GETTING CRANKY WITH BSA BANTAM CRANK OVERHAUL

DIVING INTO THE SCRAP BIN FOR MATERIALS FOR STORAGE SOLUTIONS AND MR TWEED CONTINUES TO DELVE INTO THE WOUNDED BSA BANTAM ENGINE WITH THE CRANK FALLING UNDER SCRUTINY AND PRESSING MATTERS ENSUE ........

[@retromechanicalengineer]

As a seasoned protagonist of the Bantam up and down wobbly wheels, I heartily approve. I don't know what people do to these cranks but they do seem to live a tough life. Best wishes, Dean.

[@TweedsGarage]

Turns out its not it's first crank..........was suspicious as the original stuffer plates on this crank were riveted and the B175's were usually welded

[@retromechanicalengineer]

​@@TweedsGarage They have had the best part of 60 years to get mucked about and abused, so I suppose we shouldn't be surprised really!

[@nickaxe771]

I find it hard to understand how these crank can remain accurate even with normal use.....with just a press fit....a tight press fit granted.

[@TweedsGarage]

​@nickaxe771 its one of those mysteries of life 😊

[@shedbythetracks]

Take it easy with the organization and neatness.. My self-esteem is under enough pressure. I was proud of myself as I watched this episode. Not once did I scream "JUST HIT IT WITH A DAMN HAMMER AND LET'S GO RIDE THIS THING!" You're making me a better person. Cheers from the shed

[@TweedsGarage]

your therapy sessions are bearing fruit good Sir, you're almost ready to venture back out to the hardware store...........almost.....

[@shedbythetracks]

😁@@TweedsGarage

[@Steviegtr52]

Ah the last Bantam i had of many to boot. It was a a D14-4 . I fitted a George todd head. A larger monobloc carb. a expansion chamber exhaust. Ported & polished transfer ports. It went great. Until one day going to work up a steep hill to Yeadon airport ,it would not pull in 4th. But revved out in 3rd. So up & down the box i merily went until. Yep I snapped the crankshaft. Having done with the 175 motor i fitted a Villiers twin 250 2T into the bantam frame. I ran that for over a year with no issues. Thanks for sharing. I watch you & Retromacanica doing bantams. Brings back so many great memories of old. Steve.

[@TweedsGarage]

glad to stir some great memories Steve, the Bantam sounds like it was rip roaring fun ( until the mechanical disaster ), how did it handle the 250 2T?

[@Steviegtr52]

It handled remarkably well. I think from back then the only problem I had was the siamese exahaust catching the mudguard under heavy braking.I cannot even remember how i cured it.@@TweedsGarage

[@StuartsShed]

Nice - I love some shop organization. It’s relaxing and therapeutic. 👍 I like the morse taper drill organizer.

[@TweedsGarage]

it did turn out quite well.......even if I say so myself

[@oldfarthacks]

It's good to see you pressing on with the twisted tale of the knackered Bantam. It is surprising how much can get bent when a screw gets loose.

[@TweedsGarage]

and amazing the how much abuse these old vehicles soaked up and carried on running.

[@robjw66111]

don't rub your dors too hard, your knob may drop off! Diana... now thats a good name for the Bantam!

[@TweedsGarage]

what...knob?

[@robjw66111]

@@TweedsGarage the Dor knob, oh Matron

[@gbentley8176]

Another gem Mr T. A treat to find out that your garage must be as rare as Marley's ghost today. Careful with the tidying up though. Thank you for posting.

[@TweedsGarage]

don't worry Mr B, the novelty will wear of soon

[@chrissills962]

Not an easy job to do Mr Tweed, well done.

[@TweedsGarage]

Thanks Chris 👍

[@chrislee7817]

Was hoping you would would pop the flywheel halves between centres in the lathe and measure the runout for our entertainment 😊

[@TweedsGarage]

Check out the end of the musical crank checking interlude, one side of the crank is in the lathe and you get an idea of the entertaining run out 😁

[@petermckee1061]

Nicely done! Always enjoying your videos. Cheers, Peter.

[@TweedsGarage]

Thanks Peter 👍

[@edwardwest5035]

Very comprehensive, I really enjoyed that. Thanks.

[@TweedsGarage]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it Edward.

[@terryporter9778]

Love the diagrams and the explanation 👍🏾

[@TweedsGarage]

Hope it made sense Terry

[@terryporter9778]

Yes it made very good sense

[@TweedsGarage]

@@terryporter9778 excellent.....

[@coplandjason]

Very nice work, especially on rebuilding the. brake switch - tell me, is the Lemon Zest important in the Smoked Mackerel relish or will it work just as well without it? I have some common or garden relish around in the shed but I want to use the right product for this lubrication job 🙂

[@TweedsGarage]

oh very important Jason, the acid in the lemon juice cleans the parts and aids press fitting shafts...........it´s lemon entry my Dear Watson ;-)

[@nickaxe771]

Wow some expensive kit on these shelves Mr Tweed. I recently got a new section garage from Hansons....they warned me not to drill the walls as it risks a crack??? So how I fix things to the wall is with one of those modern adhesive....SOUDAL FIX ALL HIGH TACK ADHESIVE & SEALANT WHITE 290ML Comes on a silicom type tube £6.99 my word its strong.....so I glue baterns to the wall and attach to them. Nice job saving the nice old Wipac stop lamp switch....and all very interesting the disassembly of the crank.

