Nortons Last Years History ?

Hello, being new to Norton, and rebuilding a 1977 Mk3, I would like to find out as much as possible about the production of the later Mk3's.
I've read Bert Hopwood's book, Whatever Happened to the British Motorcycle Industry? and found it very informative.
But it only touches on Norton in the later years.
Is there any other books documenting the Norton later years?
Does anyone here have any stories?
It seems that some, including mine, were put together from inferior parts???????
Maybe 32 years of clown mechanics played a significant part in bad parts and machining I've found?

Graeme

GRM 450 said:

Hello, being new to Norton, and rebuilding a 1977 Mk3, I would like to find out as much as possible about the production of the later Mk3's.
I've read Bert Hopwood's book, Whatever Happened to the British Motorcycle Industry? and found it very informative.
But it only touches on Norton in the later years.
Is there any other books documenting the Norton later years?
Does anyone here have any stories?
It seems that some, including mine, were put together from inferior parts???????
Maybe 32 years of clown mechanics played a significant part in bad parts and machining I've found?

Graeme

Click to expand...

There is a book called Norton Commando by Mick Duckworth that details its chequered history an interesting read about 15 quid.
Maybe you got what is called a 'Friday afternoon' bike.....

If you have got one of the last then every possibility it was built by a disgruntled workforce, the one essential thing to check is the con rods to make sure they aren't the (D) rods which will eventually break. Just remember that whatever state its in, you can rebuild it better than new!

The "disgruntled workforce" is probably the biggest issue. I bailed out just before the move to Andover and I got a strong impression that the company didn't pay anyone already on the payroll to make the move from either Wolverhampton or Plumstead. Since the company went tango-uniform a fairly short time thereafter, there could've been quite a lot of disgruntled people who had made the move at their own expense and then got the chop anyway.

I'm not sure how many Commandos were made at Andover, as I didn't keep in touch after I emigrated.

Come to think of it, have you ever met anyone that is "gruntled"?

plj, what in the world is 15 quid? I am an American dummy.

"Quid," as in a Pound Sterling being the basic British unit of currency. "I gave him 15 quid," is as in giving 15 pounds of silver currency in exchange for two new-in-box Nortons.** (Quid pro quo)


**(15 lbs silver * 16 oz/lb * $16.60/oz ~ $4,000 .... when a pound was really a pound)

Today, of course, a British Pound is worth whatever the gov'ts say it is -- which is now about $1.60 USD. Hence that 15 quid will now get you a book about those two Nortons, ...not the Nortons themselves :?

Re: Norton History by Mick Duckworth

I picked up the book recommended by plj850, Norton Commando by Mick Duckworth, from a vendor down at the Barber Vintage Festival a couple of weeks and have not been able to put it down.

GRM 450 said:

I would like to find out as much as possible about the production of the later Mk3's.

Click to expand...

Mick Woolett's book 'NORTON The Complete Illustrated History' contains some information about this.
Briefly, when NVT went bust in 1975, there were approximately enough parts left over in the Wolverhampton factory to build another 1500 Commandos. Dennis Poore negotiated a deal with the liquidator to buy assembled machines, he started up a company in Shenstone to handle distribution, and set up Andover Norton in the old Andover factory to supply spares for existing machines and also for those being assembled at Wolverhampton.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cVFD ... q=&f=false

Thank you,

plj850, Mick Duckworth's book is on order.

Gino, thanks for your advice and encouragement. There was only 1 "D" rod which was replaced, a badly ground cam which was very soft, and badly machined cylinder and head. The engine and gearbox has been rebuilt with all the recomendations learned from the knowledgeable folk on this forum. A huge thanks to you all.

Frank, what does "tango-uniform mean ?

L.A.B., Mick Woolett's book is another one I'll try and get.
After 1975, were the parts that were left over blanks and machined under the recievers guidence? The reason I ask is the cylinder on mine was machined with very blunt or worn out cutting tools. Or just by workers who had been badly treated and no longer had pride in their work?

I felt depressed when finding some of these things when dismanteling the engine, (which was supposedly rebuilt 20 miles ago) but after finding out more about the circumstances which the later Mk3's were built it's understandable.
Anyway the nasties are behind me now, at the moment I'm waiting on my painter. Then I get to enjoy it.

Regards Graeme.

GRM 450 said:

Frank, what does "tango-uniform mean ?

Click to expand...

I expect that's a euphamism for T*ts Up! (T = Tango U =Uniform)?

GRM 450 said:

After 1975, were the parts that were left over blanks and machined under the recievers guidence? The reason I ask is the cylinder on mine was machined with very blunt or worn out cutting tools. Or just by workers who had been badly treated and no longer had pride in their work?

Click to expand...

I have no idea, but I think it would be logical to assume that a certain proportion of the parts would have been left in an unfinished or partly finished state when the factory closed. The company ran out of money, which could explain why fresh cutting tools were not freely available so tools had to be used past the point where they would normally have been resharpened or replaced?

You might also find that a lot of bits classified as seconds were fitted.

Just got my wife to check the first registration date on mine...04/10/1977, that was after a week of waiting after asking her , apparently there was NO logbook in the folder just a MOT cert, an insurance cert and .... a registration document, (logbook normally = registraton doc. common term in UK), don't you just love them????
After reading this thread it looks a though my bike was built by an unhappy workforce with knackered tools and duff parts, and here's me blaming the P.O. for a lot of the butchery..... nah ! a lot of it was down to him.... sprag clutch round wrong way, alt. rotor round the wrong way jamming wires, stripped threads on front brake lever mounting to name but three.
Conclusion is then, I may have a lot of things to attend to when I decide to tear the engine down, hope not to have to do it for a wee while.
"If you don't think it's broke ... don't fiddle with it"

There is a lot of this on Chinese bikes. After the PLA stopped ordering them the factory struggled on for a while and smaller outfits put together remaining spares with new copy bits and called them factory bikes. One of these can truly be a crap shoot, if you are lucky most of it will be fine...but if you're not...
Nowadays there are several larger specialists that can produce a creditable Chang. This seems much like the Norton scene, half the bike can be repro but if the right folks fit it together you can get a good hand made product.
Maybe you were lucky and got good bits and a good assembler, who knows?