Bruce Augers 1928 Raleigh Model 21 Deluxe restoration

Engine No A 2162
Chassis Frame A2073
496cc SV
Model 21 Delux

In 1964 I found this motor cycle on Mr Dors property at Puketi Forest in an open shed, and scattered about the farm in pieces. The engine was in a shed with gelignite dripping on to it from a shelf – on to the crankcase causing corrosion.
Originally bought from Clarks Cycles in New Market ,Auckland New Zealand, on Thursday February 2, 1928 by a Mr Mannington.
It was later purchased by Mr Dors who still owned it in 1964 when I bought what was left of it.
The Amac Carburettor was missing when it was unpacked in NZ so it was fitted with a Brown and Barlow Sports, which is still on the machine. A Baylis Mercurey switched electric stopping tail light (English Law 1928) was fitted in NZ and it is No94. Only 100 were made and only one is known to have survived. This Tail Light was purchased by Mr Mannington’s brother when he visited England in 1928 as a present, and was fitted by the cycle shop in NZ on his return home to Auckland.
The petrol tanks I made from an old washing machine skirt steel, 18 guage, and formed by making a paper folded pattern over a borrowed OHV tank. Then I made two wooden formers and folded the crazy cut steel to fold, tuck and weld exactly to shape.
When I bought it there were these parts :- Frame triangle with broken front forks, damaged engine minus timing case and oil pump (Oldham), broken piston and main side shaft and sprocket, very sad gear box with shot bearing and gears, clutch and sprocket worn out, back wheel complete but without bearings, back mudguard and number plate holder, chains were rusty, gas generator and tail light, the head light was flattened by a lorry running over it every day. Gear change tank fitting, steering damper knob, one inverted clutch lever, front and rear stands were broken, magneto bracket, one twist grip, oil tank and pump, carburettor outside and float chamber bowl. But the biggest prize of all was a Baylis Automatic brake light, very broken and rotten – but all there – very rare, for a pattern to restore.
I had to make:- Front Hub and axle shaft with brake drum and shoes ( Rim and spokes from Britain). Front mudguard with skirt and number plate, braze and straighten forks, make fork shafts and right and left hand nuts, handle bar and all levers and head clamps, lamp brackets, top and bottom steering head bearings and damper fittings ( Head and forks), timing case and chain cover cast and machine and make Oldham oil pump complete, valves and guides (Piston from Gaggs in England), Electric weld new cooling fins in five places, oil pipes and fittings, 982 of all nuts and bolts turned on the lathe with 26TPI or correct thread to specifications and nickelled where required, magneto shield, footrest setup complete (rubber for twist grips, rubber foot rests and tank pads from England).
Kick starter pedal and gear box parts were worn out and had to be rebuilt, tool box to oil tank and leather case and actually made the locking catch to specs, back bottom fork frame, top fork frame and carrier, exhaust pipe and brackets, muffler and tail pipe bend, back wheel hub internals, axle and wheel nuts, reline brakeshoes, back chain cover and pump clip and fittings, chain case complete, 2 petrol tanks, tank cover strip, all tank fittings and filler caps, seat frame and cover ( seat springs tied to frame). Fly wheel main sprocket shaft and key way, rebuild clutch parts by welding.& repadding(with brake lining), cast brass brake pedal and machine and

