ROYAL ENFIELD TURBO TWIN

Transforming a box of bits into a working motorcycle isn’t ever easy. But expertise and ingenuity can overcome almost any obstacle, as Neil Adams reveals with his restoration of a Villiers two-stroke twin

Transforming a box of bits into a working motorcycle isn’t ever easy. But expertise and ingenuity can overcome almost any obstacle, as Neil Adams reveals with his restoration of a Villiers two-stroke twin

Ihave restored a number of bikes over the years but, having retired and going into pensioner poverty, I was considering selling all my tools. To that end I was at my friend John’s house where he was doing computery things, supposedly selling my tools on Fleebay… but in fact he was looking at restoration projects.

‘What is a Royal Enfield Turbo Twin?’ he asked. ‘A Crusader frame with a 250 Villiers 4T engine,’ said I. ‘Rare, only around 900 made.’

‘It’s got a V5C,’ he said. Worth doing, possibly, if it had an MoT. But it was a basketcase – ie. a money pit. An incomplete basketcase, in fact – a big money pit.

‘You should have it and bring Lazarus back to life,’ said John, encouragingly. I knew it would cost as much as a BSA Gold Star to restore but would be worth a fraction of the value of a Gold Star when it was finished. ‘Just think of the satisfaction of completing it.’ Well, I had the time, the patience and the skill for the task – but not the brains to say ‘no’. And so the Lazarus Project began.

John and I went to Hitchcocks’ Motorcycles to collect the bike and see which parts were missing, such as the headlamp. They didn’t stock headlamps or mudguards for the Turbo Twin but planned to make some which would be available in a few months, I was told. We paid the necessary beer tokens, loaded everything into the car and returned home to sort the boxes of bits into parts which were serviceable and to make a big list of what would be needed. I also started saving more beer tokens in a big tin…

I scoured the old parts in a big plastic box with hot soapy water to remove oil and grease, and then used paint stripper. Some of the threads in the frame needed repairing so I made an insert out of a

10mm bolt, drilled on a pillar drill. I tapped a 5/16th inch BSF hole down the middle and then screwed the bolt into the fame and cut it to length, like a helicoil insert. Rust and old paint were removed with a wire wheel fixed to my grinder and the frame was ready to be painted.

I made a spray booth out of cardboard in the corner of my garage, with a bar to hang parts on. Wearing mask and gloves, I first used etch primer and then old aerosols from a market stall as an undercoat. The top coat was done with new aerosols from Halfords. The other painted components got the same treatment, with me taking my time while saving my pennies for another trip to Hitchcocks’.

While I had a cup of coffee at Hitchcocks’ they assembled my order – every part except the mudguards, which were still imminent. Rims and spokes came from Central Wheel Components via Hitchcocks; I wrote down where each spoke went, starting from the valve hole and used a shorthand code for

how to lace up the wheels. I made a jig on a Workmate to true the rims, and once the spokes were laced it was surprising how close to ‘true’ the rims fitted. Hubs cleaned: new bearings and bacon slicers fitted: job done.

A call to Steve at Villiers Services was an eye opener. They could do an exchange crank; rebore both cylinders; supply pistons, exhaust silencers and other engine parts, and re-magnetise the rotor. I arrived at 9am and was back on the way home at 10.30 with all the work done and new parts packed up. Brilliant service.

The crankcases and engine covers had 50 years of burned two-stroke oil on them. Soaking in Gunk and scrubbing with a brass

wire brush took three full days to remove it. Drain cleaner will work quicker but it eats aluminium. Once everything was clean I used wet-and-dry paper to get the big scratches out – but didn’t go too far with this as Lazarus isn’t a museum piece, it’s going to be used.

The engine was assembled with new bearings, gaskets and new studs from Villiers Services. I used a good squirt on the bearings and piston rings so it will be well lubricated for its first start-up. I checked the stator coils for continuity and fitted a new cable, then the new wiring harness with an extra earth cable – belts and braces!

The long-awaited mudguards were still ‘imminent’. After two and a half years I acquired a set of BSA C15 guards and welded up the holes in them. I made a centre bracket using scaffold pipe as a former, with the aid of a ‘son of Thor’ hammer. Where the guards were pitted with rust, I used ‘lead loading’ and filler paint. Lead loading is not as difficult as you may think – there are kits available (also called ‘body solder’). Rust-free clean metal is essential. Then you brush solder paint all over the area and heat it; remove the excess and melt blobs of lead over the specific area to be filled. When you’ve had a go at this once then it’s easy next time.

The Enfield’s centrestand is an aluminium casting. Mine had its feet dragged off. Hitchcocks’ sell replacements but as I suffer from ingrown poverty I made a pair of booties out of steel tubing welded to a tight fit, with the gaps filled with fibreglass resin. If they come loose then I think I will melt Lumiweld into the booties.

Enfield used spacers to fit the engine into the frame, but do not tell you that they are longer on the right side to line up the chain…

I like trials-style handlebars to give my 70 year-old spine a sit-up straight attitude, so all the cables had to be made up specially – thank you Venhill, for supplying the cable and fittings to I could make up the right lengths.

Villiers carbs have the adjustment inside, so you have to take the carb off the bike and take it apart each time you need to make an adjustment…

With the bike finally all back together and registered for the road, Lazarus was kickstarted for the first time… then the second, when it made me jump by starting! On the first run around the block it needed plenty of revs, unlike a four-stroke, but it went well and is very surefooted.

Now that Lazarus has risen once again I have to make a decision. Do I sell the Turbo Twin or do I keep it? I will not get back half of what it cost to build if I sell it, but the pleasure I got from the rebuild is priceless. Lazarus will, I’m sure, outlive me.

The wheels were well weary, so new rims and spokes were the order of the day. Neat set-up for wheelwork, too, using a jig on a Workmate

Possibly the best way to repaint a frame is to hang it up. Possibly not in the kitchen, however…

One Turbo Twin, stripped. Restoration is under way

Rebuilding the forks provides a great polishing opportunity

After the preparation and undercoat … the top coat

Enlisting the assistance of multiple champion Geoff Duke, OBE was maybe intended to give the stroker some sort of racing heritage

The dream. Every rebuild requires inspiration

One rebuilt rolling chassis. Coming together nicely

The fuel tank had certainly seen better days, but responded to the traditional ‘lot of work’. Likewise the rather rare headlamp shell, which also needed the attentions of the wire brush

The noble art of Gunking an engine. Mice may have been living beneath the carb…

Engine sorted and reinstalled. Observe the coils in the toolbox, too

For fuss-free starting, Villiers Services have recently introduced electronic ignition systems suitable for the Turbo Twin (and other Villiersengined machines). Details at villiersservices.co.uk

The intricacies of the mighty Villiers twin exposed!

Job done

RE’s centrestand is an impressive tribute to the aluminium engineer’s art. The feet ground easily, getting somewhat ground away. Neil rebuilt them, as replacements are not entirely cheap

As the correct mudguards are unavailable, Neil used a set from a BSA. They look good

Trials bars raise the arms ad ease the back. They also look smart