thought i'd do an update on the vw bike , havent done for few year's , i ended up purchasing the ex Thornley bros bike , purely by accident , mate of mine found it ,in sad condition ,but hey, with all good intensions of restoring it , but had second thoughts about it and offered it to me , as he knew i built an raced one many yr's ago , this one (one of many Thornley Bros campained ) was built in 1980 last raced 1985 , 2 ltr supercharged , crowerglide ,2speed Lenco, all there ,just blower an manifolds missing (no idea what happed to them ), will be used for Nostalgia meets an car bike show display
GooNoo2180 ·
as found
GooNoo2180 ·
as found
GooNoo2180 ·
Rick Thornley riding
beetleboyjeff ·
Oh wow. How cool is that. I hope you can also race it at some of the VW drag meets
GooNoo2180 ·
as is now
GooNoo2180 ·
now
GooNoo2180 ·
n
GooNoo2180 ·
yes thats the plan Jeff ,....... and thanks whoever sorted those posts out
vw54 ·
Pete
I remember Ric hes used to live or his girlfriend lived on King Georges Road at Roselands
His mate lived in my street so thats how i got to meet and talk with him never saw the bike run
Its great you can restore it and hopefully have a run
Where is Ric nowdays
hulbyw ·
Great project!
GooNoo2180 ·
Hi Dave ,Rick is in Tasmania now , he was on Gold Coast for while , Jim is still in Sydney
1303Steve ·
Great bit of history. Rick used to work on the local council and we would talk about the good old days
GooNoo2180 ·
Yes Steve pretty much why i bought it , such a great piece of history, as i said blower and manifolds were sold separately , they cant remember who, other than he was a hillclimb guy , i presume vw , i was lucky enough to purchase a marshall blower(identical ) an S.U's off good freind Jeff Unwin, its a long shot but , but if any body knows the where abouts or who purchased blower an manifolds yr's ago , it 'd be a lot easier than remaking it all....... just manifolds , never know whats lying around still , as this bike was........ photo credits to Jim Thornley
vw54 ·
Pete
Are you going to be the pilot when its up n running
GooNoo2180 ·
yes i am Dave ......... i think i still got it in me
vw54 ·
Car YES
Bike NO
your sack must be bigger than mine hahahaha
where did you get the bike from of Ric and his Brother or has it been in a few different hands over the years
what happened to your Bike
GooNoo2180 ·
, Jim and Rick sold the bike less blower about a year after Castlereagh closed , to a guy at Liverpool ,where it sat for 35yr's
was going to fit a Harley mota ,a mate hunted it down on a rumour where an who had ,bout a year ago , and bought it , i bought it from him after changing his mind about yr ago
........ my bike in 77 i dismantled it , frame went to tip , Fuel injection went to Henry Spicak, engine sold to Vw guy at Crow's Nest (dont have many pics of the old thing
GooNoo2180 ·
few steps closer
GooNoo2180 ·
still lot to do ...
beetleboyjeff ·
Looks good
GooNoo2180 ·
Thanks Jeff
BoogieRider ·
what size rear tyre are you running?
vw54 ·
Hows the project going
GooNoo2180 ·
BoogieRider wrote:what size rear tyre are you running?
26"x 9"..
GooNoo2180 ·
vw54 wrote:Hows the project going
... still picking away at it ,making manifolds ,plenum chamber n stuff , getting it all fit between the frame and engine
vw54 ·
Update Please
GooNoo2180 ·
not whole lot progress , been bit too cold and few other projects got get done , i havent learnt to say no to people yet ,.one day....... tried to up load some pics ,but wont load
vw54 ·
send to my email n will upload
GooNoo2180 ·
sorted
vw54 ·
MOre please
Bizarre ·
THAT is a bloody big SU sitting on top?
