Early Timing Cover Screws E.6980 & 24689

p400 · Oct 21, 2014

I now have socket head cap screws holding all covers. I want period correct heads on all cover screws.
I am not interested in what a supplier now supplies. I am asking for period photo documented proof of the type of machine screw heads used on an early, pre 1970 Commando timing covers. Listed as E.6980 & 24689
I think my choices are fillister slotted and cheesehead slotted, but there may be something I have not considered.
Thank you

concours · Oct 21, 2014

Cheese heads on my '74. Good luck with your quest. :mrgreen:

DogT · Oct 21, 2014

I dug through my box of old nuts and bolts and came up with these 2 screws, I'm pretty sure the larger one is the timing cover screw and the smaller one the points cover screw. They look like cheese head to me and that's what I sort of remember.

Early Timing Cover Screws E.6980 & 24689

Dave
69S

p400 · Oct 21, 2014

Thanks for replies so far. 1968, I see BSA and Triumph had already converted to phillips screws with a slightly rounded head that appears to be, to me , a fillister Phillips. And I swear I have seen period photos of Norton 750 engine timing covers with slightly rounded straight slot screws with rounded heads looking like fillister slotted. But I cant find the period photos now!

L.A.B. · Oct 21, 2014

p400 said:
I see BSA and Triumph had already converted to phillips screws with a slightly rounded head that appears to be, to me , a fillister Phillips.

Cross head screws on British vehicles are usually 'Posidriv'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives

Rohan · Oct 21, 2014

Fillister heads.
With whitworth threads for Atlas and P11.
With slightly domed heads, like ALL dommie bolt heads.

Someone here t'eed up the local stainless merchant to do sets of timing cover screws.
I sent him a genuine Atlas timing cover screw, to get the sizes exact. He made the heads slightly thicker !
These are the same back to the very first dommies ( which only had 11 screws per set, BTW).
Not sure he has any more, so won't link to him.

P.S. The gearbox cover screws are cheeseheads.
Different threads too - 26 tpi....

ashman · Oct 21, 2014

Slot screws and make sure you have the right size screw driver with a square shaft so you can put a spanner on it to tighten them up better or to take them out when they have been in for sometime.

Ashley

CanukNortonNut · Oct 21, 2014

I pulled these out of my P11 late model Ranger.
Long bolts had rounded head and shorties were cheesehead style.
One is missing in picture because the shaft is still in the timing side crank case that I have to remove with an easyout. :x
Thomas
CNN

texasSlick · Oct 21, 2014

I always buggered up the cheese heads....gave up and used socket heads.

Anyone know where to get the alloy washers that were used with these screws? I am about to try nylon washers, but they will have to be cut/sanded to smaller OD.

Slick

rx7171 · Oct 21, 2014

p400 said:
I now have socket head cap screws holding all covers. I want period correct heads on all cover screws.
I am not interested in what a supplier now supplies. I am asking for period photo documented proof of the type of machine screw heads used on an early, pre 1970 Commando timing covers. Listed as E.6980 & 24689
I think my choices are fillister slotted and cheesehead slotted, but there may be something I have not considered.
Thank you

As a practical matter the cheesehead looks to have more meat on the outer edge of the slot and probably less prone to having the driver tear out.

Rohan · Oct 21, 2014

Those cheesehead screws that are threaded right up to the head don't look like they would be original fitment ?,
they should have a short length of unthreaded there, so as not to fret the timing cover ?

texasSlick said:
Anyone know where to get the alloy washers that were used with these screws?

Alloy washers ?
Earlier bikes had those red fibre washers.
Did that continue for the Atlas and Commando ??

DogT · Oct 21, 2014

Well, if someone wants, I could comb through the old stuff I have and see if I can come up with the correct amount of 1/4-20 (BSW or UNC?, I've always been confused about that, same pitch) screws for the timing cover, but I can't imagine where else that cheese headed screw that's threaded all the way up would have come from unless it's a crank case screw? I replaced all those slotted screws with sockets even if it wasn't original style. So much easier to work with. I consider it an improvement and why not, it's not in a museum? I may have to deal with it again sometime.

kernel65 · Oct 22, 2014

Nov 69 "S" model. They look to be the same as DogT's.

Rohan · Oct 22, 2014

You have a full set of these ?
Are the ones in your Atlas the same ??

mikegray660 · Oct 22, 2014

have you checked with these guys? :mrgreen:

Rohan · Oct 22, 2014

And as fitted to their bike ??

http://www.ratbike.org/photos3/y881norton.jpg

midnightlamp · Oct 22, 2014

If you want nice ones, draganfly cycles in england makes new versions of a lot of hardware but with that union jack style finish. I go there for BA, Whitworth, etc... now.

kernel65 · Oct 22, 2014

Rohan said:
You have a full set of these ?
Are the ones in your Atlas the same ??

If you're asking about mine, yes, they are all the same on the "S" model.

Here are what I have in the Atlas.

DogT · Oct 22, 2014

Hey, Scott, howadoin?

When did you get the Atlas? You're a glutton for punishment.

Dave

kernel65 · Oct 22, 2014

I'm good Dave and absolutely I'm a glutton. I got the bike beginning of summer and have such good pics of the screws because the mag failed...

Early Timing Cover Screws E.6980 & 24689

p400

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