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Redesigning The 1956 Triumph - A Pre Unit Build by Alp

186K views 352 replies 128 participants last post by  Ducbsa 
#1 · (Edited)
This time i am going to document the whole build, and i will post as much as i can. Previously i posted a rigid sportster here on the jj http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63365&showall=1
This build will contain mostly classic/vintage parts or handmade components.

here it is:


The bike in question is a numbers matching 1956 T110, it has a pre 55 6t rigid hardtail/seat post.


A lot of the beauty in vintage bikes is in the details which I love to capture in close ups


My goal is to build everything from scratch including the rear portion of the frame (you will see why)

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Disassembling the engine and cleaning parts to start with


Taking care of the crank shaft and sludge tube


ready for tumbling


the cylinder heads were in pretty good shape, surprised not to see any of those hairline cracks




getting ready to strip the paint


after stripping the paint and removing lots of filler this is what i have found,
A poor frame lengthening job, the tubes were totally crooked, look at the previous image with all the filler on, i call that art work,

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The front end that I am going to use is an original pre war Norton 16H Heavy Duty girder, with the rebound springs,


my favorite, scotch-brite


here you see all that surface rust is removed with sb on one tube, pretty straight for a +70 year front end.


more to come,
 
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#4 ·
Are you sure that's a '56? Correct me if I've got it wrong but you're saying the seat post has been grafted to the '56 frame from an original Triumph rigid frame? Then the gearbox would be pre '56 also. I've had 2 early '50s Triumphs, it's been quite a while but that whole frame looks early '50s, late '40s to me.
 
#6 ·
Oh yeah, this is definitely going to be a sweet build. Like your use of the Norton girder and looking forward to the details of mounting it to the Triumph frame. :cool:

Are you keeping it rigid and shortening it back to stock length or ?
 
#8 ·
thanks guys,

Oh yeah, this is definitely going to be a sweet build. Like your use of the Norton girder and looking forward to the details of mounting it to the Triumph frame. :cool:

Are you keeping it rigid and shortening it back to stock length or ?
the plan is to keep it rigid but that lousy hardtail will be disposed. the backbone connection to the hardtail will continue straight on.
I wish i could use the original castings/axleplates but because of the 4" strech and 2-2.5" drop the geometry will change and the original angles on the castings will not work.
I am working on a similar design (axle plates) that will accommodate the 40-50's and I'm also keeping the same offset frame style.
 
#11 ·
A few months ago Alp sent me pics of his frame, and asked me to take a look at it, to see what I thought it might be. As I have owned a lot of these bikes, and it had a 1956-57 swingarm headstock on a rigid front frame section, I told him that it had to be something someone made up - no doubt about it :rolleyes:

Now I'm not 100% sure about that.

About a month ago I noticed that my 1955 T100/R rigid frame, had the 1955 swingarm frame headstock on it. I just posted an update in the T100/R-T100RR thread with details and additional pics. Here is one of the headstock on my frame:



You can see the gusseted design that Triumph introduced in 1955.

If you look at Alp's frame, it has the 1956 headstock and a 1956 VIN number. In the close-up pics, the stamp on the frame looks legit. (I haven't seen pics of the engine VIN stamp)

Here's the "however"...

Two things: 1) If you read my post in the other thread, Triumph seems to have continued the use of the 1955 headstock on the 1957-59 rigid racers, not upgrading to the 1956 design. 2) His engine is a T110 650, which would have been an odd bike to make as a rigid, since all racing was 500cc at that time.

Still, I would write and have the VIN number run against the records, just to see what come back. You never know what you are going to find out.

-Shaggy
 
#14 ·
fabricating the frame parts

back to the build,

I drew a little diagram for the axle plates,


i just wanted to stay close to the classic frame style.












Top tail mounts: Here I am alligning the round steel stock to my previously made tail mount, so i can drill a hole at the same angle.


I made all these parts free hand, no milling/cnc etc. so there are imperfections.

lots of sanding,


some filing








here are all the frame parts that i've made so far (axle plates are not finished yet), going to weld them together soon.
 
#37 ·
hi mozez, missed this one, sorry, i am going to restore the whole front-end, i am using most of the original parts but some new hardware, they are all original 26 tpi...already reconditioned the threads, i'll probably make some bushes as well, i will post detailed images later.



these front-ends require time and special hardware as you mentioned, good luck with yours.
thank you,

Alp, youre work in amazing, your shop & tools are spotless, your photos are top notch, & this bike is killer.

Im going out the torch my garage & give up.

Seriously, keep this thread going, it will be great to see.
thats funny... i dont think that would be a good idea, your builds are all unique and inspirations for us, looking forward especially for the "Tesla" to be finished, thanks a lot Bozi.

thanks for documenting all this. this is the stuff I love to see. Really nice work.
kngkong, thanks

Looks great alp! Any chance you could post a better pic of your fish mouth rig?
hi fuelrod, thanks.

it is the little Tube Notcher from JD Squared


you can use it with your hand drill or drill press, it does the job

the fish mouth before the edges are sanded.




 
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