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.