Subject: RE: Wanted: Ambo rear drive.
Author: murp-@aol.com
Date: Jan 24, 2001, 9:26 PM
Post ID: 1705094502
Ian and all,
Thanks for the offer, Ian. I did get a message from MG Classics for a
pattern, but would be interested in getting a pattern from you as well
(it might be interesting to see if there is variation from bike to bike;
anyone else is welcome to send a pattern as well, E-mail for address).
In response to other questions, the ser. # of my '74 disk-brake Eldo
is 060741. I am not sure if it is a police model or not, as it had a mix
of police and civilian parts on it when I got it last fall. It has
floorboards and police handlebars, but does not have a police side stand
(although I will be adding one).
I recently wrote an E-mail about what I am doing with the Eldo, and
will paste parts of it here:
Back in '76 when I was 21 and living in Victoria, B.C. (Canada), I
bought a '74 Eldo, but sold it when I left the west coast in 1980. I
always liked the bike, but thought that it really needed better brakes
(it had a 4 leading shoe drum brake, which probably wasn't really well
set up). I then rode BMW's up until 1995, when I bought a '78 T3 with
only 1800 miles on it. The T3 was (and is) in perfect shape, but it was
a little down on power compared to the BMW R100 I was used to. So, I
bought a pair of Nikasil 1000 cc cylinders and pistons for it (with the
cylinder spigots turned down to fit in the 850 case). However, I never
got around to installing them, and thought that I might like to restore
an Eldorado and use them on that, since any old Eldo I might get to
restore would probably need new cylinders more than a low-mileage T3. So
last fall I found an Eldo with the disk brake (which is what I was
looking for) for sale in the Cycle Trader magazine.
Since then, I have completely disassembled the bike and engine. All
frame parts have been powder coated, and all chrome parts (including the
tank) have been re-chromed. I have had all the nuts and bolts cadmium
plated, but will also replace a lot of the fasteners with stainless
parts. I will send the cylinder heads and engine case to Moto
International where the heads will be rebuilt and the engine case
machined to take an oil filter. I found some timing gears on E-bay from
an older Eldo or Ambo, which will replace the timing chain, and I will
reassemble the engine with a B10 cam (which provides more lift and
duration). I will put together the engine with the 1000 cc kit, so this
together with the P3 cam will give the engine quite a bit more torque.
All of this brings me to the reason I am looking for an Ambassador rear
drive. The Ambo ratio is 8/35 compared with the Eldo ratio of 8/37, so
it will give an overall 6% increase in gearing, which the engine should
handle easily.
I have also gotten a rear wheel from an 850T, which I will use
instead of the Eldo rear wheel. The 850T wheel has a cush drive in it,
which reduces wear on the drive splines and the gearbox.
In response to the question of how much it cost me to rechrome
the tank, I can't give an exact figure, except to say that all the
chrome parts on the bike were replated (at 'The Chrome Depot' in Sachse,
TX) for $700. I think the figure for the tank was $250, but this was not
to rechrome the whole tank to the same finish. I am not an expert on
this, but I think that in chrome plating, the material to be plated must
first be refinished, then nickel plated, and then chrome plated. In the
case of the Eldo tank, only the side panels were stripped and nickel
plated before the whole tank was put in the chrome vat (or whatever it's
called). The new chrome only adhered to the side panels, and in other
places either flaked off or was sanded off in preparation for painting.
Chrome plating is expensive, and I would think that if the whole tank
were refinished and replated, it would probably cost at least $500.
Ian Adkins wrote:
| Brian, If someone hasn't beaten me to the task by tomorrow let me know. I would be happy to trace the chrome patch and send it to you. I'll need your address. Regards...Ian p.s. could you send me the serial number to your Eldo please? I am recording all the Loopframes out there and I would like to add you to my list. Thanks -----Original Message----- From: murp-@aol.com <murp-@aol.com> To: Loopfram-@topica.com <Loopfram-@topica.com> Date: January 24, 2001 9:55 PM Subject: Wanted: Ambo rear drive.
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