never seen one that big before
GooNoo2180 ·
...2"x 2
GooNoo2180 ·
Haven't open case up yet , Engine was put to gether around 1980 81 ,but Jim Thornley tells me its a Gene Berg crank , has Chev 2" journal, Typ 4 centre main ,(any thoughts ?)..pretty sure Scat rods from back then , Arias pistons 88mm , there is another set of 89's... odd yes ....Scat C65 in case ,also new C95 , = box's of new Total seal rings an big end bearings ..heads are stock casting 42x 37
GooNoo2180 ·
rods n pistons
GooNoo2180 ·
...
vw54 ·
Pete
Got to love using the bath plugs for Carby Covers
GooNoo2180 ·
yea ,i'll have to get some old skool ones
GooNoo2180 ·
Manifolds all done , well allmost , small bit alloy welding on casting bout it , glad thats over n done with move on to engine rebuild
GooNoo2180 ·
welds not that pretty , never were in 1980 , no show pony, strong n air tight ,all its gota do
GooNoo2180 ·
...
GooNoo2180 ·
.Mentor Motorcycles sponsorship , ..1984 ?
GooNoo2180 ·
.. Castlereagh Dragway ........Jon Van Daal photo
beetleboyjeff ·
Well that manifold looks a neat setup
GooNoo2180 ·
Thanks Jeff , pretty close to original going by Jim Thornley's discription of it
GooNoo2180 ·
got fair bit done lately , all manifold work done ,did a mock up on engine an everything ,took it out to display at Dubbo bike rally saturday, not running at moment , will pull apart to paint few things an build engine next , i'm planning on bring down to VW Nationls ,
GooNoo2180 ·
..
GooNoo2180 ·
...
GooNoo2180 ·
..
vw54 ·
Who is going to b the test driver big balls require
GooNoo2180 ·
not real sure yet , its very uncomforable for me ,was built for Rick who fairly big guy , i did bump into an old mate at Bike Rally , ex Nitro Harley rider , no fear .... think he'll do
vw54 ·
any idea on the first flight ???? time
GooNoo2180 ·
some where around septemer october , will take to local 1/8 mile at Wellington for some test runs
vw54 ·
how often do they run Wellington ??
what about Warwick in Qld for the VW drags October long weekend
GooNoo2180 ·
not to often at Wellington , think they have a break over winter ,start again round september october ,if all goes well i intend to run it ,or at least display it a Warwick VW meet
vw54 ·
If you do bring it to Warwick
It will have to run down the track even if only for a display slow run
GooNoo2180 ·
yea ok , no static car show thing at all ?, ive never been to Warwick VW meet
vw54 ·
Warwick is good weekend
plenty of room to camp or motels in town we are camping in town for the 1st time in 15 years
BoogieRider ·
Wellington is the air strip isnt it ? I remember getting dragged out to Casterton street drags to find out it was an actual street road with no run off between two farms and watched a methanol burning HG sedan giving it hell against a run what you brought rival 304 nitrous HJ sedan with the local constabulatory blocking off the section of road for the weekend,cars that should of been at Portland strip than a country backroad 200km away ,insane racing even crazier crowd !
GooNoo2180 ·
yes correct BoogieRider , airstrip, not much in the way of traction , be good enough for some test runs
dragvw2180 ·
I am really impressed with your project, great job guys. It may not apply to your setup but on my turbo car I have gone away from silicone hoses and gone to straight radiator hoses instead . I was bursting silicone braided hoses at connections whereas with the multiple braided cooling system hoses I use now are really tough . I have been running between 30 to 40 psi with no problems . The other thing is it is cheaper. Good luck with your project , Mike McCarthy
beetleboyjeff ·
It looks great at the VW Nationals today
GooNoo2180 ·
Thanks Mike McCarthy for for your reply an comment on the rebuild project , i did wonder about the radiator hose verses silicone hose ,i have no experience with Turbo/ Blower motors ,an thought the silicone should be better, so will keep your info for future , ive still got fair bit to do before running , Pete
GooNoo2180 ·
Thanks Geff , yes lot people impressed by it , and good to show off what the old guys got up to in the old days 🙂