[cjt2012]

So there was news of some rare motorcycles which were bought by an acquaintance , never one to miss an opportunity to view rare motorcycles my Brother and I went to meet this acquaintance, he had, as it happens bought two Douglas Motorcycles , One was a 1931 Douglas A3 and this , a 1948 Douglas T35 Mk3 Sports, both the motorcycles were in poor shape, however the 1931 Douglas A3 was surprisingly better off with most of the important bits available on the motorcycle, same could not be said about the 1948 Douglas T35, it was pulled out from a Paddy field behind an old Garage somewhere in West Bengal, apparently the owner had some mechanical issue with the motorcycle some time in 1960. the motorcycle was sent to the garage where the mechanic opened the engine , but due to lack of parts or the inability to source the parts meant that the bike was left at the garage, over the years it was moved to a location behind the garage adjoining a paddy field which was hugging a river and more or less forgotten.
The Acquaintance offered the Douglas T35 as available for sale, and without giving any thought to the matter or even inspecting the motorcycle properly ,I said YES.
It was 1 Feb 2006 when I bought this motorcycle home, Up until I saw this bike I had never heard of this British Marque called Douglas, even though I own quiet a few vintage British motorcycles.

Reality quickly dawned the next day when my brother and I started opening up the Douglas, It was amply apparent that the bike had many engine internal components missing, the engine was taken off the chassis, and almost immediately hit our first road block, we were unable to split open the crankcase ( as i mentioned earlier the bikes front end was submerged in the paddy field and the crankcase studs had corroded and fused with the aluminium case, ). This crank case splits vertically. We tried what ever we could at the time which included drowning the engine for a month in Diesel and penetrating oil, applying heat, hammer etc, all unsuccessful.
While the engine was having a bath in diesel, we took a closer look at all the parts that were missing, but to do that we needed the manuals, A company called Elk promotions in Kent, UK, were supplying reprints of the original owners manual and parts list, they were ordered and received
There were a host of Engine parts which were missing:
1. Rocker covers only one available
2. Rocker assembly, only left side was on the bike right side was missing
3. Valve springs only left side was on the bike right side was missing
4. Valves left side available , right side missing
5. Both pistons missing
6. The connecting rod of the left side cylinder was slightly bent and the small end where the gudgeon pin goes was damaged
7. Oil pump was missing the rotary vane
8. The crankcase was holed at various places owing to water inside the crankcase.
9. The timing gears were in very poor shape and badly corroded
10. THe timing gear cover was badly holed at various places
11.Dynamo was missing
12.Carburettors missing both side (they use Amal274 extremely difficult to source)
13. Push rods missing
14. Cam followers one was broken
15. Cams were completely rusted and the cam profiles were pitted badly
16. Bearings were rusted and seized.
17. Single plate clutch (like a car) was available but the clutch basket was corroded and holed at various places
18. Clutch actuating mechanism was completely missing (It has various individual components)
19. Gear box was complete but a few internal nuts had their threads ruined
20. Drive chain was missing
21. Exhaust and bend pipe missing

Among the body parts missing:
1. Original headlamp and switches was missing
2. All control levers and switches missing
3. Speedometer missing (it uses Smiths 12Mph)
4. Seat missing
5. Mudguards , front corroded, rear one was torn
6. Mudguards stays broken
7. Tank was totally gutted , there was no bottom
8. Rims were totally rusted and holed
9. Tool box covers were missing on both sides
10. Main stand was broken.

The Good part:
Even though a lot of parts were missing some good items were thankfully intact and untouched
1. The Radiadraulic front forks are unique to this motorcycle and it was intact
2. The Torsion bar rear suspension also unique to this motorcycle was intact
3. Most of the fastners on the motorcycle were untouched indicating that the body perhaps was left unmolested.

