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Early progress with the restoration
Since the original article in Buzzing, Dec. 2002 issue, I have been busy with the repair and replacement of missing pieces of the bike.
I repaired the mudguards using new metal in the damaged places. I made a chain guard for the drive chain, using a Japanese one from a motor cycle, by cutting out the back side and adding to the length to make it the same as the Sun one. I finished the chrome plating and put the new seat cover on. Anthony Stephenson, up at Leeds was kind enough to send me a front lamp.
Richard is to be commended for making several replacement parts for
this rare autocycle
This one is a 1949, so it is painted all black, with the petrol tank painted maroon and lined in gold as the only copy of a picture taken from a magazine article describes. After the painting was completed I made the control cables and also the petrol lines. I finally acquired enough exhaust pipe pieces from other bikes to cut and fabricate an exhaust pipe for the Sun, now I still had the silencer to make. I had never tried making anything of this shape before. I first made a pair of inside form blocks, then cut material the same shape, but larger than the blocks by about an inch and a half and clamped them together and started forming with a mallet around the edges. This worked better than I had hoped for. After doing the two halves I scribed the flange line and turned it up and trimmed it. I then made the internal silencer parts and went to the welder and had him weld the pipe pieces and the s qeam on the silencer.
I then finished the welds and had the parts chrome plated. This project has been quite a challenge, as I have had to make so many pieces from pictures and sketches that people have sent to me, I want to thank everyone who has helped me with pictures, helped find parts and information.
First published, October 2003