1954 T-15 Terrier
hangarkat@aol.com
Hi folks or chaps as it may be,
After three years of work I have completed my Terrier project and I must say it came out well. I had a lot of help from a lot of people and Mr. Ray Corlew ranks high on the list. I have enclosed a photo of the bike that would be a dream come true for me to have it published on this site. Mine came from North Dakota with many missing parts. Also it did not run. To say the least it was a rolling pile of junk. But I loved it.... Note It is a T-15 with numbers that just confuse me I think its a 54 and the tittle backs that up.
Please reply to this E mail address or call me at 770-233-8293 in the evenings if you have any questions. Every nut and bolt was replaced, re-chromed or repainted as appropriate.It starts first or second kicked and even the gear change indicator works I spent far more than its worth but my love of the bike took control of my finances.
Thank you for this opportunity to ramble on about my love,,,
Thank you, John Neel
461 Patton Road, Griffin GA 30224[Then came this, following my request for additional information.]
I first fell for the ascetic beauty of the Terrier when thumbing through the pages of Don Morly's book on Triumphs. He can be somewhat critical of the bikes he writes about and yet he wrote glowingly about this one. I must have looked at those pictures a thousand times...
A year or two later I saw an ad in Walnecks about a 1954 triumph terrier. It had a high price, was in North Dakota, and appeared to be in poor condition. All for a mere 2500 hundred dollars (There's one born every day).
After shipping the price just kept going higher and higher. The engine was said to have run recently. (ocean front land in Montana anyone)? Upon closer examination I learned that the marks were worn off of the cam gear and the matching gear so engine valve timing was necessary. Another learning curve for me...
I had the valves, seats and guides redone by a so called expert and the first start an exhaust valve stuck and it rattled like hell! Results: bent push rods banged up piston and bent valve stems and the fun job of lowering the motor to reinstall all damaged items warranty: ("huh I don't know what happened" must have been a bad valve') After finding a true expert she fired off on the first kick and has been doing so ever since. The paint was coat after coat with 1000 grit sanding in between until I approved.
The entire restoration took tree years. I re-cadplated the spokes and re-chromed the original wheels replaced and trued and fought endlessly with the clutch and transmission. And I insisted on making the gear change indicator work an it does!! Thank you Ray Corlew for much needed parts.
You will notice some chromed extras and decals extra as well. [and a cat, ed.]
As you know, the plunger frame bike was introduced in 1953 and I tried to simulate the extras that were added to the stock bike to make it a bit more showy... As it might have appeared in the Court of Earl show try to at least start it every day but I have been advised that this is a show bike only and not to ridden on a daily basis...lots of experts out there, but their intentions were good. The bike looks and runs beautifully and is the pride of my collection.
Thank you for your time,
John Neel
And thanks for this great submission John. What a beauty. Now for my opinion about what to do with it....[I get to do that because I created the page]...<G>
RIDE 'EM, DON'T HIDE 'EM!
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