original colours

[pirateandy]

gday everyone. I am having trouble finding photo's of bikes with original colours for my resto. I have a 1946 Malvern star 3 star roadster and would love to see what original colours were available. also need to see what decals were used and where they were placed.
keep rollin
andy

[munga]

most i've seen were black and/or white..

[Clydesdale Scot]

Welcome Andy,

If you remove the front fork, it is likely you will see remnants of the original colour there.
also when you remove the quadrant shifter and other fittings it is possible there is some original paint there
Philip

[Clydesdale Scot]

for the purposes of a discussion on styles and colours


from the Women Weekly 29 June 1946


Womens Weekly 23 Feb 1946

and excuse Munga's reply, sometimes he forgets to take his medication.

[munga]

most i've seen were black and/or white..

am i right, or am i right?

[pirateandy]

thanks guys for the reply. I have the feeling it was black as its the only colour I can find any trace of. as you can see its badly sunburnt and most of the chrome is gone except on the hubs. I will start dismantling tomorrow [ been spraying plenty of rp7 on it for a few days]. another query I have is that the cable running to the gears looks like it did a very sharp angle out of the hub. is that correct or was there an arm or something there to reduce the angle. any idea's where I can get the decals to suit the year, I have seen some on ebay but they don't look much like the ones on the advertisments you have posted. real grateful for your help here and keep fueling up on the redbull.

[Clydesdale Scot]

another query I have is that the cable running to the gears looks like it did a very sharp angle out of the hub. is that correct or was there an arm or something there to reduce the angle.

the indicator chain connects to the cable and is designed to look like this

And this one was used today for a 45km ride.
SJS carry a large range of SA spares if you need them
If you need a new indicator chain make sure you get the right one, as they come in a variety of lengths.
did you ever find a date on the SA hub?

[pirateandy]

still haven't found a date but have been pretty busy, tomorrow I hope to use the day to strip it down and have a better look. I have the indicator chain there and hope its still strong enough. thanks for putting up a photo this helps me heaps, now to start asking the dumb questions!!!!!! is 28 inch a standard size tyre I can buy from a cycle shop. [ yep,,,, now you really know how little I remember about pushies from when I had my last one over 30 years ago].
nice looking bike you got there and how does your butt handle that long on the seat?, what year is this one?
thanks heaps Clydesdale Scot for your help. will post pics after the stripdown and try to get close ups of the brakes and hubs

[Clydesdale Scot]

This was the first ride with the saddle frame pictured here after I recovered it last weekend. (that story is here)
And given the very thick leather on it, it will take a considerable time for me to leave an impression on that saddle.
This one is a frankenbike with parts manufactured from the 1930s to three years ago; and manufactured in Australia, England, France, and Asia.
It used up left over parts from other more serious projects.

Probably best to disclose, in general terms, where you live.
Then anyone with local knowledge may suggest a retro friendly bike shop.

[pirateandy]

here's some pics of the stripped bike, having trouble getting the gear shifter off so I will let it soak longer. It has had a brazing job done on the frame where the gooseneck goes through and the bottom of the front forks. the handlebar has a bend on one side so its had a fall. not sure about the bsa marking on the bottom of the frame but a lot of the parts are made in England which I assume is normal. anyway hope the photo's turn out.

[Clydesdale Scot]

Normally* the SA hubs would have a date.

* but perhaps not for those made during WW2 see this theory

AGE / VALUE: Theory as to why W.W. 2 Sturmey- Archer hubs have no date posted by: Chris on 9/15/2008 at 6:53:12 PM
I am reading a book on Raleigh and it mentions that Sturmey- Archer and Raleigh were very deeply involved in war time contracts and that they used up a back stash supply of 3 speed hubs because at one point, the Sturmey Archer production as well as dynohub and lamp production was halted to free up personel and resources to make shells, bofors, cartridge cases and gun parts. As you know when you find a sturmey Archer 3 speed hub and it just say's "a.w. patent" on it, it is a war time hub.
I think this may be one reason why the war time 3 speed hubs do not have a date on them at all. the pre- war hubs had a date code and the post war hubs are clearly stamped (example) 7- 54 but the war time hubs just have the type ( a.w.) and the words "patent" so in there from 1939- 1946 there are no dates stamped on the hubs. I have been reading and comparing the book to other sources and it dawned on me that this may be why there are no dates on the hubs, related to the war effort somehow.
Perhaps I am off or wrong. I don't remember reading an answer on this before.
by: 207.69.140.24

That sits well with the frame number of 6M8249, (which I understand is 1946 Melbourne)

The Williams date code AZ indicates that the chainring was made in 1959 Source which suggests it was a later purchase.

Any engravings on the crank arms?

Was there any surviving paint on the steerer tube or under any bolt on component?

[pirateandy]

just had a look at the chart and am wondering what the 46 stands for, it sat in well with the frame date but apparently not, so do you have any idea what the 46 is, could it be number of teeth perhaps, one of the cranks has a mark on it and I will have a look shortly to see if I can decipher it. again thanks for the help mate

[Clydesdale Scot]

just had a look at the chart and am wondering what the 46 stands for, it sat in well with the frame date but apparently not, so do you have any idea what the 46 is, could it be number of teeth perhaps

correct, count the teeth up and see if it matches

[pirateandy]

just had a look at the cranks, the one with the sprocket says utility....british made ..and the other is a symbol that looks like a circle with a cross inside it or may be an s or g with a verticle line, its hard to see. the main colour of paint i'm finding is orange but there is a lot of brass colour on it in places I wouldn't expect to see brazing. the orange is under the black so it may be an undercoat.

[pirateandy]

spent the day hand sanding the frame. it really seems like my bike was black but as I was sanding around the BSA stamp I found traces of cream between the numbers, it looks much more professional than the black paint and seems to be a harder paint which would be more like a baked on paint, anyway hope to get the forks sanded and the rack done tomorrow.