ANOTHER ACE MCQUEEN STYLE DESERT SLED
This desert sled Triumph replicates one of several bikes built by Bud Ekins for the all-american hero to race...
Inspired by Bud Ekins, Ace Classics build another tribute bike to the great film star
Ace Classics in Lee, south-east London, are well known specialists in pre-unit Triumph spares, but they are also carving themselves a niche as authorities in creating Steve Mcqueen replica Triumphs. It all started when a customer ordered a replica of the Triumph the film star rode in the 1964 International Six-day Trial (ISDT) in East Germany as part of a fiveman team representing America. A Frenchman called Cédric saw the bike in the press and immediately ordered an identical machine. But rather than this being a one-off purchase, it was simply a building block to a much bigger project, a museum full of Mcqueenrelated vehicles and memorabilia. It didn’t matter to Cédric that some of the cars and bikes were replicas. As long as they were accurate, highly detailed and relevant, then he was happy enough to include them in his collection.
Delighted by the ISDT replica, he ordered a pre-unit ‘sled’ – the term for standard 500cc-plus scramblers modified for competition in the Californian deserts.
Kev Rushworth, the son of Ace Classics founder Cliff Rushworth, explains: “Cédric scoured pictures on the internet looking for anything related to Mcqueen and then came to the shop and asked us to build the #955 pre-unit desert racer – based on a 1961 Trophy that was originally built by Bud Ekins for Mcqueen.” With that completed, Cédric was back in touch, asking them to create the bike you see here – a replica of another desert racer, but this time based on a unit construction Meriden Triumph. “Cédric spotted Mcqueen’s bike with the 502 numberplate,” says Kev. “It’s based on a 1963 T120 TT – another bike built by Ekins. The original machine was sold at a Bonhams auction, but after hard use by Mcqueen, it finally featured a 141 number plate, a green tank [the original was black] and a few bits different to the original build.” Rather than a copy of the original sold by Bonhams, which would have been easier to construct given the availability of the high quality auction-house images, Cédric decided he wanted it closer to the original build.
Kev says: “By the time the bike was wearing the 141 number plate on the Bonhams sale bike, it had a different exhaust to the original – along with other alterations. I’ve no idea at what stage those changes from original specification happened, or why.” So how could he be sure the 502 was the same bike as the 141 sold at auction? “The alloy shield on the right-hand side of the bike and the great big air filter added to the original filter are identical on both machines – both of these are modifiations that Ekins would have made when he built the bike,” Kev insists.
He only had half a dozen original pictures of number 502 to work from.
‘THE CUSTOMER ORDER WASN’T A ONE-OFF. IT WAS A BUILDING BLOCK TO A BIGGER PROJECT’
“We knew it was a 1963 model because the footpegs were bolted underneath – Triumph only did that for one year,” he says. “We used later pegs, modified by hooking them upwards and then added the flat protection plates that Ekins used to prevent the pegs piercing a hole in the cases in the event of a tumble.
“The idea of the build was to have the bike looking as though it had been raced, so while we used nice original cases, we only cleaned them, rather than giving them a shiny polished finish. With that patina in mind we used a secondhand kickstart too. We even buffed the tank with a special polish to tone down all the paintwork – Scuff It prep gel made by 3M.”
Cliff Rushworth regularly scours the States for suitable Triumph bikes and spares and brings in a 40ft sea container loaded with such jewels every year. In a recent shipment was a matching frame and engine for a 1963 T120 as a basket case.
“We rebuilt the T120 engine pretty much as standard, but fitted a 16-tooth countershaft sprocket [19 is stock Bonnie and the 1963 TT model had a 17-tooth sprocket]. We wanted acceleration.” Kev explains.
“Ignition is a Boyer Powerbox [self-regulating rectifier with an internal current and voltage storing capacitor] with no battery. It’s got twin Amal Monobloc 389 carbs with stock air filters but, like Ekins did, we’ve added big foam filters with an alloy shield to prevent the motor sucking in sand.”
