Sunbeam B24 350cc 1939

Thak you for the heads up. Lots to think about.

No family issues only me, I will be the o ly issue over thinking everything.

Well, that's good. Assign it a scrap value of 50 Quid as far as the authorities are concerned and carry on. Plenty of time later to decide exactly what you want to do with it. Restoring Dad's old bike could be a very pleasant labour of love. Don't rush into anything until the dust settles from Dad's passing and then do your research and make your plans.

CT wrote " having restored a number of motorcycles over the years but not for a while.................Can anyone point to publications, website or general information about this route. "

Likewise, I too have restored a few Brit bikes ~~ but not for a while. It is your request to be pointed to publications etc that I'll offer some - no doubt unhelpful - suggestions.

I still have, gathering dust behind me now, bound magazines from 1982 until about 5 years later. They include Classic Bike, Classic Mechanics, Classic Motorcycle. Within them there is a wealth of information on restoration.
(Note to self - really must get rid before the Grim Reaper appears).
There is an index for CB (Jan 83) and it suggests there's an article on the Sunbeam model 9 in the April/May 1981 edition. Unfortunately, that's a year before my collection began.
I did come across an advert for "Atlantic Motor Cycles" in Jun 86 of CB offering for sale a "Sunbeam , 1930 Mod G for £2,000 ~ what does that equate to in 2023?
In the Classic MotorCycle of May 1983, there is an informative article "A Glint of Sunbeams". I'm unsure of copyright issues but think if it's for your private study, I could copy it. PM me if wanted.

I would though recommend you have a look for such magazines of FleaBay and the like.

As SOD posted above, there is one for sale today for a bit less than twice that much. A screaming deal. Interest in that era bikes has dwindled as those who remember them from their youth with lustful thoughts drop off the twig. Compare and contrast a 1970s Honda 4 or Kawasaki 900 worth 12,500 Quid and upwards as today's Boomers want to relive the youth they wished they had.

If you put 2000 Quid in the stockmarket in 1986, it would be worth 60,400 Quid today. And you don't have to lug shares around every time you move house and trip over them every time you want to get into your workshop.

Old motorbikes are a labour of love, not an investment.

Edited By Hopper on 17/01/2023 13:02:15

Re-chroming has always been expensive. In addition legislators have looked at banning it on environmental grounds for years. Do not think about home plating, the current required is very high and chromic acid is very nasty.

It came into use as a decorative finish in the very late 1920s. The few bright parts on modern cars and bikes are not chromed.

JA

As we are talking chrome anyone like to guess the price of triple plate chroming of these eight parts I had done last year.

Regards Colin

Last week I sent off the chrome work from the Douglas, it's a 1930 machine so it had chrome and nickel but I am going all chrome, I am not having the tank done it will be silver as chrome was an option, again anyone want a guess a price.

Talking cost, I do most things myself so I save a lot but I can spend from £2.5k to £4k depending on the machine.

Mag recon £400 to £500

Dynamo £250

Rims + spokes un plated £300, good chrome £450

Exhausts new, £200 to £400

Speedo £175

Seat/ Saddle £200

Tyres tubes £150 to £250

That's close to £2k and you not looked at the engine and box yet, are the stanchions rusty, or the girders bent, it's an endless money pit but when that engine fires up and the oil is pumping around and the dynamo is charging, no rattles or smoke it's a bloody wonderful feeling.

Riding a bike that's 70, 80 or even 90 years old with the sun shining it's just brilliant.

Kind regards Colin

True enough about chrome re-plating these days. For one of my rebuilds where surface rust had ruined the original chrome plating, I used a nickel plating kit. The process is safe enough altho' tedious & requiring a LOT of preparation. A preliminary coating of electroplated copper is advisable on mild steel. The final finish of course will not look as reflective as chromium but a polish with Solvol or the like and the appearance is very close. For chrome-plated Cu oil pipes that needed replacing, I made new pipes then silver coated them. Again, a simple, safe process used extensively by clock restorers.The silver (from silver nitrate soln) binds directly to the Cu surface and is resilient to oxidation if coated with a non-yellowing clear varnish..

A low-res image of the Panther but the covers on the rear shocks, the front brake actuating arm, tank filler cap and a few other smaller items had been Ni plated back in '84.

100 Quid?

There are at few chrome platers left in the UK but it's. expensive . Typically a front mudguard is around £150. I have spoken to a couple of industrial platers who do zinc and other plating and they say it's nigh impossible to get permission to chrome plate. Existing platers possibly have a bit more leeway? You're absolutely right that it's often more cost effective to buy a new part already chromed than to chrome an original part. Is it still original if it has been rechromed? That's another discussion altogether of course. Home chrome plating does not appear to be an option. On some less valuable bikes I have seen a "chrome" like powder coating used. It's not bad and is a huge cost saving. Who knows how really good it may be in time?

Price for chrome incl vat and postage was £480 the cost of new pattern replacement parts was around £575 so my notes say.

The Douglas parts will be close to £800 with no option or pattern parts

Colin

Wow. Just wow. More expensive even than I thought. No wonder I don't get chroming done any more.

The trouble with pattern parts though is sometimes they are OK, other times they are rubbish. And it is nice to preserve the originals if you can, so you don't end up with a "repo queen".

Wow I am shocked at the prices.

Another general guide to the restoration of, as the young daughter of a fellow vintage enthusiast once described, 'rusty rubbish'.

**LINK**

Jim

PS anyone have a guide to converting a NSU Max into a Sportmax replica? Or even photos of same.

I thought all Panthers had to be fitted with sidecars, the bigger the better, they all were in my young day. They fired every other lamp post was the rumour. This one looks very nice indeed.

Edited By duncan webster on 18/01/2023 20:08:15

Regarding " I thought all Panthers had to be fitted with sidecars, the bigger the better, they all were in my young day. They fired every other lamp post was the rumour. This one looks very nice indeed."

Thanks for the "complement" Duncan. You are of course correct with respect to your other 2 comments : - )
The big slopers were indeed ideal for being married to sidecars. If you could afford a Busmar double-adult s/c then you really needed a Panther or an Ariel Square Four. The flywheels weighed in at 28lbs I think, so a lot of weight was low down in the frame and the torque was quite incredible for an ohv. They look to be long stroke engines but were in fact about square. Riding one solo (as I did) was an unforgettable experience irrespective of all the quirks & faults of a mid 50s British 'bike. In 4th gear at 30mph you could believe the joke about firing at every 2nd lamp post.
At the annual Panther Owners Club Rally in the late 70s there was a "flywheel flinging contest". A 'bottom end' with its con rod would be produced. Farthest fling won, needless-to-say by the beefiest hulk present.
Must cease the reminiscences...............