[axes]

Hi rats,

A friend of mine came bearing gifts a while ago. He knew I was a huge Triumph rat and pretty much gave me a 1963 Triumph Bonneville T120. The only problem was, it was in over 100 pieces.

But of course I won't let that stop me. This will be my second engine rebuild, the previous was a much smaller and simpler motor on a MZ TS150 so I could definitely use your advice and guidance on this one. I've started watching the Lowbrow Customs Engine rebuild videos to get a bit of knowledge about rebuilding these engines but I'd love for you guys to look over the parts and let me know what I should check and which parts I should definitely order new replacements for, since these parts have obviously been sitting for a while after being taken apart. I can take more pictures if needed.

The engine block is broken above and below the chain sprocket area. I assume the chain got loose and broke those pieces off, which is most likely the reason this was all taken apart. There is no crack into the block itself thankfully. I was thinking about having a welder try to make the section above the chain sprocket look better, but just leave the below section broken, since it's a small piece and I don't see any good reason to add that back.

The frame that came along with this has been turned into a bobber, which is not really my thing but I've grown to like the idea of having a bobber since getting this. The VIN on it matches the engine btw.

I noticed the conrods are not marked so I have no idea which one was where, the guy from the Lowbrow customs video said it was very important that they go back to where they came from, oh well 🤷‍♂️.

Here are some pictures of the parts.

Cheers,
Gilli

 

[axes]

More pictures

 

[BigSky]

Iceland! Amazing place! I've been there twice, and long to return many more times.

You need a parts book and factory workshop manual for your year. You can find these on Ebay or online. I'm not sure if the link below has your year, but you may be able to find both online with a little research.

Triumph Motorcycle Resources - Brochures, Ads, Repair Manuals, Parts Manuals, Owners Manuals, Maintenance Info, and Magazines.

When you have the parts manual start figuring our where the parts belong and separate them into boxes or bins, ie. frame parts, engine parts, transmission parts, front wheel parts, rear wheel parts, fork parts, etc.

I'm in the process of putting a bike back together. I started with the goal of getting a rolling frame, then engine work, then mounting the engine in the frame and finishing the engine. That's where I'm at now. Then it's on to electrics and finishing the frame.

The Lowbrow videos are all right in terms of instruction on engine work. I would look though on this site (in the same section you posted) and Brit Bike for a member's restoration project of a 63 or 64 Bonneville or TR6. Some members (THANK YOU) have gone into extreme detail about their project and process. Much information can be found by just searching this site and Brit Bike, so you don't need to post every time you have a question. I was lucky enough to come across SnakeOil's restoration of a 66 Bonneville on this site.

I've found this website an immense help as well... THANK YOU

Bonnie's Back Pages -650 Triumph -tune, repair, resources, photos, more

Extensive 650 Triumph Bonneville info - technical, photos, illustrations, books, resources

hermit.cc

If you're going for a restoration, start gathering images of your year... of bikes that have been restored and bikes that are original unrestored. It's up to you whether to build a bobber or go for a more stock restoration. I don't see wheels or forks in you're photos. If you're missing a lot of parts a custom/bobber may be more economically feasible. You do have a matching numbers bike, but you're frame seems to be welded over the lugs where you would attach the rear frame. I don't know how this would be repaired... finding another frame and cutting and welding them back on?

It's hard for me to tell where exactly the damage is on your case. The damage probably was from a thrown chain. Repairing depends on what you're going for in terms of final project. It probably could be repaired, but maybe if it's not going to be seen maybe it's not necessary.

In terms of parts, it may be cheaper for you to get things from the UK. I suppose it depends on exchange rate.

Best -

Scot

 

[FLY-TRI-GUY]

Wow that’s really cool that he gave u a vintage Triumph Lucky U! good luck with the rebuild…FTG

 

[axes]

Wow that’s really cool that he gave u a vintage Triumph Lucky U! good luck with the rebuild…FTG

Yeah it's good to have good friends. I've done him a lot of favors so this is his way of repaying me I suppose. Not that I asked for anything.

When you have the parts manual start figuring our where the parts belong and separate them into boxes or bins, ie. frame parts, engine parts, transmission parts, front wheel parts, rear wheel parts, fork parts, etc.

Yeah that's exactly what I did. Found some surprises along the way.

The good surprises are:

• I've got 2 sets of most things relating to the gearbox and clutch
• I've got 2 sets of carbs. Different types. One set is Amal the other is PWK

The bad surprises are:

• I've got no rocker boxes or anything relating to them.
• The cylinder head is damaged and has some unfinished repair on it. Like you can see on the following picture. So now I'm wondering whether it's worth it to try to use that, or search for a new one?

• I've got two cylinder heads but one of them is pretty damaged like you can see in these pictures. The other one looks much better but I forgot to take pictures of it.

Finally the crankshaft, I took some #0000 steel wool and WD40 on it lightly which removed most of the surface rust. Now if I run my finger over it, I can't feel anything on one of them but I can feel a tiiinny bit on the other one. So I'd love to hear your advices on whether I should have these grinded or not. I measured them and they seem to have been worked on before since they measured 40,740mm. Here are some pictures of it:

Finally here are some more pictures of the other things:

 

[axes]

More pictures of the cylinder head. Is it worth saving?

 

[johnjørgensen]

Being in scandinavia, our bikes run less hot ;-) Bernie Nicholson has wear limits that are more forgiving than factory specs. Use them if you feel confident with them. I found them in "Building Budget Brits" by Mike Brown

 

[Hacksaws Garage]

those cases are broken out on almost every triumph you find laying around. either the owner didn't keep the drive chain adjusted or the fool ran a O ring chain. or both.
i dont know icelandic laws, but you should check that the government will allow you to register this machine. rigid frame chopper type bikes are not euro friendly.

 

[The Bonneville Shop]

Hi Axes, once you deem this project to be worthwhile, try to obtain both 1963 and 1964 parts books, along with a factory workshop manual...the '63 and '64 share a lot of commonality, and the '63 parts book doesn't have any drawings in it, only the parts numbers. When ordering parts, you can compare the two parts books and review the exploded diagrams in the 1964 book when reassembling. The workshop manual will have detailed specifications in the General Data section.
-Dave