The gearchange quadrant shaft has suffered during the years this bike was stored in tea chests.  I was going to ignore it, as I reasoned it was cosmetic and the shaft is invisible. But I notice Draganfly do a shaft repair service. There is no oilseal on the gearchange shaft. Is there a reason why it would be worth getting a new shaft fitted? 

I found there seemed to be considerable camshaft end float when checking as per Rupert's book. I then discovered that the outer camshaft bush was loose in the inner cover, which appears to be due the outer dimension of the bush being considerably less (0.9075") than the correct 0.9155". So with a new bush obtained I went back for another look, and was musing on what the camshaft actually bears against end to end. And it didn't really seem right at the crankcase end. (See picture.)
Having now seen photos of the inner camshaft bearing, it appears the entire lip has disappeared!

Unless - does the bush lip fit into a recess? So it is supposed to be flush?
Or has it been installed backwards (with the lip in the crankcase)?

There is some evidence of the side of the cam lobe scuffing the crankcase above the bearing.

My BSA A50 (blue) has what I believe is the standard bars - 68-4971.  I recently saw a similar bike (red) sold on eBay. The red bike has bars with slightly more raise than mine. Does anyone have any clues what the bars on the red bike are. (I don't think they will be the BSA USA bars which appear higher.) I fancy trying them on mine. Any clues on who might stock them would be massively appreciated!

The outer camshaft bush is slightly loose in the case on my C15F project. This only came to light when I was checking the camshaft endfloat. I can pop it out of the case with a tiny bit of finger effort. It is a nice fit on the camshaft - and it is pegged (so it hasn't been rotating).

Obviously I could find and fit a new bush, and ream it as required. But could I alternatively use some loctite bearing fit or similar to secure it? Any downsides?

I managed to get the C15F sludge trap out today. It is packed with crud.

My question is - is it safe and logical to clean this detritus out with the crankshaft assembled? It seems to me that there is danger of me loosening rubbish that could drop into the oilway to the big end.  On the other hand, given that the big end has no play (and may be new), is separating the flywheels solely to guard against this likely to do more harm than good?   

Does anyone know where I can get a non-return valve slotted grub screw 40-0376? I have tried countless dealers, eBay etc.  Nobody seems to have one.

As a Plan B, does anyone know if this grub screw is toughened or anything like that? I'm wondering if I could get my friendly engineer to cut a 5/16" cycle thread bolt to length and cut a slot in it?

I am further confused. Having removed the worm wheel without drama, I can now clearly see that this C15F engine does not have a plain bush main bearing. My understanding was that the roller bearing was fitted to the later G model, and not the F. 
Rupert's book mentions that the plain bush was sometimes upgraded with an aftermarket needle roller assembly. From my picture, is it possible that this is a needle roller bearing? Or is it possible that somehow the 'G' model roller bearing has been fitted? Would that mean that a 'G' crankcase side has been fitted?  (The engine was rebuilt in 2016 having been blown up in 1982, and this certainly involved new bearings, big end and oil pump. The engine has never been run since.)
I guess I need to follow the instructions for splitting the crankcases as per the G model?

Can anyone tell me - on a correctly fitted seat on a C15, is the seat base resting on the frame rail? My seat is about half an inch above the seat frame tube, so all the rider's weight will be supported on the front and rear brackets. Seems odd. That said, there are no rubbers on the seat base, so that would be odd if it was supposed to sit on the rail.

I'm very nearly ready to split the crankcases on my C15F side point.  But I am a bit perplexed about the next step. I've got the crankshaft pinion off. According to service sheet 423A, I now need to remove the oil pump and its drive, and then pull off the crankshaft worm wheel. According to Rupert's book, on 65 onward engines the worm wheel and oil pump etc can be left in place, and on end fed models the worm wheel is removed by the action of pushing the crank out of the timing side bearing. But the C15F is not end fed - so I'm not sure where that leaves me. I'd rather not disturb the oil pump unless I have to.

My C15F camshaft seems to be u/s. Does anyone know of a secret stash of NOS C15F camshafts? Alternatively, does anyone know whether this would be retrievable by a clever engineer?  I've heard of nitriding and reprofiling - but I don't quite understand how you could reprofile without somehow building the cam up first. Has anyone had such work done?

I've sprayed up my C15 tinware with 2K paint (the air-dry variety - no Isocyanate).
How long should I leave it to harden before compounding?
Could / should I start with 2000 wet and dry, before compounding - to get a head start?

I have fitted new brake shoes to my A50 single-sided front brake. These came with sintered linings.  So far, they seem close to useless.  Does anyone know if they will improve as the mileage increases? Or should I scrap them and get shoes with non-sintered linings?

Having got started on stripping the engine, I was intrigued by the markings on the piston.

It appears to have had some enthusiastic decoking during its life - the cylinder head is pristine.

Does anyone decode the stamped markings.  It seems to be:
40/633 BSA
       m/m OS
8/6/72

I'm intrigued that it appears to have an oversized piston measured in mm, but preceded by a fraction?   

My project 1966 C15 had the engine rebuilt in 2016 after an oil pump failure. The rebuild included having the flywheels trued up, new main bearings and oil pump.  The bottom end was assembled by 'London Classics'.  The engine has not yet been run.

There is nothing to indicate whether or not 'London Classics' or the owner cleaned the sludge trap. 

Is there any way for me to see if the sludge trap plug shows any signs of having been disturbed, without splitting the crankcases? Would I be able to see down if I removed the barrel? 

Also - is there a way of checking the crankshaft oil passages are clear, without splitting the cases?

Does anyone know if a parts book for the 1966 & 1967 C15 was ever printed?   I have "Catalogue No. 5119" But it doesn't show things like the 40-9082 seat or the oil tank with the froth tower that my 1966 bike should have.

Has anyone tried these cheap regulator/rectifiers from China?  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204692212130 

Temptingly cheap - but are they diabolical quality?

That got me thinking about how you could bench test one? I guess you need to put some AC in, and check that you get no more than 13 - 14V DC out?

I've opened up and cleaned out the original Lucas rear brake light switch, and it is now working perfectly. Before I crimp it back up, I am tempted to pack it with grease - just ordinary general purpose automotive stuff.  Does anyone know if that is what they would have done originally - or whether it is a good - or bad idea?  There was some ancient residue in there - but I've no idea what it had been.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for a side point C15 amended for 12V that they could share?

I understand about joining the green/yellow and green/black wires. 

I will probably fit the Paul Goff Regulator/Rectifier A reg one.

Can I literally plug the black lead out of the reg/rectifier into the brown/white wire for the original rectifier (and connect the red to Earth) as the sum total wiring changes?  (Obviously I need 12v bulbs, coil and battery.)

What happens with the white/green wire to lighting switch 4?

My 1966 C15 project has the original air filter complete with a central  black cloth material - which is falling apart.  I was thinking of trying to fit aan air filter foam such as this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145743859681    But they all seem to be 15mm deep.

Alternatively I have found computer fan airfilter gauze: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111895071431    This is 3mm -and probably squashes thinner.)  My plan would be too sandwich it between the two original filter meshes.

Has anyone tried using this?

Can anyone think of a good reason for not using it?  (Is the mighty C15 like to suck it out of the mesh holders and into the engine?!)

My 1966 C15 project has the spring shown in the photo in a box of parts.  I'm guessing it is for the rear brake - but can't work out how it should fit. I can see that the hook would fit over the top arm of the pedal - but I can't see where arm with the gentle 90degree bend should locate.