W/NG upgrades and improvements I made

[admin]

making my W/NG nicer to ride:

1. swapping the military gearing for "standard" gearing. Invisible to the purists and can make a big difference on certain roads. Made a useful change for me and one i would do again
2. swapping the standard "f" cam for a standard (or not so standard) civilian cam, such as a 664. Other cams may require different pushrods (642) and/or followers (later single lobe cams). Invisible to the purists and moving to the 664 made one huge difference to me.
3. larger carburettor. Civilian 350's use a 1" carb and larger main jet. I found the change to not really make too much difference overall. Only detectable by the purists if they have a encyclopedic knowledge of amal carb numbers
4. 12v electrics via an electronic regulator plus 12v LED bulbs (front and back). brighter lights and easier time for the standard dynamo (the earlier, shorter 48w type) - over a high watt 6v headlamp bulb with standard stop/tail. LED's are detectable to the purist and the electronic regulator can be found by lifting the cover on the old regulator box.
5. not an improvement as many came with these as standard - but fitting the rack and pannier bags. Loads of space for shopping.
6. relining the brake shoes with a modern compound - not WNG specific but made a noticable difference.

[simon.holyfield]

What an interesting post John.

Number 4 is on the agenda for me shortly, as my original 1942 MCR1 is not too well... I will go to AO Services as usual.

Where did you get the parts for #1 and #2? Do you need a whole gear cluster, I guess so?

Number 6 is already done...

[admin]

..the link to the bulletin gives the two part numbers needed to change the gearing- gearbox spares used to have them. Pretty painless swap.

Cams, I am afraid, you will have to shop second-hand for.
The 664 cam, I believe, is a straight swap bit is less common
The later single cam requires the later followers (and I think different length pushrods)

[admin]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Ariel-Camsha ... 2944110485



is this a 664 ? it doesn't look like an F cam
pretty worn

[nevhunter]

As mentioned, there may be need to vary push rod lengths with different base dia cams. I'll see if I can derive a height from the top face of the cylinder head to the push rod end as a standard. The main effect will be the decompressor won't work properly and the valve adjustment position isn't right.
You can check this on the bench with just a set of empty cases with a barrel and head (with valves installed) incl end caps .Put the cam in place . followers, push rods and rocker boxes. (Allow for gasket thickness) Have both valves closed. (followers on back of cam) and see where the valve adjustment ends up. I may have some push rod lengths to modify. Where cam followers have been built up with stellite etc this is another factor affecting the outcome. Others are the recessing of valve seats which can cause excess guide wear by upsetting the rocker geometry where it matters most.
Wear on cams... Often a problem with Ariel OHV singles.. I raise the oil level in the timing case, where the drain hole is in the lower position of the two normal places and I'm using mineral Aero engine oil W -100 Plus Shell or equivalent.. Rudges have a similar problem. I'm getting no sign of metal whatever in the oil. My W/NG gas now gone 20 years without the head off. Just worn out a rear tyre and rear chain. that's all .Nev

[Phil B]

No.4 intrigues me.

What is involved? New bulbs throughout, rectifier unit, battery? Will the dyno put out 12v??

I'd like to do this to add more reliable/serviceable electrics to my '39 NH350.

Could you advise on parts required and sources please?

Thanks!!

[Steven.Carter]

No.4 intrigues me.

What is involved? New bulbs throughout, rectifier unit, battery? Will the dyno put out 12v??

I'd like to do this to add more reliable/serviceable electrics to my '39 NH350.

Could you advise on parts required and sources please?

Thanks!!

Hi Phil

Here's the regulator I've fitted to my W/NG. It's very small and fitted very well inside the regulator box http://aoservices.co.uk/facts.htm
I haven't altered my dynamo in any way and I've fitted LED bulbs.

[admin]

there are a few articles out there on going from 6v to 12v.

The main requirement is for a 12v regulator - most people rip the insides out of an old lucas box and then afix an electronic regulator inside, soldering it's wires to the internal connections. This retains all the original external wiring and connections.
The dynamo itself doesn't really care, as it's output is well in excess of 12v anyway which is regulated by the regulator. It will need to spin a bit faster to make it to 12v, which is where the LED bulbs come in (they require less load in the first place).

The bulbs need changing but the horn will cope. Obviously you need a 12v battery too.
No other changes to the wiring

The LED bulbs draw a fraction of the current required for incandescant bulbs, which means the dynamo doesn't have to make up much current. You can run much more powerful incandescant bulbs if you want on 12v, but need to ensure the bike is running faster to keep the battery topped up and the lights bright. Running around town for long periods is probably the worst scenario, but I suspect most of us are doing between 30 and 60 on smaller A and B roads, which is easily fast enough.

[dave.owen]

There are 3 lengths of pushrods, measured from inside the cup to the ball end(effective length) as listed in Drags cat.
34-48, 10 3/8", large base circle twin lobe
49-51, 10 5/8" , small base circle twin lobe
56-58, 10 11/16", small base circle alloy head

52-58 would be a single lobe cam so I believe the middle ones as the post war twin lobe was also 1" base circle

Dave

[john.mitchell]

Of course the best upgrade to a W/NG was the one the late lamented Tufo used. Many of us could not understand why we could not keep up with him on our 500 (and bigger) Ariels whilst riding in Italian Rallies. It wasn't until after he died that I was told his W/NG was fitted with 500cc engine!