Hi Single minded

I think I misled you with my post regard oil way - not in rocker box - in timing cover - photo attached.

Regards Ian

Right, just had fun turning a test bar to check the diagonal hole. The hole is to stop hydraulic locking of the tell tale.
I thought I had a set of micro frills but no.
So a Number 60 is much too big at around 1mm, I ended up with a 0.79mm test wire which is 1/32".
You are going to need a very fast speed and lots of lubricant and a lot of very small cuts withdrawing the drill to clear swarf to manage that without snapping the drill in the hole.
The subject of springs in the telltale is fun, it will depend on which spring you have in the rocker box elbow. I fitted a piece of throttle slide spring and trimmed it to get the pressure I was looking for also doing the same with the elbow spring( which was a cut down Vincent inner cush drive spring. i left the elbow out of the rockerbox cover but still connected to the pipe and ran the engine.without the elbow spring you will end up with a 4 foot jet of oil and low oil pressure.I played with the top spring pressure till i got a nice steady drip,about 1 a second to start with..If you don't fit the elbow spring and ball you will end up over oiling the top end and the oil will end up running down the head and barrel even with a Number 50 jet in the elbow.

Hi all
Thankyou for your useful comments on my previous posts.

The previous owner damaged (broke off) the threaded part of the timing cover holding the oil pipe union feeding the rocker box.
This has been aluminum welded and all necessary engineering work completed.
The diagonal oil way feeding the rocker box (which I did have the correct drill size put to one side) has now been put away by accident.

Could anyone confirm the drill size for the diagonal oil way through the timing cover to the main oil feed.

Has anyone any suggestions for the tell tale - sealing - spring etc.

Thanks

Regards Ian

Hi. You'll really enjoy the 9A. I have a '32 one.
with regard to the gland nut on the Gearbox selector shaft some gearboxes do not have the adjustable nut, mostly i have found that the clamp up style lever (type B) cannot be adjusted.

Congrats to your 9a. I agree with the previous comments. For the gearbox of my 32 Model 9 I use Castrol 9038/1 semi grease.

Regards
Dani

I'd agree with Thomas on this. You may find a thinner oil in the primary,  eg SAE20 helps prevent clutch slip as is can squeeze out between the plates faster. The gland seal on the gearchange can be a source of leaks, it's a felt seal under a nut and in theory tightening the nut squashes the felt onto the shaft to make the seal, obviously this won't work if the washer's not thick enough to need squashing. Felt seals should be soaked in melted tallow, sounds medieval but it's readily available because it's used for getting cable through long plastic conduit. Autohose supply felt in suitably thick sheets if needed. 
   
The problem with the gauge is as Thomas says, it doesn't really mean much in itself. The 9A oiling system directs oil to  the pressure indicator - the plunger in a chrome housing by the pump. This plunger blocks the oil coming out of the pump to prevent wet sumping while standing (in theory, in practice oil can still track across the pump to the return side and drain down the scavenge pipe into the crankcase). Upon starting,  pressure lifts this plunger and the rod on the end pokes out of the housing to show it's pumping. It's initial movement opens the feed to the rocker box and gauge. It that was an open outlet, there would be no pressure and the plunger would open no further, but in the rocker box elbow there is a ball and spring to create back-pressure, recorded on the gauge. That back pressure causes the pump to push the plunger out further, opening a second oilway to the big end. Because a roller big end has little back pressure, the plunger spring is now stronger than the oil flow and closes again until pressure builds up anew and the process repeats.
What really counts is movement of the plunger - you need to  make sure it coms all the way out to feed the big end not just halfway. Problems can arise here when a random new spring or copious sealing washers have been fitted and if you ever have the cover off I'd advocate checking how far it comes out to open the rocker feed and big end feed and making a note so you can check when it's running. The trouble with pressure is that it measures restriction rather than flow, if you fitted a strong spring in the rocker box elbow valve, you'd get huge pressure reading - but no oil! Similarly zero on he gauge could mean all the oil is going to the big end - or there's no ball valve in the elbow to show pressure on the gauge but ALL the oil is going up there!  So it's a balance. On SAE 40 I think my gauge used to read 20 psi hot and 40 cold on the no.2 oil tank tap setting.
Hope this makes sense!
Cheers Rick

Personally I tend to use brown manila envelope paper for gaskets like this because it's substantial enough to work but thin enough not to a) increase end float on things like cam followers/camgears and b) unlike thick gasket paper, doesn't compress. needing re-tightening.
I remember being delighted back in the mid 80s when the cheap brown paper gaskets that came in sets were replaced by lovely quality thick, waxed and marbled grey ones. It took me years to realise that after that change, things like cylinder base nuts needed re-tightening a few times after assembly as the paper compressed, were the thin ones had been fine.
For structural support between stressed components, a metal to metal joint is best - and a spongy cornflakes packet worst - but I think envelope paper is a good compromise - and agreed - I also like Welseal, when needed. But having found the tubes leak and make a very gooey mess in the drawer I was delighted to find you can buy a lifetime supply in a tin...just don't knock it over!
Cheers Rick   

Sent you an Email.

Rgds, Dani

I would need the Sunbeam logo as a vector graphic. Does that exist somewhere?
Cheers, Thomas

Quote from: Russ on March 18, 2024, 09:35:41 AMwell bit of a damp squib to start with hardly any Sunbeams I have to say considering it was supposed to be the Sunbeam centenary? I guess a combination of the M25 being shut and the miserable weather kept most away still always nice to see the old vintage stuff getting a run out

Hello Russ, The Sunbeam 100 event was a celebration of the 'Sunbeam motor cycle club', founded in 1924 as a Sunbeam club but opened to all makes in 1925 and now operates as a club for all makes of pre 1939 motorcycle.