AJS SILVER STREAK
After 70 years in pieces, Peter Exton’s rare AJS Silver Streak is a complete and working motorcycle at last
One man’s life-long ambition, finally restored after seven decades in pieces
My earliest memory is of its frame, forks and engine cases,” says Matt Exton, standing proudly beside the 1938 AJS Silver Streak that belongs to his father, Peter. “It’s only the third Silver Streak I’ve ever seen. There was always one at Founders Day and my dad would always take me to see it, taking loads of pictures as reference for restoring this bike.”
A member of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) for 40 years, Peter was a committee member of the Taverners section in Leicester and heavily involved in their annual Founders Day at Stanford Hall – for over two decades he was the voice of the event, manning the microphone at the main arena. This passion for vintage bikes saw him amass a vast collection of parts, in the hope that one day he’d be able to create his dream bike. “He built a BSA Bantam for me, a Honda CB150 Benly and the BSA M33 that he taught me to ride on,” continues Matt. “But the majority of bikes were in pieces, and many were basket cases. There were parts
everywhere – a frame in the shed, a tank in the garage, boxes all over. But his AJS was the favourite.”
Peter acquired the 350 Silver Streak in around 1972. It had come out of a shed that had caught light during a bombing raid in the war, and was fire damaged and incomplete. He did endless research into the model, which was new for 1938 and had similarities with T-series trials models. Available in 250, 350 and 500cc versions, the super sport bike’s overhead-valve single was specially hand-tuned and used a twin-port cylinder head, Amal carb and a close-ratio four-speed gearbox, with Peter’s 350cc version promising the prospect of easy 50mph cruising. In an attempt to jazz-up the range, Silver Streaks left the factory with chrome plating on pretty much everything except the frame.
Peter gradually worked on the bike over the years, swapping and trading parts with a dealer in Rushden and also with Len Manchester’s in Melton Mowbray. He brought a huge wooden packing case home from work on the roof of his Ford Cortina to make a bespoke workbench, and acquired a couple of OK Supremes to rob parts from. When he retired 15 years ago the plan was to spend more time on his beloved 350, but shortly afterwards Peter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Finding it harder and harder to work on the AJS, it was sadly left unfinished.
But it was not forgotten. When Peter had to move into a nursing home, Matt had the idea to sell all the components acquired over the years to fund the restoration of his dad’s beloved Silver Streak. The work was taken on by Rick Hamblin, who runs Old Dalby Motorcycle Museum. “The family came and asked me to value the parts they wanted to sell,” says Rick. “The collection was scattered over various sheds, so I went initially to put it in some kind of order – right bits with right bike, as much as we could – so
‘THE ENGINE TURNED OUT TO HAVE ALMOST NOTHING INSIDE APART FROM THE CRANKSHAFT’
they could advertise it. There was so much it was impossible. There were five sheds, endless crates of parts... It’d have taken months. So I said that I’d buy all the parts and then build the Silver Streak.”
Peter had made progress, collecting components and painting parts for assembly. However, the engine (thought to have been rebuilt) turned out to have almost nothing inside apart from the crankshaft. And though many of the parts were there, they were stashed among all the other bits and pieces from Peter’s collection.
“It was a challenge!” smiles Rick, who’d never seen a Silver Streak before. “Sorting it all out was the biggest problem. There were 11 bikes all in serious pieces, all stripped and jumbled, and no record of what there was. Fuel tanks gave the best clue, and an envelope with a pile of old tax discs and old cardboard log books helped sort out engine and frame numbers. As well as the AJS there was a Cotton, a trials Excelsior, an OK Supreme and a Douglas Bantam – another bike I’d never seen before.”
Having literally thousands of parts to work through was time consuming. After failing to find the headstock bearing cups, Rick spent two days machining news ones and obtaining a perfect fit, only for Matt to find the originals a few days later. Rarity added another layer to the restoration. Rick found old letters dated from the late 1940s that had come with the bike, detailing a previous owner’s attempts to locate parts – and it was no easier seven decades later, because the main people dealing in pre-war AJS and Matchless both chuckled when he told them what he was doing. Having to work from photos using a magnifying glass, and with some parts proving impossible to source, Rick had to rely on experience and common sense in some areas. “We didn’t know where the regulator went and couldn’t find any mount, apart from a couple of threaded holes in the back of the oil tank that didn’t
match anything. So we made an adaptor and fitted it. The mount for the steering damper was a best-guess too; we went with what looked and felt right. After we completed the bike, someone came in looking for a grease nipple for his AJS, saying he’d got a rare model – turned out it was another Silver Streak, and that he lives in the next village. Looking at his bike, we’ve got things pretty much where they should be.”
Wheels were rebuilt, an exhaust fabricated, and despite endless searching for an original it’s a modern sealed headlamp. However, an effort was made to try and keep the bike as original as possible. The front mudguard wasn’t too bad, but the back one was very rotten, and required lots of sections to be welded in. This is one of the reasons why the bike is finished in silver paint, rather than chrome – plating would reveal the repairs. And new parts would also have added further cost, as well as removing more originality. “The chrome was all a bit too blingy for me anyway,” reckons Rick. “My dad always said never have a GL car – it only means more polishing on a Sunday.” And Matt’s just as happy with the result: “Dad never liked a British bike that was overly polished!”
Throughout the bike’s restoration, Peter had no idea what was being done. Matt rode his dad’s finished bike into the grounds of Peter’s nursing home on the weekend of Father’s Day this year, and Peter was surrounded by family and friends as he finally got to see his dream bike finished – after 70 years in pieces. And Matt was planning to show the Silver Streak at this year’s Founders Day on July 22. “My dad was always the commentator there from when I was knee-high. I’d love to ride it around the arena, though it’s definitely going, whatever happens – even if I have to push it there.”
‘RIGHT THROUGHOUT THE BIKE’S RESTORATION, PETER HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS BEING DONE’