Sunbeam B24 350cc 1939

[SakuraParticipant @sakura]

Posted by Hopper on 17/01/2023 09:23:40:

Posted by Sakura on 17/01/2023 08:31:07:

The Sunbeam is a late 30s bike, manufactured under AMC ownership. Nickel plating, as a final finish, finished around 1930 therefore the shiny bits would be chrome plated over the nickel.

Proper flash one then.

Not sure what it is like in the UK these days but the cost of chrome plating has become virtually unaffordable here. Most of the chrome platers closed down due to restrictive laws on waste disposal and WHS etc and the few left charge whatever they like, which is a lot. The days of chromed tanks are gone and it's cheaper to buy a whole new exhaust system from Armours etc than to get your old one rechromed. Same for headlights and mudguards etc.

A lot of guys are buying the kits and doing their own home plating of nickel and zinc instead. Not sure if you can do chrome or not. But it works well for all the small stuff.

There are at few chrome platers left in the UK but it's. expensive . Typically a front mudguard is around £150. I have spoken to a couple of industrial platers who do zinc and other plating and they say it's nigh impossible to get permission to chrome plate. Existing platers possibly have a bit more leeway? You're absolutely right that it's often more cost effective to buy a new part already chromed than to chrome an original part. Is it still original if it has been rechromed? That's another discussion altogether of course. Home chrome plating does not appear to be an option. On some less valuable bikes I have seen a "chrome" like powder coating used. It's not bad and is a huge cost saving. Who knows how really good it may be in time?

[colin branniganParticipant @colinbrannigan54160]

Price for chrome incl vat and postage was £480 the cost of new pattern replacement parts was around £575 so my notes say.

The Douglas parts will be close to £800 with no option or pattern parts

Colin

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by colin brannigan on 18/01/2023 08:18:37:

Price for chrome incl vat and postage was £480 the cost of new pattern replacement parts was around £575 so my notes say.

The Douglas parts will be close to £800 with no option or pattern parts

Colin

Wow. Just wow. More expensive even than I thought. No wonder I don't get chroming done any more.

The trouble with pattern parts though is sometimes they are OK, other times they are rubbish. And it is nice to preserve the originals if you can, so you don't end up with a "repo queen".

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

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[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Another general guide to the restoration of, as the young daughter of a fellow vintage enthusiast once described, 'rusty rubbish'.

**LINK**

Jim

PS anyone have a guide to converting a NSU Max into a Sportmax replica? Or even photos of same.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by Fowlers Fury on 17/01/2023 15:18:40:

True enough about chrome re-plating these days. For one of my rebuilds where surface rust had ruined the original chrome plating, I used a nickel plating kit. The process is safe enough altho' tedious & requiring a LOT of preparation. A preliminary coating of electroplated copper is advisable on mild steel. The final finish of course will not look as reflective as chromium but a polish with Solvol or the like and the appearance is very close. For chrome-plated Cu oil pipes that needed replacing, I made new pipes then silver coated them. Again, a simple, safe process used extensively by clock restorers.The silver (from silver nitrate soln) binds directly to the Cu surface and is resilient to oxidation if coated with a non-yellowing clear varnish..

A low-res image of the Panther but the covers on the rear shocks, the front brake actuating arm, tank filler cap and a few other smaller items had been Ni plated back in '84.

 

 

I thought all Panthers had to be fitted with sidecars, the bigger the better, they all were in my young day. They fired every other lamp post was the rumour. This one looks very nice indeed.

Edited By duncan webster on 18/01/2023 20:08:15

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

Regarding " I thought all Panthers had to be fitted with sidecars, the bigger the better, they all were in my young day. They fired every other lamp post was the rumour. This one looks very nice indeed."

Thanks for the "complement" Duncan. You are of course correct with respect to your other 2 comments : – )
The big slopers were indeed ideal for being married to sidecars. If you could afford a Busmar double-adult s/c then you really needed a Panther or an Ariel Square Four. The flywheels weighed in at 28lbs I think, so a lot of weight was low down in the frame and the torque was quite incredible for an ohv. They look to be long stroke engines but were in fact about square. Riding one solo (as I did) was an unforgettable experience irrespective of all the quirks & faults of a mid 50s British 'bike. In 4th gear at 30mph you could believe the joke about firing at every 2nd lamp post.
At the annual Panther Owners Club Rally in the late 70s there was a "flywheel flinging contest". A 'bottom end' with its con rod would be produced. Farthest fling won, needless-to-say by the beefiest hulk present.
Must cease the reminiscences……………

[Author]

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