Sunbeam restoration

[ajm]

Re: Re:

I was retailing these in the early 50s, but can't remember the model. There must be a BSA / Sunbeam catalogue somewhere from 1954.

From their library catalogue it looks like the veteran cycle club have one, but it's not in the public area of their online library and I'm not a member...

Nice bike, looks very complete and usable (though I'm personally not a fan of twist shifters ancient or modern!) These roadsters are just so practical and low maintenance - I usually do quite a few miles on mine and find it a very pleasant change from a harsh-riding "modern" aluminium road bike.

 

[Mercianbloke]

Here's what the BSA Hublite internals look like.

 

[Mercianbloke]

The dynamo still works and the wheel spins as well as can be expected. The wiring is shot so when I replace that, is it normal to run the wiring up the inside of the fork leg (the base has a hole in it) and out the crown? Currently it's tied to the fork leg and I think it looks a bit ugly.

 

[Mercianbloke]

Christ they didn't make it easy to remove the rear wheel...

 

[keithglos]

You can see why I suggested hanging it from the front, but if your cleanup means removing the chain it is possible to feed it back in from the chainwheel cover, but again the bike needs to hang down from the front.

Keith

 

[Mercianbloke]

Well I want to get all the bearings out to check on their condition, chances are if the oil bath was lubricating the bottom bracket correctly then they'll be fine, and I think the rear hub should be fine too. The front bearings aren't too bad. I also want to clean all the gunge out that'll no doubt be in there. I have lots of bits and pieces lying in white vinegar bowls right now.

 

[keithglos]

Is that a BSA half link I can see?
Connecting link probably has the usual spring clip. Pre war BSA had their own with a sort of swivel lock on the connecting link.

If you do get into the rear hub the right hand cone has a steel flatted cover which is tight to slide off to get to the cone, which is screwed tight to a set of shims. The end plates are the usual right and left hand threads as expected.

Pawl springs are small coils which can easily be made from a strand of an old brake cable inner. Its over 60 years since I had one apart.

Keith

 

[Mercianbloke]

Yeah dead easy to get out. I was worried the chain would slip off the cog as soon as the links were removed but I was able to push both wires in to push the link out. The chain stayed where it was thankfully.

 

[Mercianbloke]

Damn, that rear wheel is hard to get out. Perhaps there's an easier way but the mudguard is a real pain - it should be hinged IMO so you can swing it upwards out of the way!

As well as disconnecting the chain, I removed the caliper and mudguard and finally it came out.

 

[Mercianbloke]

And I finally got the crank off. The non-drive side cotterpin is stuck fast, the nut just ploughed its way through the thread when I tried to hammer it out, so I think I'll take that to a mate of mine, who was a motor mechanic for 50 years.

Interesting that the chaincase is bolted to the short chainstay, with a reinforcing piece of metal presumably bolting onto the dropout at the back. The spider isn't completely flat, it's a slightly odd shape which I've tried to picture but the chainring itself appears true. Odd hole in the centre. Perhaps the chainring is offset so it dips in and out of the oil?

And now I have to fish some of the ball bearings out the chainstay, where they've parked themselves