Sunbeam S7 deluxe

[TLDV8]

Could be a lonely thread but anyone here have a Sunbeam ?

[Voltaire]

There was one on the Classic Motorcycle run on Saturday. My English shaft bike cuz <_<.

[sidecar bob]

I have a mate in Tauranga with one with sidecar.
It was on trade me a while back but he chickened out & withdrew it.
He's not on here, but i can put you in touch.

[TLDV8]

I have a mate in Tauranga with one with sidecar.

I forgot about that one, the owner posts on the SOF website.

[seymour14]

We have an S8, much the same thing.

There was an S7 at the National rally a couple of weeks back, and I spotted one at the Greymouth street races while down there to. They are around but you don't see them on the road much.

[Paul in NZ]

We have an S8, much the same thing.

There was an S7 at the National rally a couple of weeks back, and I spotted one at the Greymouth street races while down there to. They are around but you don't see them on the road much.

Please don't feed me lines like that..... :laugh:

My limited experience with them based on one quick ride was 'nice but.......' Mind you I was a wild eyed youth wanting excitement...

'tis a shame they never stuck with it though as there were a LOT of really good ideas in those bikes...

[swarfie]

'tis a shame they never stuck with it though as there were a LOT of really good ideas in those bikes...

The old bronze screw diff wasn't one of them tho'...:facepalm:

[TLDV8]

The old bronze screw diff wasn't one of them tho'...:facepalm:

That seems to be part Sunbeams doing when they recommended the wrong oil from the first model, oil that dissolved bronze over time.
Hopefully a brand new worm wheel and worm screw is close to being delivered, over 50 days wait so far, they were purchased some 50 years ago in the UK and never used so the story goes.

The ones in the bike were not to bad though.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/WormWheel2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WormWheel2.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/SunbeamS7Gearbox.jpg" border="0" alt="Sunbeam S7 Gearbox. photo SunbeamS7Gearbox.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/IMG_0591-Copy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0591-Copy.jpg"/></a>

[Motu]

Worm drive diffs in trucks (Leyland, Foden etc) and cars (Peugeot) used SAE30 castor oil, if not speced for the Sunbeam, it might be worth looking into.

[sidecar bob]

Some of the old man's leyland buses with worm drive in the '60's used a 140 gear oil. It was slow moving grease basically.

[TLDV8]

Being the optimist, when I got the bike it was going to be change the fluids, a going over and that would be it for a while.
There are quite a few documented area's to check and some got the cross so that was that.
I had found a distributor for Morris Lubricants in Victoria so had got a 5 litre pack of 20/50 for the engine and gearbox and 140 for the final drive as recommended by Stewart Engineering in the UK.

http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/scripts/default.asp

The fork tubes arrived back from hard chroming this morning, should have sent them to New Zealand is all I can say.
They should work out OK with new bushes and the set of BSA A10 springs from Paul Goff in the UK.
The front 140/90/16 should make for sporty handling.

Just waiting for some 'bits to finish the Kubota alternator mod, it came out 4 mm longer than stock so shouldn't look to out of place once I figure how to weather the outer case a little, oven cleaner perhaps.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20S7%20Kubota%20Mod/IMG_1385.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1385.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20S7%20Kubota%20Mod/IMG_1369.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1369.jpg"/></a>

[Motu]

I served my time with a guy who used to work for Fodens NZ, they had problems with the worm drives, chunks would be sucked off the brass crownwheel. They used thicker and thicker oil, 140 I guess. Fodens head office told them that was wrong and to use SAE30 castor, and their troubles stopped when they did. They had a hard time believing that such a thin oil could do the job, but it does.

I remember my father scoring a couple of brass crownwheels, he brought them home to sell for scrap. They must've been out of Dales Freightways Buffalo as he worked on that a lot. Dunno what oil they used, I was to young to know that stuff.

[sidecar bob]

I'm quite fond of this stuff. Have had a lot more "luck" with the race bikes since I started using it. http://www.powerupnz.co.nz

[TLDV8]

Just before I left New Zealand in 2007 there had been a complete but in pieces S7 on Trade Me that went for $5200 iirc, in Huntly.
Somewhere out there.
Going by the internet they built quite a few S7 Deluxe's and S8's from 1949 on, the earlier S7 from 1946 to 1948 seems to be the rare one.

[TLDV8]

There may very well be merit in the thinner oils, there are few modern synthetics recommended and they are no where near 140 viscosity.
A case of try and keep an eye on it perhaps.

[Voltaire]

There was one on the Auckland Rally on Saturday, parked down the back by the car on the left.
305904

I think there was one on Trade Me not that long ago.

Worm and Roller....thats what my old Kombi uses for a steering box, the BMW use a car type one :yes:

[Grumph]

There may very well be merit in the thinner oils, there are few modern synthetics recommended and they are no where near 140 viscosity.
A case of try and keep an eye on it perhaps.

