Pedro96
Finally riding a big boys bike
Restoration of MG121984 October 1942.
I thought i would share the restoration journey of MG121984 - J10 (October 1942)
As you can see, the frame was in a bad way when I initially picked it up however after a session in the shot blasting booth it revealed it to be even worst than I first thought!! What followed was hours of constant filling, sanding, and paintimg to get it back to its former glory. While I wasn't in the garage doing this I was spending every spare hour looking for wartime components in the states and elsewhere (as there is absolutely none over here in the UK). After coming to the realisation that postage for single items from the US to the UK would bankrupt me pretty quickly I had to think outside the box. Through various pages and forums I started speaking to @Krakatoa in the states who agreed to consolidate all the parts for me and then send them to me in one shipment to save costs. I honestly can't thank you enough. Without you and your assistance this project would not have been possible.
When delivery day finally came on one cold November afternoon, I hurried to the garage with my goodies. To mark the special day I shut myself away from the wife to consolidate my haul and cracked open a beer, put the radio on, set up a chair and put the heater on... bliss. I can not express the joy that I had this evening.
Once I had arranged everything into piles and sorted what needed altering, shot blasting etc i took stock of what else I needed (bell, pump etc... the sort of stuff which isnt essential).
As I wanted to get this up and rolling ASAP I decided to go with a pair of period New Departure wheels until a suitable wheelset became available. Fortunately I have acquired a correct dated rear morrow wheel and also a correct front wheel which will be stripped, cleaned and resprayed however they won't be ready until later in the year so the NDs will have to do for the time being.
Now that i had got the basics it was now time to start spraying in my homemade spray booth (a mini greenhouse complete with heater and extractor fan which can be seen in some photos). In the depths of an english winter this was essential to ensure continuity. After many hours, and spray cans, (and a few light headed moments if im honest whete i had overdone it) I finally had a fresh set of parts all sprayed and ready to start assembly.
While I wasn't in the garage I wanted to learn a little bit more about the airfield where this frame came from, RAF Wethersfield. I was inforned from the seller that the bike was acquired during the war by the previous family owner by USAF personnel during the war and kept in the family since. After some research I found that it was operated by both the USAF and RAF during the war. With the US operations mainly being with the 416th Bomb Group operating A20 Havocs from the airfield. For a very short time the 316th Troop Carrier Group flew from Wethersfield as part of Operation Varsity. Seeing as second world war avation was my first love from a young age i decided to look into this as i couldnt let such an opportunity pass me by. After a bit of research i decided to pick a random crew of my choosing and base my bike on this as a memorial to the whole bomb group and also that crew.
Its at this point i would like to point out that I appreciate it was unlikely a bike like this would be assigned to one specefic aircraft but seeing as im doing this for educational and memorial purposes im sure everyone can understand.
The picture below is of the aircraft in question 5H-R flown my Lt Lucian James "Screws" Siracusa who had to bail out following flak damage to his aircraft (following this photo his other engine was leaking fluid and went up in flames) during the bomb run on 25th May 1944. Both crew members (S/S James Noland Hume and S/S Floyd Edward Brown) bailed out and later followed my Lt Siracusa who had complications getting out of the aircraft. All were captured and survived the war. Im sure you'll agree its stories like this that make it all seem a bit more real.
Further details of the crew and fateful mission can be found below:
I have gone on to research the unit and crew members in minute detail. I have even managed to make contact with the family or Lt Siracusa.
I hope to show this bike at shows in the UK and educate the people of the uses of this bike and also 416th Bomb Group.
Hope you enjoy the below pictures and above narrative. Happy to receive any comments good or bad. I know there are some bits on it that aren't historically accurate (such as the Kilroy and Person Siren) but each bike is individual. If anyone does have any wartime parts it would be greatly received... mainly saddle and tyres.
I thought i would share the restoration journey of MG121984 - J10 (October 1942)
As you can see, the frame was in a bad way when I initially picked it up however after a session in the shot blasting booth it revealed it to be even worst than I first thought!! What followed was hours of constant filling, sanding, and paintimg to get it back to its former glory. While I wasn't in the garage doing this I was spending every spare hour looking for wartime components in the states and elsewhere (as there is absolutely none over here in the UK). After coming to the realisation that postage for single items from the US to the UK would bankrupt me pretty quickly I had to think outside the box. Through various pages and forums I started speaking to @Krakatoa in the states who agreed to consolidate all the parts for me and then send them to me in one shipment to save costs. I honestly can't thank you enough. Without you and your assistance this project would not have been possible.
When delivery day finally came on one cold November afternoon, I hurried to the garage with my goodies. To mark the special day I shut myself away from the wife to consolidate my haul and cracked open a beer, put the radio on, set up a chair and put the heater on... bliss. I can not express the joy that I had this evening.
Once I had arranged everything into piles and sorted what needed altering, shot blasting etc i took stock of what else I needed (bell, pump etc... the sort of stuff which isnt essential).
As I wanted to get this up and rolling ASAP I decided to go with a pair of period New Departure wheels until a suitable wheelset became available. Fortunately I have acquired a correct dated rear morrow wheel and also a correct front wheel which will be stripped, cleaned and resprayed however they won't be ready until later in the year so the NDs will have to do for the time being.
Now that i had got the basics it was now time to start spraying in my homemade spray booth (a mini greenhouse complete with heater and extractor fan which can be seen in some photos). In the depths of an english winter this was essential to ensure continuity. After many hours, and spray cans, (and a few light headed moments if im honest whete i had overdone it) I finally had a fresh set of parts all sprayed and ready to start assembly.
While I wasn't in the garage I wanted to learn a little bit more about the airfield where this frame came from, RAF Wethersfield. I was inforned from the seller that the bike was acquired during the war by the previous family owner by USAF personnel during the war and kept in the family since. After some research I found that it was operated by both the USAF and RAF during the war. With the US operations mainly being with the 416th Bomb Group operating A20 Havocs from the airfield. For a very short time the 316th Troop Carrier Group flew from Wethersfield as part of Operation Varsity. Seeing as second world war avation was my first love from a young age i decided to look into this as i couldnt let such an opportunity pass me by. After a bit of research i decided to pick a random crew of my choosing and base my bike on this as a memorial to the whole bomb group and also that crew.
Its at this point i would like to point out that I appreciate it was unlikely a bike like this would be assigned to one specefic aircraft but seeing as im doing this for educational and memorial purposes im sure everyone can understand.
The picture below is of the aircraft in question 5H-R flown my Lt Lucian James "Screws" Siracusa who had to bail out following flak damage to his aircraft (following this photo his other engine was leaking fluid and went up in flames) during the bomb run on 25th May 1944. Both crew members (S/S James Noland Hume and S/S Floyd Edward Brown) bailed out and later followed my Lt Siracusa who had complications getting out of the aircraft. All were captured and survived the war. Im sure you'll agree its stories like this that make it all seem a bit more real.
Further details of the crew and fateful mission can be found below:
I have gone on to research the unit and crew members in minute detail. I have even managed to make contact with the family or Lt Siracusa.
I hope to show this bike at shows in the UK and educate the people of the uses of this bike and also 416th Bomb Group.
Hope you enjoy the below pictures and above narrative. Happy to receive any comments good or bad. I know there are some bits on it that aren't historically accurate (such as the Kilroy and Person Siren) but each bike is individual. If anyone does have any wartime parts it would be greatly received... mainly saddle and tyres.
Keep up the good work.
