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Newbie Intro????

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  DustyR 
#1 ·
Good evening....

I have been lurking on this site for some time, and finally signed up. I was a little confused about all the different forums. I ride and work mainly on Pre-units, and was wondering if this is the right place? If not could you steer me in the right direction...

Thanks, Dusty
 
#3 ·
Newbie Intro....

I have been riding and wrenching on bikes since I was 12 years old. My first bike was a Harley 125. It was rated at 3 1/2 Hp, and with a good tail wind and a quart of "Power Mist" model airplane fuel, and the choke closed down a little, it would run about 65 and leave the Cushmans behind. I had a Mustang Super also that was rated I think at 10 or 12 Hp...I'm not sure about that.

In the early 60's I was stationed in Albany Georgia in the Air Force, and worked for Dwain Taylor, at T&M Triumph. We had a couple of shop bikes we raced (Drag Racing) all over that part of Ga, Ala, And Fla. Dwain also designed and manufactured cams for Triumphs that we shipped all over the world. I now have a 1957 T-110 that I'm rebuilding for myself. Not to be confused with restoring. It was custom built in our shop back in '62, and I'm doing a fresh rebuild on it. I hope to meet some of the folks here, and maybe pick up a few new hints and kinks for the older Triumphs. Are there many folks here that still ride and work on the pre-units?

Dusty
 
#4 ·
Hi Dusty-

Welcome to the forum.

We have been discussing the booklet Dwain published years ago on speed tuning Triumphs in another thread. He recently published a few copies for a shop reunion, and some doof is selling bootlegs on eBay.

Please feel free to share any tuning tips. I bet you have some great memories from that time. Please feel free to share any good stories too!
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the welcome Oldebonnie....
Just a tidbit of information...I am the person that reproduced the Manual for the T&M reunion last year, with Dwains blessing. He was kind enough to autograph some for me and also personalized several copies for some special folks in the motorcycle hobby. I still have a few copies left that I plan on putting up on ebay real soon. He was aware of the guy selling other copies. The only thing that had Dwain a little upset is the guy deleted everything with Dwains name or T&M Triuimph from the book. The one thing the other guy doesn't have is pictures of Dwain signing some of the books. I included several pictures from the reunion and some pic's of the shop bikes from the 60's, when I sold a copy. We are having another reunion this March, and I will have some more copies signed.

Just by coincidence I received an email fom a previous buyer only last week inquiring about more copies. I sent him an email but never heard back.

As an extra bonus from the reunion, I was able to locate the '57 T110 that Dwain helped me build back in '62 while working in the shop. I had to sell it in '63 when I got shipped out to Korea. I got a lead on it at the March reunion, and in July of last year I managed to retrieve it from a shed in the hills of Eastern Alabama. It is quite a story, and I have some photos to go along with it.

Is it OK to post pictures in this forum? I did notice a thread for readers bike photo's. So maybe that is where photos are supposed to go. I'm really looking forward to meeting more of the Guy's on this forum...

Dusty
 
#6 ·
Well, small world, I was the guy who bought one of the authorized copies and recently got in touch. I'll respond to the e-mail this evening.

Please, let folks here know when you put the authorized copies up for auction. Or if you had a fixed price in mind, I'm sure some of the guys would be interested.

Pictures are great, so please post some when you have the time. And your story about finding an old bike you owned long ago sounds very interesting. Why don't you start a new thread with the pics and the story?

Glad to have you aboard!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Ok Chris and any others interested.

I have ofter referred this incident to others as one of the miracles in my life. After reading this I think you too will believe in miracles...


I have lived in Orange, Texas most all my life. In 1961, I was stationed at Turner AFB in Albany GA. I had a part time job in a Triumph shop there, that I had never heard of until then. T&M Triumph, owned by Dwain Taylor. All but one of the mechanics that worked there also was in the Air Force at Turner. Dwain was famous for his T&M #6, and #9 cams. We ground and shipped those cams all over the world. We also raced a single fuel burner called grandma, and a twin engine job called the Deuce. I now realize that it was a privilege to have worked and raced with Dwain…

All the mechanics had nice custom Triumphs. We would take in older bikes and customize them and put them out on the showroom floor and sell them. It is no telling how many bikes were built in that shop in the late 50’s until the late 60’s. I had a 1957 T-110 that also was customized, and the engine was built about as radical as you could get for the street. It was painted 1957 Plymouth Fury, Gold and Tan. Street racing was big back then. Harleys were the only thing we had to race against, because all Honda had then was the 305 Bentley, and “Super Hawk”. We referred to the custom bikes we produced as “Chop Jobs”, because “Choppers’ didn’t fit the caliber of bike we were producing.
I was shipped out in ’63 to Korea, and sold the bike, one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

In March of last year (2008), we had a reunion at Dwain’s house, in Albany. Most of us hadn’t seen each other for about 45 years. We had a lot of good memories and catching up to do. There was a rumor that my old Triumph was still alive and well in Alabama. I have been working on a deal ever since then, and never was sure how things were going to go down. I was supposed to go over there in May to check up on it, in fact I was going to meet up with Chuck (From the Competition Board) at one of his races, and then go check on the bike rumor. But things weren’t working out. The Guy that had it was going to give it to his son to build a chopper out of, and of course he had had it all these years, it’s still in the shed, why get rid of it now, and yadda, da, yadda da, yadda….You get the picture.

