Funeral for AJS to be notified

[Hoony]

for the uninformed (like me) is this a factory special of some kind or are the engines available in some form?someone once told me AJS/Matchless are very similar?

[mick25]

Bummer all right , I sold a AJS complete motor and gear box i think 1955 on ebay not long back went to WA...
A bit late now  :'( may have suited what you were after

[GMC]

Condolences to you and your family

You may need fit a new shelf in your shed labeled ‘sacrificed to the Gods of speed’

[jimg1au]

i have seen this happen a lot in the 70s with dirt track motors usualy all that is left that is usable is the head and sometimes the valves a mashed as well.japs with alloy rods were 1 of the worst if the owner didnt change them often enough.also saw an ariel let go just the head was ok
jim

[matcho mick]

bummer Dave,honorable death though,did the rod eye open up?,is that the gudgeon pin amongst the debri,is it intact,maybe piston broke up?,i've destroyed some matcho motors bigtime,but the short rods never broke,(guys actually ran them in iron beezers coz they're stronger),Ted Conran in wollongong is selling his collection/ few compy motors,(assembled in big lumps i've heard,not complete runners,just collections of proper bit!),worth a call?,mick

[211kawasaki]

Mick,
would really appreciate a lead on it so yes - worth a call or PM the contact and I will. Thats the pin all right, It had a JP piston (modified a lot) Im not a fan of them but all I could get about 6 months ago. Rod is clean in half!
Dave

[matcho mick]

ooh JP, ok in a roady!,will dig up contacts,(Frank probably knows him too),

[firko]

ooh JP, ok in a roady!,will dig up contacts,(Frank probably knows him too)

I've heard Frank mention Ted Conrans name. I'll give Frank a call in the morning and start the ball rolling.

[fatboyracing]

As I said at the track I can sell you a good going Xl350 motor  proberly last longer then the pommy #$$*%( sorry Dave I am sorry for your loss I could see how gutted you were on Sunday while the pre 60 class were racing.
Even after the loss you just got on with it and helped me out as my assistant thanks for that. hopefully we can find you a new motor some were in the world

Cheers
Fatboy

[Freakshow]

Heard the crunch turned around and watched the shrapnel fall...........  Gut wrenching noise like that destintive metal noice in a car crash.....

Still cant belive seeing it when it came back into the pits and the crank cases were hanging and  seprated from the barrel.

Devistated you must be.

[matcho mick]

Dave,Sigma engineering in SA does flywheels,conrods ,crankshaft axles for short stroke compys,all in hi tensile steel,prices look good too,contact John Keay,at least it's all new to race, not "lottery preloved" metals, ,  
[email protected]

[Freakshow]

Happy to pick up, love or barter or what ever dave if there in SA.  IF it helps any.

[pancho]

bummer Dave,honorable death though,did the rod eye open up?,is that the gudgeon pin amongst the debri,is it intact,maybe piston broke up?,i've destroyed some matcho motors bigtime,but the short rods never broke,(guys actually ran them in iron beezers coz they're stronger),Ted Conran in wollongong is selling his collection/ few compy motors,(assembled in big lumps i've heard,not complete runners,just collections of proper bit!),worth a call?,mick

I had an Ajay rod let go in my B33 half way up the straight at Nepean way back when. Back in the pits there were quite a few Beeza owners with worried looks. I still have the 'trophy' on the shelf along side a nice piston with a valve head stuck in it.
 The most impressive blow-up I remember was Gordon Doble's MSS, he said half way down conrod straight the handle bar grips got 3 inches round then she went bang!. the conrod was dangling in the frame like a pendlum, no crankcase to be seen, just bits of alloy around the frame bolts.
pancho.

[Bitten]

Grief is the price we pay for having loved!

[firko]

Dave,Sigma engineering in SA does flywheels,conrods ,crankshaft axles for short stroke compys,all in hi tensile steel,prices look good too,contact John Keay,at least it's all new to race, not "lottery preloved" metals, Wink, Tongue [email protected]

Of course it's up to Dave and his wallet as to what the next move on getting the Ajay up and running again is but I think a phonecall to Frank Stanborough is the right move. Frank's responsible for most of the fast Matchy's racing in this country including the indecently quick Matchless Metisse ridden by Glenn Evans* on dirt track. Frank's a stickler for using quality internals and has had success using Jawa and Godden cranks in Matchy/AJS G80's including his own Mojo framed bike that Graeme Smythe will ride at CD9. Anyone who's seen his Manx Norton Metisse or NSU powered Greeves will understand Franks work skills. There's nobody better on 18CS Ajay's and G80/85 Matchy's in this country full stop.

* The Matchless G80 Metisse ridden to success by Glenn Evans in recent years is now up for sale due to its owner, Glenns father Cols recent death. This bike has history going back to the mid sixties when Col, Roy East, Ray Fisher, Kelvin Franks and other Aussie motocross pioneers raced the MX GP's in Europe. In recent times the engine has been expertly built using the finest bits by Frank Stanborough. This bike is a dead set rocket, ready to win on dirt track and motocross. Dirt track veteran Terry Poole is brokering the sale of it and Cols other ESO Metisse and vintage Husky's so if anyone's interested, PM me and I'll put you in touch with 'Pooley'. This bike will disappoint bargain hunters...it ain't going to be cheap but with its genuine Euro GP history and Glenns success on it in vintage racing you can't go wrong with this bike.