Ariel WNG

[John Harper]

Hello All,
just joined the forum.
Back in 1979 I purchased an Ariel WNG in bits which had ben partially civilianised. For some reason the sidestand lug had been cut off, as had the right hand rear petrol tank mount on the frame. However, it did come with a couple of engines & petrol tanks, and was mostly complete except for lights etc. The girder forks were in good condition, with no play.
Being young at the time, I had it stove enamelled dark red, then due to various diversions (ie children & work) put the bits in my loft for reassembly at a later time.
Now being older (but not wiser) and recently retired, I brought the WNG down to have a look at it. The red paint has preserved most of it, although it really needs bead blasted & re-painted. The wheels are rough, and the mudguards are just plain with no centre flange or fittings.
Now having several motorcycles, including a couple of ex-military machines (MG Nuovo Falcone & HD MT350, as well as military Land Rover) I'm inclined to return the WNG to a military style if possible. First I need to repair the frame.
I see that the right hand tank mounting lug is similar to the rear spring hanger for a Land Rover (ie, it could be carved with a grinder to make it identical) but is it possible to weld onto the cast frame lugs? Similarly for the field prop stand - I see a replica stand is available, but the lug would need welded to suit it.
Also, the wheels need rebuilt with new rims & spokes (by a professional I think). Should the rims be painted, and should they be army green or matt black?

Any advice appreciated,
Thanks,
John

[nevhunter]

John. I frequently "weld" parts to frames. The originals are "brazed" on fittings where the brass flows through the entire "sweated" joint. This is very satisfactory and very strong.
Repairs are another matter. If you weld near brass it will contaminate the weld and it is unsafe. I mostly therefore use nickel bronze and braze weld the repaired parts. This has been an accepted practice when done correctly. ( Don't overheat the joint or you "burn" the braze into the steel). The nickel bronze is stronger than mild steel so you don't have to worry about it failing.
I have one WNG all done in Khaki and most of the nuta are black as the original. It's not concourse but gets a lot of comments about looking straight out of the era. I rode it almost exclusively for about four years some time ago and it ran like a clock, and only had normal servicing.
For me ( I'm not light) it was a little underpowered on hills and that was compounded by the horrible "trials" gear ratios which are standard , otherwise It is very likeable .
I like the idea of having it in military "livery?" myself. In Australia they are not very common. Nev

[John Harper]

Thanks Nev,
I was asking around at a motorcycle autojumble this morning (the Haggis Rally) and the general advice was to braze, particularly for the tank lugs which do not need to be loadbearing (well, not for heavy loads). The suggestion was that I should drill & tap the mount for the sidestand lug, for strength, then braze into position to stop it rotating. Does this make sense?
Also, at the autojumble this morning I found someone who will rebuild the wheels for me, so it looks as if I've just about started the restoration....... All I need is money & time - having one out of two seems reasonable!

John

[nevhunter]

Has the entire mounting for the "field" stand been removed? Make sure the respoking has the original offsets, to get the rims tracking accurately. The WNG is a "leggy" bike having a lot of ground clearance and some considered it handled a lot better off road than on it because of this ,
As I said I have done a lot of riding on mine and like it. there are some notable variations as the model was made over the years including the use of steel cover on the timing chain and a steel primary chaincase after end 1941?.
Get as much info on it from the archives before you start. If you are lucky ther is a nunbered steel Tag on the rear mudguard that traces the order date delivery date and consignment destination and the configuration it was delivered in. There are pretty complete records available. Nev

[John Harper]

The lug on the sidestand mount has been cut off, leaving a flat edge. I'll try to take & upload a photograph later. I've ordered a sidestand and once it arrives I'll have a better idea of what the lug should look like.

Yes, I discussed the wheels with the specialist wheelbuilder. He will take the original wheels & measure the offset etc, and obtain steel rims to suit. I'll then collect the rims & wheel centres for blasting & painting, then return them to him for building up. This will take some time, since he is about 50 miles from me and each stage will take a week or two, but it should ensure the finished article is correct.

My Ariel has an aluminium primary chaincase, although I have no idea whether that is original or not. There's no mudguard - at least certainly not an original item. The frame number is legible though.

I'm looking forward to seeing it run, even if not fully roadworthy for a while - I live in the countryside with a fields & a short length of private road, so I can try things out without upsetting the law.

John

[john.nash]

Give me the frame number and I'll see if it's listed on the contracts book I have....

see here: http://forum.arielownersmcc.com/viewt ... dden#p1368

[nevhunter]

I just had another look at the stand attach mount. It straddles half of the tube going from the seat to the left rear wheel lug. The alignment of the pivot shaft is about 45 degrees forward and about 10 degrees upward. ( probably a bit less to be exact, i would have to measure this).
The fitting could be replacad in toto or quite easily part replaced by welding as the join may be far enough from the nearest braze joint, not to disturb it. You could have the missing part machined up quite easily and weld it on.
Date the machine by reference to John's post.
The original cast aluminium, ( unless they are the later steel ones) primary chainguards are not polished, nor is the gearbox ( which has no speedo drive. The speedo is driven from the front wheel).
Your front brake should be the smaller qualcast finned drum with a speedo fitting in the backing plate. The military brake shoes are steel. (Aluminium was scqarce) The timing chain cover is steel after about end 1940 ( check that because it's only approximate). Nev
The WNG forks are longer than the "normal" ones. The front axle is lighter.

[John Harper]

Thanks John,
see attached photo. The frame number appears to be XG 24955.

Nev,
the speedo drive is indeed on the front wheel. I'll attach another photo of the sidestand lug in a moment - the system seems to crash when I upload multiple photos.

John

[John Harper]

Nev,
see photos of the cut off lugs.

John

[john.nash]

according to orchard/madden, frame XG23751-27250 is contract C11103.
contract date is 27/03/42.
engine numbers would have been between BH15001-18500