Well I went to see it last July in Piedmont, Alabama, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. When I drove up to the Guy’s house, it was sitting out in front of his shop, and I almost lost it right there…I had to take several deep breaths before I got out of the car. Yep, it was hard to believe, that I was looking at it again, over 45 years ago. I sold it to one of the mechanics in the shop, and he retired to Piedmont in Dec. 1963, and sold it in 1972 to the Guy I got it from. The same Guy has had it all this time….

But here is the best part, it is still just like I sold it……Except it has about 500 miles added to it…Yep just about 500 miles, And here’s something else that is almost unbelievable, it still has the 1963 GA. tag on it. It is a little rough, but it still runs, (Damn good I might say) and everything is still there, except the generator is gone. The guy took it off because he couldn’t keep the generator bracket tight on it, so he just took it off. Two years ago he had new tires put on it because the old ones were getting dry rotted….Hell I guess so, after all, 45 plus, years. He did have a little oversize front tire put on it, I think I had a 2.75 Pirelli, and he put a 3.25 Dunlop Also, the front fender got a bad vibration crack in it so he took it off, and lost it, but that’s 45 years on the tires and fender.

The T&M decal is still on the tank, the Lucas Racing mag is still on it and still fires, the 32 mm Del Orto carbs are still there, a light flywheel, 9-6 T&M cams on needles, light rockers and tappets, 1 9/16 intake valves. He did have to replace a piston, so he changed both pistons and rings, and installed a head gasket which brought the Comp Ratio down to about 10 ½ to 1. He figured he wasn’t racing so he didn’t need the high compression.

We used to lap the jugs and head and seal the head to the jugs with aluminum paint paste. He wasn’t familiar with that so he just put a head gasket in it. It has the Smith tack, and speedo, however he said the speedo quite about 10 years ago after he put the new pistons in it. He set the tripmeter at that time, and it shows how many miles he put on it after the piston change until it broke. When I sold it, it had about 1900 miles on it.

It’s still hard to believe when I go out into my shop that it is sitting there. I am gathering parts that need replaced, which isn’t much. I plan on documenting everything about it, then tear it down and restore it back like I built it to start with. Who knows, it may be here another 45 to 50 years. I have included some pictures of it. I will probably be looking for some help on the hard to find stuff, like the generator, and some other smaller items.

I hope I haven’t ranted too long. I might load it up and take it to the
Lake “O” the Pines Rally, Iin Jefferson City Texas this fall, before I start tearing it Down. Does anyone on this board go to that one?

Dusty





This is the T&M Decal put on in 1961







A shot of the 32mm Del Orto's, and the bathtub drain stoppers I rigged up in 1962, also showing the Lucas Racing mag which is very rare today. It also shows the welded spigots on the '59 Bonne head.




Another shot of the engine showing the Tack drive timing cover





The 1963 GA tag still intact, and I have a new Lucas taillight for it.

 
#8 ·
The site only lets you post 4 pictures at a time so here are some more....

The Guy in the middle has had it in a shed since 1966. I sold it to the Guy on the left in 1963, he was in the Air Force also. I'm the Grinning new owner on the right.




As you can see the bike is really in pretty good condition. It needs cleaned and repainted and mostly cosmetic work..








And of course that's me with the Big Grin on my face. Sitting on it for the first time since July 1963...
 
#9 ·
Great story! Great bike! That has to feel so good.

Some years ago a burglar stole a Remington derringer I had gotten from my dad. Broke my heart at first, but then I decided to try to find it. Nine months later I found it at a gun show. I spent many long hours tracking it down, and it sure felt good to get it back.

Thanks for the post and pics.


But does Dwain still have any of those T&M decals left?
 
#10 ·
Chris,
If you mean one of these...Dwain doesn't have any, but I am having some made up. I just got some water slide decal sheets, and I'm gonna try to print my own. We are having another reunion this March in Albany, and I hope to have the new decals made and some more books printed up. I'll more than likely make an outright price to members here that want to purchase a book before they go to Ebay...

Dusty








 
#11 ·
That's a great story about you and your bike! Amazing it even had the original license plate on it. It's crazy how things like that turn out sometimes, isn't it? Sitting in a shed, all these years, waiting for you to come take it home... huh. wow.

Really cool.

Must have felt great to ride it again.

Thanks for sharing.
 
#13 ·
The T&M was the logo for T&M triumph the "T" was for Taylor(Dwain Taylor) and the "M" was his partner that was only with him for a year his name was Masteronie, or something like that.

Boondoggle,
About the first ride...I didn't ride it until I got it back to Texas...I just sat and looked it all over and touched it for about 2 weeks. When I was ready I put aout 2 quarts of gas in it, and it started the first crank...Then I rode it around the neighbothood for about 20 minutes.....It was kinda like taking your old high school girlfriend back to the Shady Rest Motel, 45 years later ...It didn't quite feel the same, Someone else had been riding her, but I knew it was the same ole' girl...
I had a difficult time trying to relate to my wife what it was all about, but it is just not something you can tell someone, unless you have been there...It's not something you can explain....You Guy's know where I'm coming from.
The first ride was kinda like turning back the clock...for a little while. The memories just keep coming back. Those days of drag racing with the T&M team and street racing, back in the early 60's was probably the best years of any young man's life. Especially mine.


Dusty
 
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