The old man had an S7 briefly...mainly to see if they were as bad as reported. It was. Moved on smartly. He finished up with a 250 BMW he had for years.

oils - when people started serious rallying with Mazda 323 FWD Turbo's they regularly ate the center diff...One particular synthetic, a castrol from memory, let the diff live.

[nodrog]

I used 140 gear oil in my sunbeam once, I wouldn't recommend it and I certainly wouldn't use it again. It made my Toasted sandwiches nearly inedible.

[swarfie]

I used 140 gear oil in my sunbeam once, I wouldn't recommend it and I certainly wouldn't use it again. It made my Toasted sandwiches nearly inedible.

Only nearly? :rofl:

[jellywrestler]

I used 140 gear oil in my sunbeam once, I wouldn't recommend it and I certainly wouldn't use it again. It made my Toasted sandwiches nearly inedible.

why wasn't the woman cooking?

[nodrog]

why wasn't the woman cooking?

It was a Thursday, she doesn't drink and fry.

[jellywrestler]

It was a Thursday, she doesn't drink and fry.

drinking on a school night, tch tch tch....

[nodrog]

drinking on a school night, tch tch tch....

we only go to Sunday school these days.

[TLDV8]

No new Sunbeam owners then.
I picked up the internals of a S7 gearbox off eBay.uk as per page one after the seller stripped the clusters from the case to get the postage down

eBay picture.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/SunbeamS7before.jpg"/></a>

All new bronze bushes and bearings and it came up quite well.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/Misc/IMG_1715.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1715.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/Misc/IMG_1682.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1682.jpg"/></a>

Was lucky enough to get what is basically a new worm wheel and worm screw form the UK, it had been purchased by the seller in the early 1960's.
The local bearing shop found some NOS RHP bearings as a bonus that were picked up yesterday.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/WormWheel_1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WormWheel_1.jpg"/></a>

Rockers and rear bush sent to the UK came back with new sintered bronze bushes and new stellite pads with the bush re white metaled to 0.010" undersize.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/Rocker.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Rocker.jpg"/></a>

I read (on the Internet so it must be true) there were some 16000 S7 / S7 Deluxe and S8's built, they must be all on the road because used parts are thin on ground for the most part but did get one new connecting rod and a new kick start quadrant from New Zealand.

[TLDV8]

At the Darwin LNG project so progress has slowed....

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/IMG_3510.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_3510.jpg"/></a>

[Paul in NZ]

Man - I LOVE your work.... Always impressive...

[TLDV8]

Not much to report, still doing my bit for Australia (8 years away on Oct 17th)

I did pick up another S7 Deluxe (1953) a month or so back, it had been picked up from a deceased estate some 16 years ago and then dry stored in what looked to be some form of aviation container.
Prior to that it had been in an attic so the story goes so may not have been ridden since the 1970's.
Very complete and only the hand grips and headlight glass/reflector missing.

<img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Sunbeam%20Misc/3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 3.jpg"/>

I did also pick up one of these, a AMR300 supercharger which came up nicely after a strip, clean and inspection, maybe something for the 49 S7 deluxe.
Before picture.

<img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/Misc/AMR%20300.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AMR 300.jpg"/>

Work on that bike had been on hold but should recommence after finding an excellent head (early this month) from the UK for the very reasonable price of AU$212 + post, a wheel also arrived from NZ for NZ$95 + post last week.

<img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1949%20Sunbeam%20S7%20Deluxe/Engine/2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2.jpg"/>

I had also been doing a transmission refurb for the 1973 Eldorado and had drilled the engine block so an oil filter pan can be used along with a later front main bearing flange.
SWMBO asks quite often why I don't buy a new bike........ hmmm.
Some pics in the below link.
http://s30.photobucket.com/user/manurewa/library/1973%20Moto%20Guzzi%20Eldorado/Moto%20Guzzi%20Oil%20Filter%20Pan?sort=9&page=1

<img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/1973%20Moto%20Guzzi%20Eldorado/Moto%20Guzzi%20Oil%20Filter%20Pan/17.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 17.jpg"/>

I don't know about New Zealand but it seems you have to do more and more (or learn how to) yourself on old motorcycles in Australia.

[Daffyd]

Met a dear old lady in Westport back in '08 who told us she and her hubby had one. Apparently the Police bought a fleet of them, but they couldn't catch the contemporary Triumphs so they sold them off cheap. AFAIK she didn't still have it.

[P38]

Garth Johnson from Taradale had one that he fully restored with a sidecar attached.

No sure what happened to it but knowing Garth it's still sitting in his shed.

Cheers
Pete

[pritch]

Met a dear old lady in Westport back in '08 who told us she and her hubby had one. Apparently the Police bought a fleet of them, but they couldn't catch the contemporary Triumphs so they sold them off cheap. AFAIK she didn't still have it.

That sounds close. Generally the Transport Dept bought their bikes tax and duty free, used them for a year or two (can't remember exactly but I can ask), and then sold them for exactly what they had paid for them. This was pre GST so there was a lot more tax.

I remember seeing cops on Sunbeams, but rarely, and not for long.