The amount of missing parts meant that we required to source them, but it was no easy task, It was decided to park the bike in the Garage with my other motorcycles and search for parts, initially I was only looking on eBay UK for parts , but they were few and far between, years went by and whenever something i needed came by i would pounce on it , luckily i never stopped looking, On a visit to the UK , i was lucky enough to attend an auto jumble and got few important parts including a new Piston set, a used crank case which was in very good condition and a box of assorted parts which had a set of timing gears, cams, clutch basket, a few clutch actuator parts (not all the bits though),In 2014 , I joined the London Douglas Motorcycle Club LDMCC, this club was established by owners and to this day run a very effective spare parts supply which helps keep most Douglas motorcycles on the road, I received a lot of help from club members who helped me with parts and their experience,during my initial correspondence with the club they informed me that this bike was indeed a Mk 3 Sports model sent to India from the factory in Kingswood Bristol on 26/10/1948 , this was one of just 11 motorcycles sent to India at the time , The sole dealers of this motorcycle were Modi & Co on East Street Pune, (Many would know it as being Sherri Bhatena's Garage on east street pune)
By 2017 ( eleven years after purchase), I had almost everything that was required to rebuild the engine, The engine was brought to Mumbai and with the help of a mechanic friend managed to split open the engine, The crank was completely rebuild, the connecting rods straightened and the small end repaired, the cylinder barrels were honed , Again there was a lull in the activity due to work commitments ( I spend quiet a few months at Sea).
Year 2020, I was back from sea just in time before the lockdown , It meant that i had a lot of time at hand , I took that time to read the complete Douglas forum which really helped with building knowledge about the marque , just as the lockdown eased, i decided to complete the bike, I set up a small workshop inside my flat in Mumbai and I got the crank ,crank case, cylinder and head back from my mechanic friend and started the restoration of the engine in July, almost every aspect of the engines rebuild was tackled at home, the chassis and body parts were in Pune where my Parents live, so work was divided between these two places,The sheet metal work was tackled by a Master in the trade (Tambi in Mumbai)he made the Tank, repaired the mudguards,made mudguard stays, made the number plates, battery box,and some other tin work , Some components needed to be made on the lathe , they were done by a machinist friend in Pune, The Valves, Valve guides, pushrods, valve springs were made to very high standard by a firm called Vikram Valves in Rajkot Gujrat (they were nice enough to make small batch of these items as business was down during the lockdown) The quality of the product were just too good , I had to send them samples which were arranged mostly from the UK ,thanks to LDMCC members who had some old used parts, All the fastners were renewed, thanks to American Nuts &Bolts in Opera House Mumbai ( This is another incredible place for people looking for almost any kind of fastners)The three main size used on this bike are 1/4" BSF,5/16" BSF and 3/8"BSF , The thread taps and dies were bought from Kasam Ali Taps and dies in chor bazar, A friend in Malad helped with parts for the Dynamo and fuel taps, The horn(Lucas HF1441), tail lamp(Lucas MT211), control levers (Amal), throttle (Amal),knee pads, were sourced from a contact who deals with vintage British bike parts in Mumbai, An original head lamp cowl (Lucas MU42) was sourced form Rajasthan along with 2 x 19" Dunlop WM2 40 hole rims (FB contact),The rims were wired with spokes by Ustad KHan near Borivilli, The Magneto was overhauled in Pune. Amal 274 carbs could not be arranged so I made a flange adaptor and used two Mikcarbs 20mm carbs. Oilseals were sourced from Ghanshyam and co in opera house.
A big thanks goes out to all the people who have helped in putting together this bike , be it helping with parts, or advise
The aim was to put together the engine chassis and body parts , start the bike, iron out the imperfections and then pull her apart later again for Paint,plating and chrome,ffor the time being, the body parts and chassis were wire brushed and given a coat of rust converter, two coats of primer, and one top coat at home .
The Engine was fitted with the Clutch and then the gearbox and engine were mated, the Magneto was fitted and the timing set with the points set to open 36deg before TDC, once this was done the engine and gearbox was mounted on the motorcycle, and oil filled as required (different grades in the engine and gearbox)
All the control cables were modified for length and fitment using solder.

It was a great sense of relief and happiness to finally put the bike together, and fire her up for the first time since 1960.
For now the jobs pending:
I still need to fabricate the exhaust bend pipe, heat shield and end can which will be done in Pune , The Main stand has to be fabricated,The fuel tank cap has to be made, the wiring has to be done.
I am uploading a few photographs of the motorcycle for your viewing pleasure.