[@TweedsGarage]

I took the desicion to pay above market price ( for bare machines) for the two machines ( lathe and mill ) because the came complete with tooling, financially it was a smooth move as the tooling is worth as much as the machines on there own . Good to hear about the new garage and a good idea battening it out, if you haven’t filled it with treasures yet I'd recommend insulating the ceiling and walls ......i wish I'd done it to mine , but to move everything to do it would be a mammoth task.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

That hydraulic press is earning it's keep! You would have had a job to put a set in your rod with any other device, at least it will not touch the flywheel now. Have you thought of just turning the flywheel pad plates a few degrees and drill fresh holes, you could then use rivets again. The DTI stands came in useful as well. Stay safe. Chris B.

[@TweedsGarage]

I think the rivet idea is best left to history Chris ;-). Mrs Tweed was only saying last night whilst watching the video " how did you ever do without that press?" and I really don't know, but it probably involved a lot of hammering and leaning heavily on vice handles.

[@chrislaunders8283]

Arrgh, when you started pressing the pin out with the rod over the support I was screaming NO NO NO. Worked in a shop for several years and rebuilt dozens of Bantam cranks, basically anything that could have been wrecked was at some time.

[@TweedsGarage]

:-).....yeah sods law it jammed rather than slipped through the bearing.....to be fair it looked worse on video and it stopped me from being tempted to reuse it.

[@984francis]

Dust gets in all those fannys🤪

[@TweedsGarage]

Clean the dust out of your lugs....i said crannies 😁

[@984francis]

@@TweedsGarage 😁

[@GazCroton]

That is a very helpful vidoe - thank you. Can I ask where you bought the new crank pins?

[@TweedsGarage]

from Rex Caunt Racing, Michelle is very helpful. rexcauntracing.com

[@nickaxe771]

When are we getting the next installment Mr Tweed. I am getting withdrawal symptom's

[@TweedsGarage]

Just nursing Mrs Tweed back to good health after a broken shoulder..but hopefully something soon.

[@nickaxe771]

Oh dear.....hope she makes a full recovery....merry xmas to you both.@@TweedsGarage

[@TheFlash1940]

Please explain about the Swedish.

[@TweedsGarage]

oh you get a bit of everything on here, Swedish, German, Japanese, Italian etc....just depends on subject matter or personal whimsy :-)

[@colinwellman9480]

Such a satisfying/ worrying sound when the pin lets go. Well done with your attention to detail. Some would just have got it running, albeit a bit rough. Dare I ask? Has anything been going on with the Riley off camera? Thanks for the video.

[@TweedsGarage]

Riley stuff has been going on in the background, a few engine test runs have confirmed the manifold no longer leaks but now the oil gauge fitting on the block leaks oil so the sump has to come down.......again, and the dynamo appears not to be charging so that needs investigating.......just waiting for a dry weekend to unbury Gladstone from the garage and have a rearrange so it is easy to move it in and out of the garage.

[@russellnixon9981]

Do you have a new sponsor Mr T or have you come strait from work.

[@TweedsGarage]

Rushed back from the condiment and pickle isle

[@russellnixon9981]

😆@@TweedsGarage

[@asciimation]

Nice Dors. Not signed I see, but possibly stained. And that reminds me, your 'silicone grease' is missing an e! What's happening with the Riley?

[@TweedsGarage]

alright Miss Trunchbull, I didn't know I was being marked on my homework. :-). The Riley has a bit of an oil leak on the oil pressure gauge outlet so the sump has to come off.....and it's been raining constantly so have been unable to unbury it out of the garage at the mo.....and its getting cold and frosty so I may have to drop the coolant out soon.

[@asciimation]

@@TweedsGarage That's what happens when you make Jenkins do your homework for you! I keep forgetting it's going into winter on the wrong half of the world. Even here where it doesn't get that cold everything slows down in winter. I think it's when you finish work and it's already dark when you want to go out to the shed.

[@nazdagg1945]

yes, time for new parts, big end is crusty. are you going to tack weld the crank?

[@TweedsGarage]

The new plates fit nicely with the new countersunk screws I turned up, on assembly screws will be Loctited and the heads will be tacked to the plate.

[@nazdagg1945]

Yamaha racers (TZ250) would put a tack on the big end/flywheel. Bantams don't spin cranks. how about hammering up a good looking dustbin fairing? a neighborhood legend.

[@TweedsGarage]

@@nazdagg1945 hammering up a dustbin fairing in the evenings would make me a neighbourhood nuisance ;-)

[@nazdagg1945]

they'll get real worried when your sliding thru a corner, down on the tank, handfull of throttle, decent tires. do they have a bantam class at hillclimbs? how about trials? wife like a weekend in the country?

[@glenmiller3783]

Gotta hate it when you spend all that time in set up and fiddling only to find the parts are shot. Nice job on the organizing.

[@TweedsGarage]

all part of life long learning Glen, your latest project looks like it'll be a nice truck when done.

[@glenmiller3783]

I'm hoping so.@@TweedsGarage