adjustments to the tickover.

Being an aircooled Vee Twin the tickover can alter as the engine warms up.

It has one inboard front drum brake connected to the diff which is at the front of the car sharing a cast aluminium diff and gearbox assy.

The four wheeler also has two rear brakes coupled to the front brakes by rods.

One of the front wings is shown in the picture, I have cleaned it off and it is Jenolited and awaiting welding.

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Kelsham



Joined: 18 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
Location: Llandrindod Wells Powys

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was a bad day for amateur trimmers yesterday.

I have been attempting to make a bench seat for my BSA. I have purchased a commercial Singer sewing machine. Sadly not a walking foot model. Being optimistic I hoped it would suffice.

I had some vyhanide in the garage that I acquired in the 1970s and it was old then. It is a nice shade of red and contrasted nicely with the black body.

I had to guess at the dimensions of the seat back and base as I had nothing to copy.
I made some out of ply and trial fitted them to the keyhole brackets I bought from the BSA FWD club, they offer two positions for the seat back and screw to the floor.

I have taken over the kitchen table and managed to cut and sew up some covers that were OK at a quick glance.

Sadly as my skill level incresed so did the errors I had made.

I had to accept the result as I ran out of material. I cut some foam, hard for the bottom softer for the top, and glued the lot to the ply.

Having tacked the covers on to the seats I took them out to the car for a trial fit.

Once fitted i tried the seat for comfort. Mild panic, The seat back was pushing me forward and I like to sit back from the steering wheel.

Of course all I need to do is put the seat back into the rear keyhole slot.

Having done this the back of the seat raised out of the body and looked ridiculous.
I resorted to bad language, having run through my repertoire twice I settled down and realised that I had fitted the brackets the wrong way round, one keyole slot is higher than the other to allow for the tilt of the seat.

I removed the seat and reversed the brackets. Then found the catches fitted to the seat back were now too low. More swearing, these catches were bolted through the ply and were difficult to get to under the foam.

Two hours later they were raised, new holes drilled and the seat back was in place. I retired to the warmth of a whisky and the heat of the house.

I now need to replace the covers and make some pins to hold the base in place on its runners.

I will take pictures when I finish.

Regards Kels.
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