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TOPIC: Another old geezer reliving his past

Another old geezer reliving his past 7 years 11 months ago #1356

  • Ted
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In the early 70’s a good friend would regularly show me how inferior my Triumph Bonnie was to his BSA. With professional help I was able put those experiences behind me and move into the BMW world. Today I have a collection very rare 40 to 80 year old BMW’s that I’ve personally rebuilt and restored.
Three weeks ago while eating lunch with that friend we spotted an old bike rusting away outside a neighboring garage. Out of pure curiosity we checked it out. The rusty old bike turned out to be a green over white 1971 BSA Thunderbolt with a factory painted black frame. The odometer read only 8400 miles. BUT the frame was slightly bent, the carb slide was frozen and the head gasket was blown. With so few problems you know I had to buy it.
Today the ‘experts’ are telling me that there were no Thunderbolts built with factory painted black frames in 1971. Over the next three weeks I hope to complete repairs and take my rusty new love to an AMCA meet in Pennsylvania. How can I prove to the ‘experts’ that this BSA is truly an un-restored barn find?
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Another old geezer reliving his past 7 years 11 months ago #1357

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Hi, Ted. Welcome to the OVBSAOC site, and thank you for sharing GREAT story. I will share this info with folks in the know to see if we can address that black-frame situation.

Oh, and some pics of your "find" would be awesome.
Never met a motorcycle I didn't like.
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Another old geezer reliving his past 7 years 11 months ago #1374

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Thanks for the welcome.
My new thunderbolt looked better sitting next to a barn than it did on arrival in my workshop. Aside from the anticipated electrical problems the frame was bent, the valve guides worn, the head gasket blown etc. Over the years I've restored several BMW's so I assumed rebuilding a Beezer would be similar restoring my BMW's. WRONG! Foolishly I tore down the top end before I received a shop manual. Machine work on BSA's is straight forward. Reassembly proved to be a little more complicated. Fortunately the shop manual provided enough information for me to fabricate the tools I needed for reassembly. Attached is a picture of the tools I've made.
Addressing the local 'expert's' opinion that all 1971 Thunderbolts had grey frames I've found a second 1971 factory black frame. Attached are pictures of my frame and the second frame. Finding documentation that '71's were produced with both gray and black frames is proving more difficult than finding the second black frame. Any help with documentation or written opinions from certified experts will be appreciated.
The BMW picture is of the 1954 R67/2 BMW that I had just finished when I stumbled into my thunderbolt. Fortunately for me the Thunderbolt is solid enough for me to rebuild it as a barn find.
Thanks again for the welcome
Ted
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Another old geezer reliving his past 7 years 11 months ago #1380

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I can't find the reference where I got the info, but memory says any bike built starting about April 71 production (DE serial number code) were painted black from Small Heath.
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