Oddball engines and prototypes

[T.W.R]

Second half

[WilDun]

Leo Kuzmicki is described as ex-Vanwall which makes sense given the connections between them and Norton.
Probably enough about a car engine on this Kiwibikers site? :-)
One last bit from me - for TWR - this mentions the Pollard Imp (as well as his half-an-Anglia engine).

Guy, an engine is an engine, whatever it's in! The Imp engine (to me anyway) worked as well on bikes as it did on cars and the engineers seemed happy with it being used in anything!

[WilDun]

Good article on the REG!

[T.W.R]

Good article on the REG!

I was having a google about him and the only thing I found was a brief that Crashcart did in 2011 for Motorcycle Classics

[Grumph]

I was having a google about him and the only thing I found was a brief that Crashcart did in 2011 for Motorcycle Classics

Got an article here somewhere in an early Classic Bike or Classic Racer about him and the REG's. The magazines are now recycling the same subjects again...

[Michael Moore]

That's why when they came up for renewal this last time I dropped all of the "classic/vintage" magazine subscriptions. They've pretty much been on the recycling kick for 4-5 years or more -- how many T120 or DBD34 articles does a person need to see in their life?

But then starting earlier this year I'm also selling off all the bike stuff that qualifies as "old". I began riding them when they were new, now after 45+ years they don't interest me much, there's no novelty left. 4 more vintage dirt bikes and parts to go and then I can give up the last 200 sq ft of warehouse space (300 sq ft given up in July) and I'll have just a couple of modern bikes that don't need a pile of parts bikes here at home.

[husaberg]

According to the book
https://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/produc...oup=Motorsport
Harry Munday was only at Coventry Climax from 1950-1955 but he very definitely laid the foundations for the future engines and remained a (hard) drinking best buddy of Walter Hassan, the chief engineer.
The genesis of the Imp was the FWM = Featherweight marine and was originally a vertically mounted 650 outboard engine. It became the 750 FWMA (A for auto) at Colin Chapman's bidding and did well at Le Mans. Other versions, Fire pump, pressure washer etc. followed. The MKII was bored and stroked to 875 and this was the one that Rootes started with. Coventry Climax regarded the whole thing as a bit of a disaster with Rootes redesigning various aspects of the engine without testing or listening to advice! It didn't stop them getting involved again later, though, as they developed the 998 conversion.
Leo Kuzmicki is described as ex-Vanwall which makes sense given the connections between them and Norton.
Probably enough about a car engine on this Kiwibikers site? :-)
One last bit from me - for TWR - this mentions the Pollard Imp (as well as his half-an-Anglia engine).

i posted the vanwalll stuff earlier on
not in this thread as it seems........ i might re scan it as i am not looking through 10000 pics to fnd it
https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/s...post1131022514
https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/s...post1131022378

[guyhockley]

Think Sammy Miller has the REG in his museum.

[WilDun]

Think Sammy Miller has the REG in his museum.

I'm sure he has, probably the best collection of famous bikes ever!

Sammy of course was big time trials champion, but he was no slouch at road racing, competing with (and beating) people like Hailwood in his earlier days!

[Michael Moore]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Prototype-O...-/122844929365

This looks very similar to the Spartus single mentioned earlier.

[pete376403]

Someone (I recall it was Bill Sergent but may be wrong) turned up at te marua speedway with a jawa 2V with an offenhauser 4V head on it (This was before jawa began producing their own 4V motors, but after the Ivan Tighe/NeilStreet conversions became popular.

[Grumph]

Someone (I recall it was Bill Sergent but may be wrong) turned up at te marua speedway with a jawa 2V with an offenhauser 4V head on it (This was before jawa began producing their own 4V motors, but after the Ivan Tighe/NeilStreet conversions became popular.

There's a small bell ringing faintly in the back of my head - I seem to remember the old man saying that one of the Milne bros was behind a 4V conversion coming out of the states around that time. As an ex speedway pro he kept track of that sort of thing - and he'd met Cordy Milne before the war when he came out to NZ. It's a very small and esoteric area of engine development done by a small group of people.
I can't search well enough to come up with any links sorry.

[T.W.R]

Similar to the BVR 5v motor being made for speedway then the ban on anything more than 4v causing the BVR to be ineligible for speedway use

[Grumph]

Similar to the BVR 5v motor being made for speedway then the ban on anything more than 4v causing the BVR to be ineligible for speedway use

I've always taken reports of the BVR engine's performance with a hefty dose of cynicism. From doing a lot with 5 valve heads I know just how vital a programmable ignition is to getting them to make power - and if I remember right Valentine was using a simple mag...
Liked his V twins though....

[T.W.R]

I've always taken reports of the BVR engine's performance with a hefty dose of cynicism. From doing a lot with 5 valve heads I know just how vital a programmable ignition is to getting them to make power - and if I remember right Valentine was using a simple mag...
Liked his V twins though....

I stumbled across a small article in an old Classic Bike mag about a Swedish bloke Ebbe Troedsson who commissioned Rodger Tichmarsh to build a Seeley replica special but the motor he had would fit so paid nearly 3000 pound for a non runner BVR motor & gearbox to fit into the special and it all ended up in a shit fight and duly ended with Valentine saying production of the motor had ceased. There was just a small background about the intended usage.