Once upon a time....
Late 1989 and I wanted a HT Ariel, none for sale in the Netherlands so I ordered a DIY HT frame + swingarm from John Bartram.
Standard type with the long rear stays but with the two bolt downtube as per ISDT Ariels.
I picked the frame up at the 1990 Beaulieu autojumble.
Cylinder was a lucky find at Bolman Motoren in The Hague. crankcase from a WNG.
Altered a Ariel Burman GB housing to mate with a AJS/M. front, extended the rear engine plates and made the front ones from scratch.
Next few years I collected bits, BSA front fork, etc. but I could not find a alloy cylinderhead.
I advertised in The Cheval and a US member offered a cylinderhead but I had to buy the rest of the bike also.
That bike was a HS MkIII matching numbers but apart from that pretty incomplete.
Complete front end, cowl, seat, oil tank, Burgess filter etc in this picture I sourced.
Sold the HT frame + bits around 1994 and went on with the HS, finished that 20 odd years later
The HT was build up by a Dutch club member, sadly he passed away about 2 years ago.
Fast Forward. few months ago a HT engine was on offer on this forum.
Plans of giving myself a second chance at building a HT popped up....so I bought it.
It is a late 1954 engine, possibly the 10th made for the at that time newly developed swingarm HT frame.
Only a few weeks after I bought the engine I was offered the HT (the 1990 frame) by his widow, very odd coincidence.
I went to have a look, beautiful HT but I declined.
Put in a wanted ad for a frame in the july Cheval.
I was offered two Bartram frames and One original HT in bits.
Deal was done and that is what you see in the first picture.
The nice clean engine bits are the 1954 engine.
It is never to late !
