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• {I) 51 Di:II =-= Di:II ...::lI g =- g -er--- Cl 0 C'J '" ;:; 00 - < , The ant iq ue occulted in the att ic of Comerford's, near London, w hen Brough-buff Clayton found and fell in love w ith it. 19 23 model is one of the first Brough-Superiors buil t. Purchase for $1,12 5 clima xed two years of negot iation . Progress report: A Brough in the rough By Charles Clayto n 36 Whenever I'm feeling all puckered up with old obligations or nagged by the Cosmic Itch, I sort of retreat in t ime to the earlier part of this century. Things seemed easier then . The vehicle wh ich takes me back is a 1923 vintage Brough -Superior, wh ich I am renovating gradually in a dim corner of my garage. It was built to liw forever at a time when mankind was barely int o the Machine Age, and it is meet ing its maker's expectat ions nobly. I'll probably also be forever refurbishing th is antique motorcycle at the present pace, Iingering as I do over every particle of it , extrapolating its history. Th is is an interim repo rt on the restoration. James A. Prestwich built the engine , which bears his initial s in big, raised letters on the left (drivel side crankcase. In smaller raised type, arranged like a smi Ie around the lower curve of the aluminum casting, is the word "TOTTENHAM" (I picture factory smokestacks erupting soot over a darkling English town.) This motor is a sidevalve v-twin of 1000cc (61 cubic inch) ' size, its cyl inders faitry bristling with fins . Lub ricat ion is by the most stra i!fltforward method : oil simply drips where it is needed and after the oil does its intended jo b it falls to the ground. It never uses dirty oil again . Thanks to this primitive lube system, the tender bearing surfaces show no appreciable wear after an estimated 100,0 00 miles of running. The contact patches on the gear teeth are smooth and bright. I'll not need to replace any engine parts, I'm happy to report, and I doubt any parts are available. The gearbox, however, is in need of a new cluster cog . Tbe old part is barely serviceable, but the engagement dogs for what looks like first gear are ch ipped almost away. It is a 3-speed progress ive shifter made by Sturmey-Archer and a de light to take . apart and put back Complet e d ismantle was fi rst stage in reno vation . Frame was sanded to bare metal t hen b lack stove enamel brushed on , baked and rubbed smooth. Fenders will be ro yal blu e. bright part s nicke l plated , al umi num engine-turned . House of Hand lebars in Lo ng Beach d upl icated sto ck item for 56. Branch Flowme trics mended chi pped fi ns on the cast-iron cyli nders. Acet yl ene lamps were optional in 19 23 . toget her. All of a sudden I understand gearboxes - th is basic number makes t h e mystery clear. Why does progress always clutter up machinery so ? Forget the frame. It weighs like the anvil it was forged on. It was built not to ever bend or break, wh ich it hasn 't. It is a well-wrought piece of ironmongery. Forget th e forks . Like the frame, they are stiff girder s, beaut ifuI to loo k at , hell for stro ng, but joined to the frame by th e flimsiest of h inges. Now we know why so many famous men were killed ridi ng Brough ·Superiors. You can t ighten t he fr ict ion damper t o red uce fron t -end wiggl e, but th e th in-threaded crown nut hold ing the fork head together will pop off at the first good bump in the road - inst ant accident! Th is on e's about read y to pop, judging by th e saw-toot h cond ition of the threads. The object ive of th is renovation is to restore the old Brough to new cond ition, with the except ion of the mating surf aces, which are just nicely bedded-in. We will be using only the techniques ava ilable to George Brough in 1922-23. In other words, the machine will look like it was carefully maintained, while being ridden all these years. This criter ion accomodates the slight updating in tires and brakes and exhaust modif ications that its Scottish owne r performed in its early years. But there wiII be no trace of chrome plate, bead b lasting or sp ray painting, which were not availab le to early 1920's craftsmen .