One of the earliest 1000cc Square Fours

[Steven.Carter]

but note the superbly improved path in the background !

Not sure what looks better only joking, that looks lovely and being half Irish I love the green.

Steve

[Roger Gwynn]

I love that green as well and the path isn't bad either.

How early is it? Chris Odling at Ellenabeich has engine EC 101?

Roger

[steve.clarke]

How long has that bike been out there ? there is a worm coming out of the front tyre.

[paul.jameson]

My bike left the factory on 19th November 1936, the engine (well the crankcases now fitted) following on 4th December 1936. Crankcases are 32 higher in number than the original engine.

Looking at the 1000cc despatch records, there were 11 bikes with engine prefix DB which left the factory between 30th July 1936 and 19th October 1936. The DB series, logically, can be considered 1936 model year bikes as the prefixes for engines in 1936 are AB for 250cc, BB for 350cc, CB for 500/600cc which makes DB logical for the Squares. Interestingly, one of these bikes went to Mr A B Bourne of London who was the Editor of "The Motor Cycle". His machine is marked as having "new pattern tank knee grips." These new grips were the ones with ARIEL written horizontally on them, the previous ones being the plain John Bull type without any mention of the bike manufacturer. So Ariel were making sure they sent out a bike to the Editor which met the latest specifications.

For 1937, we have engine prefix AC for 250cc, BC for 350cc, CC for 500/600cc, DC for 1000cc Squares and EC for 600cc Squares. The first DC prefix bike to leave the factory went out on 19th October 1936 - exactly the same day as the last of the DB series. 22 of the DC series bikes left the factory before the day mine did so on that basis, mine is 34th equal 1000cc Square Four out of the factory. I say 34th equal, because 5 of those bikes left the factory on 19th Nov 1936, which, incidentally, was a Thursday.

But then there is the "odd one out" which is EC101. The EC prefix denotes a 600cc engine and EC101 is listed in the 600cc book, not the 1000cc book. It was despatched on 27th August 1936 to Mr Booker, Service Manager. It is listed as the first 600cc OHV Square Four with the note "converted to 1000cc." Whether the bike was 1000cc when it went to the Service Manager or whether it was 600cc and converted later is unclear. One suspects it might have been the development bike, seen in photos taken back in 1935, and there is nothing in the Despatch Books to confirm or deny this. Equally, we don't know how long the Service Manager retained the bike before it was sold into non-Ariel hands.

So, to be on the safe side, let's say my bike is probably 35th equal 1000cc Square Four in the Despatch Books.

I am aware of one of the 1936 show bikes being in South Africa and this too has an earlier frame number than mine. Tragically, at the end of (iron) 4G production, the bike was fitted with a new (iron) engine and gearbox. As this was in 1948, it seems unlikely that the original engine and gearbox have survived. Perhaps someone can tell us if they do survive.

To summarise, we have a 600cc machine converted to 1000cc, a 1000cc original with 1948 replacement engine and gearbox and my machine which has always been 1000cc but has a Dec 1936 engine instead of the Nov 1936 one. (I am pretty certain the gearbox is the original). The lawyers could make fortunes deciding which of these constitutes the oldest genuine 1000cc Square Four. I think I will stick with my claim that mine is "One of the earliest 1000cc Square Fours" and leave it at that !

[paul.jameson]

We now have a most suitable candidate for the title of the "Earliest surviving 1000cc Square Four". It is detailed in the topic in the Main Chat section of the Forum entitled "Ariel 4G 1936 - travel report from 1939" . This machine is 6 entries earlier in the Despatch Book than mine. The story of it is amazing.

Many thanks Klaus for this.

[Knud.Degnbol]

Paul, you are a real nerd. Congratulations. I would be the same if I had the opportunity.

[paul.jameson]

Today was the big day. I wheeled the Square outside and spent a little while kicking the engine over. Rather sooner than I had expected, the oil gauge came off the line so I decided it was safe to proceed further. I carefully poured a gallon of petrol into the tank. No apparent leaks appeared from pipes so I turned the petrol tap on, gave the carb a small tickle, closed the choke and depressed the kickstarter. She fired first kick, but it took half a dozen before she ran. Oil pressure went straight up to 40psi which is fine by me at tickover engine revs.

A pool of oil quickly developed under the oil tank, traced to a fibre washer which had split on tightening up of the return banjo onto the oil tank. That cured, I restarted the bike and this time rode it up and down the drive. As the drive has a gradient of 1 in 5 (20%) upwards, it provides a test for the engine going up and the brakes coming down. The rear brake is not yet working, pending machining of a new clevis for the brake rod but the newly relined front brake works well enough. No problem with the engine pulling me up the hill either.

In the best traditions, the dynamo proved to be generating the wrong way round so I need to swop the field wires over. I like to change polarity that way rather than flashing the dynamo as I have known dynamos change polarity back to their preferred state. It must be the residual magnetism from the magneto which does it but swapping the field wires is easy enough.

A couple more trips up and down the drive and then it was back into the workshop and a celebratory coffee with Geoff Brown who had arrived to view proceedings. He approved.

Then it was off to Kidderminster in the car with herself to buy a new bedroom carpet. On the return, I checked the bike and found a slight petrol leak on the petrol tank balance pipe. I have tightened the union nut which seems to have solved the leak, but not before it had lifted the paint on the side of the horn. Ah well.

So now it is finish off the various outstanding items and wait till the salt is washed off the roads before I do a proper test ride.

[simon.holyfield]

Congratulations Paul. It's a great day when you start a rebuilt bike for the first time!

That is, once you have stopped worrying about oil pressure, leaks and charging...

[fpassmore]

Lovely when it comes out and wants to run. Very nice for you I am sure.

Frank

[Steven.Carter]

Well done Paul.