[cjt2012]

The Engine

As mentioned earlier , it was quiet a task to split the crank case,

[cjt2012]

The Gearbox

The gearbox had a few issues with fasteners for the bevel pinions having their threads sheared, the main shaft and the lay shaft were cleaned and assembled

[cjt2012]

The Clutch

This motorcycle has a single plate clutch, as mentioned in the first post the original basket was badly corroded, the plate thickness was within acceptable limits so it was cleaned and reassembled, the clutch actuator was missing and thanks to various owners in the club, i was able to collect all the required parts for the actuator.

[cjt2012]

The Chassis frame and forks

Rust was everywhere , the idea was to remove the rust and apply some protective coats of rust converter and primer, assemble everything together.

[srini1785]

Man, That's a find and what a detailed work. Never knew British were into Boxer type motorcycles.

Eagerly awaiting updates. Keep posted.

[cjt2012]

The Tin work

The Tank was completely rusted , there was no base for the tank, the rear mudguards had extensive damage, the front mudguard had numerous pinholes due rust, Mudguard stays were broken, the number plates were missing, the battery box was badly rusted, the chain cover had a few pin holes.
I was pointed towards Tambi , he is a very experienced sheet metal worker and well known in the vintage auto circles as someone who knows the trade well.

[cjt2012]

The Build

As mentioned earlier , the idea is to put it together in a presentable way, iron out the imperfections and perhaps at a later date when its more or less ready and complete, pull her down for a professional paint job, nickle plating and chrome plating, but at the moment that will have to wait.
As for me , I am really happy that one more motorcycle is more or less ready to join the collection in working order.
I would love to get some good references for professional painters in Mumbai or Pune, Plating references also, I am leaning towards St Mary's Electroplating in Kerala, as i quiet like their setup and their work( as seen on FB) , I am originally from Kerala so it will be a nice road trip also , my biggest apprehension with Plating facilities in Mumbai and pune is that , this is a rare motorcycle, part are really difficult to get and if the Plating fellows misplace or loose some items , then its very difficult to replace, it has happened earlier with me when building my Triumph and my BSA, but luckily they are not extremely rare and as such i was able to replace the missing bits.
In my opinion, when fully completed, this Douglas will be very close to being a very original example , what went in its favor was , i had a lot of time to research the motorcycle, interact with club veterans and seek their help.
Hope i have done justice to this thread, it was quiet satisfying to have worked hands on and see it through to its logical conclusion.

[car love]

Brilliant. A boxer from Britain. Just wow!
Great to see such stuff being brought back to life.

You can contact Krishna in Bangalore. He has done some of the best electroplating. Check this thread
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...series-mm.html (Restoration of "Vinty" - My 1951 Morris Minor Series MM)

[kamilharis]

Oh man, great work in progress!

How are you guys able to convince yourself first up before attempting such rebuilds looking at the neglected state of such machines ?
Any common man upon seeing such an abandoned bike/car will just pass it off by saying "SCRAP IT!".

You guys are the best in the world, never let any machine die because machines never die unless we abandon them!

Am glued to this thread and eagerly waiting to see the final outcome. And thanks again for introducing me an unknown brand from the history.

[51morris]

Originally Posted by cjt2012

The Engine

As mentioned earlier , it was quiet a task to split the crank case,

This is an incredible restoration - am so glad you chose this neglected British Classic to bring back to life. Great progress so far, looking forward to more updates on this thread!!

Cheers,
Praveen

Originally Posted by car love

You can contact Krishna in Bangalore. He has done some of the best electroplating. Check this thread
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...series-mm.html (Restoration of "Vinty" - My 1951 Morris Minor Series MM)

Thanks, car_love, for quoting my thread here.

Cheers,
Praveen

cjt, I can vouch for the quality of electroplating done on Vinty. Please DM me if you want Krishna's contact details.

[SnS_12]

Congratulations Sir on finding and saving a rare (In India) classic British motorcycle. It needs a lot of patience, reading and scavenging the internet to source the required parts but there is a different kind of pleasure in saving and rebuilding these rare motorcycles.

