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Author Topic: 1955 Harley Davidson Servicar. (The trike your grandparents might have had)  (Read 14835 times)
The pointy helmet
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« Reply #15 on: January 23, 2009, 11:36:53 AM »

Most of that artwork is gone.
Some remains.
One Christmas card where Santa can't find his bike keys, however hard he looks...
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #16 on: January 23, 2009, 11:45:14 AM »

The Harley 45 Club.
This led me to Tony Bairstow.
Situated in Flood Street, just off the Kings Road, Londinium SW3.
Tony dealt with vintage/classic Harley parts. Visited swap meets in the States and provided me with some components that you just could not find.

This was a time, when, as the grandchildren stand agog ....
...The Internet was still pretty much a cottage industry.

Another cuppa.
See you in a Manky moment. Grin
« Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 11:49:44 AM by The pointy helmet » Logged
The pointy helmet
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« Reply #17 on: January 23, 2009, 06:27:37 PM »

Cripes!           I've been gone half the day!


Continuing the adventure.

Andy Pettit. A fellow I got to know about with a "spare" Servicar box, just happened to live in the same town as I did.
Well, that  became ONCE happened TO."
He had now moved to the southern most tip of Dartmoor.

I borrowed my mates van.
Drove 150 miles to Andy's bakery, centred on the hill in a tiny village (can't remember now) between Dartmoor and the coast.
Two Servicars in the same room!
An old part of a large bakery now was a Harley trike garage/workshop.
I slept above this place, that night...and froze me nuts off. Perishing!
Next day.
Up to Nottingham and Elbro Land.
Now with Andy's spare steel box and lid in the back.
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #18 on: January 23, 2009, 06:45:20 PM »

Arrived outside Elbro's workshop.
Had a deep sniff of the fumes and virtually caught a small cerise pig that was flying round the room.
But lamination was the game...
I loaded up a thirty square metre roll of fibreglass matting.
Ten gallon drum of resin.
Couple of litres of catalyst.
Ten gallons of gel coat.

Back in the driving seat. Back home, eighty miles. Unloaded. dropped the van off, rode home. Fed the Maine Coons.
And presumeably, had a beer.

Now I had my forces marshalled tor the great offensive...
Let battle commence.

I had borrowed Ken Lee's spare vintage sidecar mudguard.
Using this as a template I took a mould of it's complete length.
I then took another mould of half it's length.

By using the Servicar fender stainless steel trims that I bought from Jan Willem Boon, a Harley 45 specialist, in Holland...
..I made a complete mould of the long arc of the Servis back fenders, by fusing, very nicely, the two moulds.

I then had to take a mould of the lid.

Eventually a mould of the whole box.
This had to be quite meaty, so not to distort.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 06:47:57 PM by The pointy helmet » Logged
The pointy helmet
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« Reply #19 on: January 23, 2009, 07:22:36 PM »

I could babble on about all the various components, where they were found...

But I think i will let the pictures steal the last scene.

It was not a restoration, so to speak. To call it that would be laughable.
But to find the parts required, for the right years, aswell, don't forget..
Would be an endless road.

I had taken something on and was proud of what it became.

As Chris had said.

"Try and get it back to what it was."

You could tell there was a deep affection in his voice for the composite of old Milwaukee steel.

Chugging along with it's Linkert carb hanging off the manifold half an inch.

It didn't want to die.

It was a V twin. They don't want to stop.

So I left his workshop with a search for a holy grail.

WHY is it, we "love" our machines?
« Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 10:21:54 PM by The pointy helmet » Logged
The pointy helmet
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« Reply #20 on: January 23, 2009, 07:45:41 PM »

With my MGA (both gone)   Hey, what's that stripey van, out there!
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #21 on: January 23, 2009, 07:48:53 PM »

Mendon, Illinois, remembered.
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #22 on: January 23, 2009, 07:50:32 PM »

Just keep those stripey vans away!
The fiddly mudguard design.
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #23 on: January 23, 2009, 07:53:50 PM »

Iain Cottrell's masterpiece.
A NEW Harley 45 engine, inside and out.
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #24 on: January 23, 2009, 07:57:09 PM »

Harley Davidson, Vivid Yellow. The colour of my Reliant trike that is being built NOW.
The ghost of the Servicar rides on......
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #25 on: January 23, 2009, 08:03:05 PM »

The Servi went to live in Wimbledon.
A carpenter bought the beastie, to carry his tools in to go to work.
Just
what the Servicars were designed to do.

So

A thread finished, Andy and Co.
In repayment for what you had/have started. A respectful nod to Mr. Ireland, for your focus and verve.
I will meet up with you at some point. ..

On the ghost of the Servi......
« Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 08:16:48 PM by The pointy helmet » Logged
Manky Monkey
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« Reply #26 on: January 23, 2009, 09:33:07 PM »

Nicely penned Gary.
Give us a few days & we'll pinch that lot as a vehicle write-up for the main site.  Wink
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
TwistedPatience
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« Reply #27 on: January 23, 2009, 09:38:14 PM »

Nice one Gary a good write up.

Reliant Trike? look forward to seeing that one.
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The pointy helmet
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« Reply #28 on: January 23, 2009, 10:25:42 PM »

It was a babe, wasn't it ?
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tony b
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« Reply #29 on: January 24, 2009, 12:02:19 AM »

when i first got my bike 5 years ago,i was told by a friend of a friend about a bloke his best mates dads uncles brothers girlfriends dad,you get the gist,about a guy who was importing bikes from the usa,and would sell them for the best offer,so off i went in search of thiselusive bloke,2 days later i found what i was looking for and he took me to what he called the shed,bloody hell it was like an aircraft hanger absolutely chock full of bikes and cars of every kind,there was even a bike from canada that was used by loggers out in the forest,thst had big fat tyres and an engine from a chain saw,they carried a lot of cahainsaw spares.anyway,he led me through the "shed"and into another room where he kept the nearly finnished and for sale bikes ,low and behold ,in the corner on two big stands were two servi cars ,after admiring them for ages he said that he had more in anothr "shed" and took me through to see them,there were 3 more in this shed and another large room full of spare pannels and engines for said vehicle.this man only brings them over here ,he said because he has retired and has nithing to do with his time,
he also had 3 daimler darts and a few muscle cars just sat around gathering dust.what a waste.i would love to find this place again and have a look around and maybe take a few pics .this guy must have more money than sence.
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it wasnt me ,you cant prove it;
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