Rolling Restorations Part 5: Introducing CC 002 - the donor...

Rolling Restorations Part 5: Introducing CC 002 – the donor…

In a previous post within ‘Rolling Restorations’ we met EE 067, my A Series Barford & Perkins motor roller.  One of the main things it was missing was its original Brotherhood engine, being fitted with a Morris 1000 engine and gearbox.  Through the powers of eBay, and for a modest sum, I have now added another Barford & Perkins A Series roller to the ‘collection’.  It was sold as scrap and is certainly in a much poorer condition than EE 067, but it does have an original engine, and came with numerous plates that were also missing, and can be duplicated for R025 which also requires certain plates to complete its restoration.

Below: An overview of CC 002, showing the heavily pitted rolls and gearbox removed from the chassis.  The chassis members are thin and quite ‘crisp’ along their edges, reaffirming the previous owner’s view that it might be a restoration too far.

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Below: This is the main bit I wanted – a Brotherhood manufactured Coventry Simplex four-cylinder petrol engine, described in the build records as a ‘Reliance’, OE 7453.  The roller itself was supplied to Colonel Radcliffe via Brindleys Ltd and supplied to them in Burton on Trent on the 10th December 1928.  I purchased it from the previous owner not so many miles from Burton so this roller has clearly not traveled widely. Many thanks to Bill Dickins for the information, taken from his own comprehensive studies into B&P and their records.  I have recently managed to obtain a contemporary motor roller manual and may look to copying this – Beamish’s R025 would have the same manual so a few copies for its toolbox might be handy and maybe a few spares could be made available to other enthusiasts if there is demand?  I would still love to see an A Series catalogue if anyone should happen to have one…???…!!!

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Below: The gearbox was separated from the chassis but is otherwise complete and may yield useful spares – the output shaft is in abysmal condition though – for reasons not entirely clear at this stage!

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Below: It also comes with the seat/bulkhead, steering chain, radiator and a pile of bits and pieces including a brass B&P manufacturers plate and the cast iron model and weight plate (mounted on the seat).  So, the quest for bits continues – which will be aided by the recent placing online of the catalogues for the B&P/Aveling Barford archive which make for fascinating reading and reveal that drawings for such items as bonnets, still exist and copies of which can be purchased.  So I have no excuse now not to make some progress!

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