The front end is 1957 Triumph, which is what Ekins used. “He seemed to prefer them for all his desert racers, right up to 1966 because it allowed him to use the lighter half width hubs,” says Kev. “Triumph only did these for one year, too, and they used bolt-up fork bottom caps. The front brake has an airscoop but Ekins blocked it up with a blanking plate to keep the sand out. We’ve done the same. Back in the day, the blanking plate was actually on the Triumph competition parts list!”
Rear suspension is from twin Girling competition shocks with black chrome springs and polished chrome covers. According to Kev, Ekins ran the rear brake actuating rod on the inside of the swingarm to keep it out of harm’s way. “We had to cut the engine plate on the right-hand side to allow us to run the bolt through it to connect to the rear brake pedal,” he says.
The front tye is a 350 x 19 trials universal Ensign from Vintage Tyres and sitting on a 1957 Triumph rim. Rear is a Continental TKC80 4.00 x 18 on a stock ’63 rear. There would originally have been Dunlops front and rear.
The seat is an original Bates which Kev bought for 60 quid at an autojumble. “They go for up to £600 on ebay,” he says.
“I snapped it up, even though I wasn’t 100% sure we were going ahead with the project. I knew I’d find a use for it at some time. Bates never made a seat that would mount to the stock Triumph fittings so we had to weld brackets to let us bolt the seat directly to the subframe. We deliberately didn’t tidy the weld up because it was a rough-looking job on the Mcqueen bike too!”
Having the seat bolted down meant no access to the oil tank filler cap so, just like Ekins, Ace Classics relocated the filler neck and oil feed to the back of the stock oil tank. However, the oil return feed from the front of the engine to the oil tank is a dummy on the Ace Classics replica.
The Catalina Grand Prix sticker on the oil tank wasn’t on any images of 502 that Kev’s seen – which is no real surprise since those events took place from 1950 to 1958 (but was restaged in 2010). Bud Ekins won it in 1955. Bikes were ferried from California to Santa Catalina Island for the 100-mile dirt race on a 10-mile course that attracted all the top riders of the era. “I just think it looks so cool and period,” says Kev. Ace Classics has made replicas of these and the Bud Ekins shop stickers for sale to customers.
Other period touches include the high-level pipes with no silencers but heat shields, the massive sump shield, and alloy mudguards front and rear. Kev adds: “The original bike had no headlights but the customer lives in France and it’s law there that the bike has to have lights if it is ridden on the road. So we made QD lights using a Bates-style headlight and when he takes them off, there’s the number board to fit.” Rear light is also a Bates replica. The number board (and fuel tank) have been signwritten in keeping with the original. The quickrelease thottle cables run down the top of the tank instead of under it – and are held in place by two alloy straps which are bolted to the tank top, using the existing tank rack bolt holes.
The Mcqueen replica collection is far from exhausted. Ace Classics have a catalogue of potential bikes yet to recreate. “The next we’re building for Cédric is likely to be The Great Escape Triumph based on a 1961 Trophy,” said Kev. “Then we’ve got a pair of 1966 TTS to do and an Ekins bike – a replica of the 500 Bud raced in the 1964 ISDT, and the sister bike to the 650 Mcqueen rode.”
The US Vase team that year had five entries – Mcqueen and Cliff Coleman on TR6S, plus three TR5 500s, one of which was ridden by Ekins, the others by Ekins’ brother Dave and reserve John Steen.
“We’re also planning to do another Ekins-built bike that Mcqueen rode – a 1960-1962 duplex framed Triumph. We’ll base it on a Trophy but there’s only one picture we’ve ever seen of it so that’s going to be a challenge. We need to unearth more images because we pride ourselves on getting the detail correct. We’d hate to finish it from just the one picture and discover later we’ve not got it quite right! “Cédric also wants a 1967 Trophy road bike so he can recreate a photo of Mcqueen riding it with a girl on the pillion. Cédric will have his missus on the back! And, on a personal level, I’d like to build the 1959 Triumph Trophy that Ekins is pictured on in the period Dunlop tyres advert.”
‘WE’RE PLANNING TO DO ANOTHER EKINS BIKE THAT MCQUEEN RODE – A ’60-62 DUPLEX-FRAMED TRIUMPH’