1973 Triumph T140 (video on page 5)

Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

WeberKid said:
good. time to buy a rear wheel.
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Oops. That is a rear wheel, just backwards. I figure I'll probably flip it the other way before I screw it on there.
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

Met up to assemble the engine, and my mentor said very seriously "do you think these parts are clean enough?"

After I'd cleaned them, they grew a little dust and debris, sitting in my garage. I didn't scrub most of the nuts and bolts, figured they didn't NEED cleaned. Lesson learnt. I'm back at them. Better brushes, stronger solvent. Learning new definition for "tedious"
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

Got an original finish black tank. I think the little rusty guy I wanted to use is just TOO rusty... If I dumped in a solvent or whatever to get out the rust, the tank would disappear.
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Yeah, the rims are sitting backward again.
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

I got a new helmet. And a new (vintage) jacket. And new boots... Freaking DYING while I'm (slowly) building my bike... I sit on the couch and watch Glee and Bob's Burgers dressed like this
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Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

Moar cleaning. Scheduled to assemble engine on wednesday... There's no way these are getting contaminated this time... Last time I thought I cleaned them, I left them in an open crate, where they collected dust and stuff. Now the parts are all in closed containers...
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Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

WeberKid said:
is that a tappet block sticking out of the timing cover?
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Here's how new I am- I don't know what a tappet block is. I asked Bill what the thing is, and he said the previous owner had put it there to run it to an oil pressure gauge. I guess we'll be removing it.
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

Got some work done yesterday. Bittersweet work. Here's why- I spent a good amount of time cleaning the rims and forks he'd sent me home with, but as we started assembling, he goes "You don't want drum brakes. Let's go find another rim..."

So the plus side is, disc brake upgrade, the down side is clean and polish time wasted. I guess I shouldn't complain. What an idiot I'd be to complain! But what this means is I'm not cleaning anything else, aside from parts that need clean for operation (engine parts, etc) until the bike is running. I'm even leaving that coating of dust on the tank.

The oil tank ended up being pretty nasty. Sand and grime up in there. We scrubbed the thing and rinsed it all out. It was 105 degrees out, and the frame dried in about 6 minutes.
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As he dropped the spring into the right fork, monkey saw and monkey did to the left fork. He'd measure and pour in the fork oil, then I'd measure and pour in fork oil. We added some spacers over the top of the springs to stiffen up the suspension. By now the bike has a generous mix of parts from 1970 to 1976, and a few parts brand new (the fork end caps were hand made by some dood and don't match the rest of the bike at all). Some parts are stock, some are upgraded (I guess the handlebar risers are NOS from the 1970's). Here I threw a bunch of the parts on there for some pics. I guess we're doing more work on Wednesday.
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I've got a small military ammo box I want to bolt onto these studs for a small tool kit, and a place to keep my hat and wallet... I'll use wing nuts so I can pull the thing off when I don't want to see it on there...
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side note, for anyone else who is into the raw denim scene, I bought a pair of raw APC jeans when I started this bike, and I've worn them every time I've worked on it. They now have blood, sweat, and 35 year old paint, grease, and oil caked into them.
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Re: 1973 Triumph T140 (frame up build)

Got a considerable amount of work done last week... Here she is now
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Come a long way! Should be riding it in the next 3 or 4 weeks...
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Wasn't keen on these (old BSA) bars at first, but they're growing on me, I wanted to go with nearly-straight drag bars, for a simpler look. But these are actually really comfy.
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The bike feels very small compared to my first bike (1980 Suzuki GS750). This finished product will be at least 150 lbs lighter. We need to pull the back wheel to get the sprocket installed, I just wanted to bolt it together so I could roll around the garage on it before I left for the week... He explained that building an old bike is pretty miuch assembling, disassembling, tweaking, reassembling, disassembling, tweaking, reassembling, then moving on to the next step... Here's said Suzuki (now long gone)
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Now that it's looking like a bike, I see it way differently than I saw my Suzuki, and I mean this in the greatest way. The Suzuki came to me stock, and it was a matter of "what can I take off of this to make it more of what I want?" but the bottom line has been (with both bikes) that I simply want as little as possible! With this bike, of course rather than taking parts off to get what I want, I'm simply putting on the parts I want. But having had my hands on every bolt so far is a great feeling- I used to pull the seat or a cover off my Suzuki to reach a fuse or something, and I'd see a mess of wires and hoses that were foreign to me. Now when I sit on this thing I can visualize the fork springs compressing, and I know the color of the oil they're bathed in. I hope to rev it and 'see' my pistons pumping when it's done.
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140

When I started this, I didn't know how original I was going to end up making it. Feel free, moderators, to move it to another section if you think it should be moved.
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140


Thanks, I'll flip em and give that a look... I thought they were from a BSA, but I guess they came off of a mid 1950's Matchless.. Even cooler.



Last night I got the bottom half of the engine put together. Plan to bolt it into the frame tonight, then build the top half after it's in there...
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In the meantime, I'm making boxer engine jokes....
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The guy helping me through this says he wants a detailed book report on this manual (I've already read through the interesting parts twice.)
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Re: 1973 Triumph T140

Making great progress there. Keep those bars how they are. That's a classic shape from that era and super comfortable to ride with.

FYI Tappets are cam followers and Triumph used an aluminum tappet block for them to slide in. If you look at the base flange of the barrels you will see one on the inlet and one on the exhaust side - one for each cam. Triumph tappets are roughly 1/4" steel rod with a big fat rounded foot. The rounded part runs against the cam and changing the radius changes valve opening.

Old style trumpets used 3/4" radius and race and later ones used 1 1'4 radius IIRC. Old ones were part # E3095 or E3095R (for racing). I think all later bikes used the "racing" radius but part numbers changed.

That reminds me, Triumph used a few different cam profiles known by their original part numbers even though they were used on different model cams. E3325 (low performance) E3275 (mid) E3134 (race). Later they introduced what was known as the Spitfire cam because it used the same profile as the BSA A65 Spitfire.

On T120s, the usual set up was 3134 on both sides and on T140 it was Spitfire on both sides, but for a more relaxed ride, there are options. Megacycle also does a huge range of cams for that motor if you feel like pulling the bottom end apart again....
 
Re: 1973 Triumph T140

I've gotten so much done since my last post! Not running yet, but almost. My Internet is down this week, and I'm dying to update pics.

We honed the cylinders, used brand new pistons, new valve guides, acquired an aftermarket headlight from the early 60's (small one, unique mounts, looks very cool), mounted the seat, and I made some "saddle bags" out of military surplus ammo cans.

So stoked.
 
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