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1967 Triumph 650 TT Restoration Help/Advice

10K views 75 replies 18 participants last post by  StuartMac 
#1 · (Edited)
Gonna be restoring my 67 triumph. Wondering where the best place too buy a whitsworth tool set? Also is american and metric close enuff? If this is the case ill just switch over the nuts and bolts. Also recommendations on companies in the US that could restore my rims? (pitted and rusty)My plan is getting it to a resto roller this summer and finish it over the winter. Sent out my first parts list over the weekend! Feel free to leave any other helpful advice!!! thx
 

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#2 ·
If that is a genuine TT, are you aware of the value of a correct restoration?

I would guess that you'd knock 1000's off the value by going metric

Buy the correct tools - you need them to remove the originals anyway

TT Rider on Britbike is building a list of genuine TT's and has access to the records.
You are missing stuff but it is worth hunting for
 
#8 ·
I think restoring the art work would be the answer if it had some meaning to your Pappy! If not then original or original'esque

I love original but my Doris will not be dead nuts correct. She will have mostly original bits but with the occasional repro and different color scheme.

The sheet metal is one of the last things to go on after restoring so you have TONS of time to decide.

Of course you will be dead broke and living in destitution by that point!

:grin2:
 
#12 ·
Hi,

Wondering where the best place too buy a whitsworth tool set? Also is american and metric close enuff?
Short answer: no.

Also, how are you going to "switch over" bolts and screws that go into threads in components? You're hardly going to rethread every component, even if Triumph had been generous enough to leave enough material around every thread?

When you buy tools, note they are not "Whitworth", that's an Imperial threadform BSA (Triumph's then-parent) didn't use after the pre-units.

As a general rule-of-thumb, fasteners with a major diameter 1/4" or larger will be BSC - British Standard Cycle, aka just "Cycle" or "CEI" - into iron and steel (so including nuts) and BSF - British Standard Fine - into aluminium alloy. However, exercise care; as I say, it's only a general rule-of-thumb - e.g. the bolt into the front edge of the timing cover, although the cover's ally, the thread is BSC; because the bolt blanks off an oilway drilling and, at 3/8" o.d., BSC thread is finer - so making a better oil seal - than BSF.

Fasteners with a major diameter smaller than 1/4" will be BA - British Association.

Then, unlike "american and metric" tools, British Standard tools are marked with the thread major diameter, not the AF; e.g. a wrench or socket to fit the aforementioned 3/8"BSC bolt in the timing cover will be marked '3/8"BS', although it'll measure 0.6"AF. :D

I actually been dealing with Baxter,
So ask 'em about tools?

Two other addys to bookmark are http://stainlessbits.com/link12.html and British Tools & Fasteners.

Hth.

Regards,
 
#14 ·
#17 ·
You don't need taps.

Use the bolts that are on it. ESPECIALLY for anything that it threaded into the bike.

Odd bits that just use a nut and bolt you can run down to the local Home Despot and find decent replacements.

IF you need a replacement with original threads they are widely available. More readily than when I redid Doris a quarter of a century ago.

Original is always better. Even if you modify things. Keep all your original bits.
 
#27 ·
Hi,

Cal30 and i were just talking about this thru p.m!
I think stuart mac through me a curve ball!!I dont really need to know threads
Ye-ea-ah ... In your very first post, you asked, "is american and metric close enuff? If this is the case ill just switch over the nuts and bolts. Then, despite being told your bike doesn't have Whitworth-thread fasteners, you still asked if you should buy a Whitworth-thread tap-'n'-die set ...?

You DO need a basic set of WHITWORTH spanners and sockets.
Well done, Paul. :applause If you can't blind 'em with science, baffle 'em with bullsh1t, eh? :rolleyes: The O.P. has titled his thread, "1967 Triumph"; these actually do have Whitworth-thread and/or -hex.-size fasteners?

Regards, :D
 
#20 ·
The first set of sockets in your Ebay listing are not Koken!!

As Stuart indicated that tap and die set is all, but useless for your use.

British Tool and Fastner would be good fit for what you are going to do. They have Koken, and King Dick sockets. King Dick and Rolson wrenches and taps and dies that will actually work on your unit Triumph.
 
#22 ·
You're in the same boat as me as far as rims go.

The rims, spokes, tires and brakes are in my mind the MOST important things as far as SAFETY goes and some guys don't give the rims, spokes and tires the attention they need.

My rims are completely usable "as is" but they are not pretty. Especially the back rim which sports a nice Union Jack flag decal but the paper thin chrome is coming off in shreds.

I am lucky that a very fine "Triumph Guy" is less than 10 miles away. Reko's British Restorations. I will pay him to either lace me up a new rim for the rear or true me up a used one.

Good rims and spokes cost a pretty penny and having them laced properly costs even more. Stainless steel rims? How deep are your pockets?

:grin2:

I'm sure many of the guys on here lace and true their own, and that's just the kind of skill set us plebes are blessed to have for pestering and brain picking, but I am not that sure of my abilities and would rather trust my hide (literally) to someone that KNOWS how to do it right.

New rims, spokes and lacing will probably set you back a good bit but it's pretty important!

I'm hoping to only have to replace the rear rim on mine. But hell if it's safe but ugly I'll ride with it for awhile until I can do it right.

Front is true and balanced but just a bit ugly. Mine aint a show bike so I can live with it.
 
#25 ·
Get the right tools. It will make things a lot easier and you will not bugger the fasteners. You will also need the right screws and bolts and nuts. Whitworth and cycle thread have unique thread per inch and profiles. Regular or metric wil not fit properly. If the bike is a real TT it is too nice to not do it properly.
 
#31 ·
Buchanans don’t have a good option for chrome plated steel rims for my application. They have Sun rims, Excel rims, or Borrani rims that are aluminum. Sun rims are offered in a silver anodized finish. Excel rims have a clear anodized finish. The Borrani rims are bare aluminum with a factory polish. Any of these rims can be stripped and polished to a mirror (chrome-like) appearance. Buchanann tech support said The Excel shouldered rims, Borrani rims, and Excel dimpled rims tend to be popular among customers with similar Triumphs.
 
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