I too found the RD 200 and RD 125 back in 2006 and still in the process of rebuilding the RD 125, even though it was a more complete motorcycle mechanically than the RD 200. Just like you I too learnt a lot from international forums dedicated to these motorcycles and in my case it was aircooledrdclub.com. It was free back then but now you need to pay a small fee to be a member. Also, one of the members out there was kind enough to send me a fabricated grab handle all the way from UK and did not even accept my offer to pay for the shipping as he felt it would be an honour for him to have this piece put on my RD 200





Would request if you could guide me to Mr. Tambi as I need to get a new tank build for the RD 125 as the original tank has started pitting after painting it thanks to the corrosion over the years of it being exposed to the weather and being neglected before I purchased it.

Finally, eagerly waiting to see the finished motorcycle

[KPS]

Originally Posted by cjt2012

So there was news of some rare motorcycles which were bought by an acquaintance , never one to miss an opportunity to view rare motorcycles .........., it was pulled out from a Paddy field behind an old Garage somewhere in West Bengal, apparently the owner had some mechanical issue with the motorcycle some time in 1960......
It was 1 Feb 2006 when I bought this motorcycle home, ......
I am uploading a few photographs of the motorcycle for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks cjt2012 for sharing of your journey on the discovery and the now restoration of this wonderful marque. Happy to note your commitment to this restoration. I am sure on completion, there will be an immense sense of satisfaction.

Here are some of the other Douglas bikes featured on TBHP

From the engine, we think that the bike in the rear is a Douglas

Related post (Nostalgic automotive pictures including our family's cars)

Here is 1926 Douglas from Delhi

Related Post (Classic Motorcycles in India)


Another old Douglas in the Birla Industrial Museum, Calcutta

Related Post (Classic Motorcycles in India)


Look forward to seeing the completed bike

Cheers

KPS

[maestro]

Going through the pics, the work was done with loving attention to detail by a perfectionist.

[cjt2012]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Would request if you could guide me to Mr. Tambi as I need to get a new tank build for the RD 125 as the original tank has started pitting after painting it thanks to the corrosion over the years of it being exposed to the weather and being neglected before I purchased it.

Finally, eagerly waiting to see the finished motorcycle

Thank you all or your kind words of encouragement and appreciation, The RD200 is indeed a very special motorcycle, As regards the Petrol tank , you can discuss with Tambi on the course of action for the tank, His workshop is Just beside Shivsena Shaka 75 (Its on Google Maps) in Marol , Take a left into the Marol Pipeline road just after Mukund Hospital on Andheri Kurla Road,Tambi's Phone number is: 9821994265,9821839410, His son Is Sajju he is on: 8454812059
Thanks and regards
Clement.

Originally Posted by 51morris

cjt, I can vouch for the quality of electroplating done on Vinty. Please DM me if you want Krishna's contact details.

Thanks Praveen, The restoration work on the Morris Minor is really fantastic, with great attention to detail, I quiet liked the choice of color and the beautifully done engine bay, very neat. The chrome work is very bright , I really liked it, and appreciate the reference for Krishna, will decide on the topic nearer the time .
I have a 1938 Austin 12/4 parked at home, it went through a partial restoration in 2007, but since its not being used, the car has become a mess again, once you have done up the car, please ensure that it is regularly driven, atleast once in a week or ten days, otherwise rats and rodents are unforgiving, I learnt it the hard way.
Thanks and regards
Clement


[quote=KPS;4927676]Thanks cjt2012 for sharing of your journey on the discovery and the now restoration of this wonderful marque. Happy to note your commitment to this restoration. I am sure on completion, there will be an immense sense of satisfaction.

Here are some of the other Douglas bikes featured on TBHP

From the engine, we think that the bike in the rear is a Douglas
Attachment 2078758
Related post (Nostalgic automotive pictures including our family's cars)

Thank you KPS for the kind words of encouragement and appreciation, The Douglas featured in the photo behind the Triumph is indeed a similar model to the one I am attempting to restore, this will also have upswept exhaust ,originally supplied by a company called Burgess, and fitted with a heat shield for protecting the legs.
The Pre war Douglas motorcycles were more popular and were produced in larger numbers specially for the war efforts, The Post war Mark Models not so much.
As per the Douglas ledgers for Mk3 models 2321 motorcycles were produced in eighteen months of which 1472 were standard models, 842 were Mk3 Sports and 7 were competition models
From the export figures India received 19 Mk 3 models of which 11 were Mk3 Sports