CP mid cover

[wade.edwards]

I’ve mentioned this request in the past but am throwing it out again. Would like to find a CP mid gearbox cover dated for 1946 so I can swap out my current 1950 cover.
MC & HNY

[admin]

I have some mid-covers but don't know how to tell an early one from a late one .. I assume they are stamped on the top ?

[wade.edwards]

Yes, John. Post war gearboxes are identified with a year stamp as the last two marks in the series of numbers/letters.

[admin]

I see.
in which case. sorry.
The two I have in bits are 1950 and 1951

[nevhunter]

Good luck with trying to find a 46. You generally find those cases are matched when polished or even rough semi unfinished as the WD ones were. WD have the numbers on the outer cover and" New Parts" ones are un numbered. Either way the WD inner is un nunbered. If you obtained one you could match it to your outer and do whatever else you wanted to with it. Nev

[wade.edwards]

Thanks for looking John. Nev, you might think that somewhere, somehow there is a 46 case in a corner somewhere in the world

[nevhunter]

Times were tough then, and they had to sell against a lot of ex WD surplus stuff. Be interesting to know what the actual sales numbers were in that period. There's never any harm in asking, Wade. Nev

[paul.jameson]

Nev,

See Cheval de Fer, July 2016 for details of sales figures.

[wade.edwards]

Paul, I looked at the production numbers in July Cheval. Very interesting. Obviously there were plenty of W/NG spares available at war's end so it likely made sense to bring 350s to market before returning to higher numbers for other models. Also, the 350s would be the least expensive machines to buy which would have been a post war consideration for strapped buyers.
My 46 NG has a chromed and lined 36 spoke W/NG front wheel. I don't know if this was a common build item to use up wheel stocks.
Somewhere I have seen production numbers for machines produced during WW2. I have a 1940 VG and I think that there were 125 dispatched for that year. You may recall where that number comes from. Don't remember if that list was also in Cheval.
Wade

[Pete.Silson]

Wade,

I think the number on your 1946 CP box should be stamped on the main casing not the mid cover (as per first picture).

Later CP boxes were stamped on the middle cover as per my 1949 NH (picture 2)

The numbering in the first picture is for October 1946 i.e. G6 (NH or NG) K (10th month) 46 (year stamp) and mine is for April 1949. So I think what you need is an unstamped middle cover (or polish out the stamp on your current cover) and stamp a new number on your main casing. If you know your month of despatch you can stamp the corresponding month code as well i.e. A=January, B=February ... M=December ("I" was not used).

Pete