rebuild clutch parts by welding and repadding ( with brake lining) , cast brass brake pedal and machine and nickel. Make and cast carburettors, new housings and float bowls & tops, then turn up slides, jets, make floats and fittings, springs and petrol pipes and unions ( 3 complete carbs, 2 with needles, one with gauze, I think it had a needle type carb).
I met the original owner, Mr Mannington, and had a very informative talk with him, he gave me the Docket and Plug. It runs quite well and sounds the part on a Splitdorf spark plug that it was fitted with by the first owner in 1928, when he changed it he kept the plug in his treasures with the original docket dated Thursday February 2, 1928, Clarkes Cycles, Auckland, New Zealand, which proves that the bike was made in 1927 and shipped out to NZ as a 1928 model ( those days it would have taken more than a month to have it for sale if it was made in 1928). But by specifications it is definitely a 1928 Model 21 Delux.
Head lamp P & H Gas annealed and forced back into shape roughly, had to anneal about 20 times and beat and then spin on the lathe, came out oversize so had to shrink and beat again to size ( got given an old mirror and jet) beat out front and cap and used an old clock glass to complete, after nickelling and painting it looks almost like new after many days of tinkering with it.
Magneto supplied by Mick Sleap to be rewound which took some time to do. Never done one before but it tested out and works well. Made up a horn from parts from England. Made plug and valve caps. It was hard to find Carbide to the lamp generator but did get some. Bought new tyres, tubes, tapes and fitted. Painted and lined to specs. I aquired a spare magneto Armature professionally wound in case my effort gives out. Raleigh Spares for valve springs and gaskets and tank transfers and many many thanks to John Diamond for help with the specifications for the making of parts, exhaust etc and for nickelling and painting information.
While trying to build up the aluminium crank case with gas welding , it kept exploding and bit blew off as a result of being saturated with gelignite over the years.
Parts off the bike had been given to other bike owners and other parts used to repair farm equipment in a Heat Robinson sort of way , so I could not have them.
This restoration has taken 25 years to original specifications.

Bruce Auger

BRUCE AUGER 50 YEARS NZVCC MEMBER

As a perfectionist, Bruce Auger created an enduring legacy for Far North vintage motoring by way of his total dedication to restoration detail while enjoying tinkering with and driving older vehicles.

Born in Greylyn in 1928 he and his family moved , via Maungatapere, to Ohaeawai in the Far North in 1934 where Bruce attended Kaikohe High school from 1943, showing an interest and aptitude in engineering and carpentry and, no doubt, old cars.

Trained in the printing and engraving trade at the Kaikohe Northern News, many customers were European and one of his achievements was to engrave the Lord’s Prayer around the edge of a threepenny bit. As a film projectionist for nineteen years, he travelled over much of the Far North, as far as Waiharara. Bruce did a stint with the railways to get fresh air into his lungs, but the pay was not too good.

In October 1962, after an initial meeting in Whangarei, the Northland Branch of the VCC of NZ was eventually established at Kaikohe to accommodate members north of Auckland and Bruce was amongst those present. Circumstances changed rapidly and it wasnt long before a Whangarei Branch was established and eventually the Northland Branch disbanded and joined Whangarei which ultimately became the Northland Vintage Car Branch. In 1976 it was the turn of northern members to form the The Far North Branch to cater for the likes of Bruce who had developed a strong interest in old cars.

Initially he had a 1935 Austin 10 followed by an A30 and then an A50 and an early Triumph. Over the years a Vanguard and ’39 Chev were in his stable together with an association with sixteen motorbikes. He fitted independent electric brakes to the Vanguard, enabling the Vanguard to beat the faster Zephyrs on race track corners. Always ready for a challenge, Bruce was navigator in Vic McCready’s 1920 Minerva which represented the Northland VCC Branch in the 1965 International VCC rally in Christchurch. To add a bit of spice the guys drove from Cape Reinga to the Bluff and back at 22 miles per gallon, being the second car to cross the new Auckland harbour bridge.

1965 was the start of his affair with his uncle’s 1925 Buick McGlaughlin DX, the deal being that it should not be altered. This was difficult as the vehicle was set up as a truck which Bruce was keen to restore. The model, the only one to leave the factory as right hand drive, was brought to New Zealand by Lady McGlaughlin of Scotland after she had haggled with McGlaughlins, the Canadian car body builders. It languished in storage because it was not considered suitable by her friends, they being British and her car Canadian! Eventually someone from Dargaville purchased it but, after a pub visit he ran off the road and it required some patching up by the local blacksmith. It then became a Whangarei to Auckland taxi before Buce’s uncle acquired it, damaging the engine on the way home to Okaihau when he ran over some newly dumped road metal. A frame was attached and it was used to tow a saw mill before the body was removed, hung up in the rafters, and the chassis transformed into a traction unit with Bessemer diff and cast wheels all driven by two Dodge 4 engines in tandem. However, over twenty five years Bruce patiently gathered the body, which thankfully was still hanging in the shed in a reasonable state, and other parts including the original engine, 1925 pig skin for the upholstery and Canadian beech for the spokes to restore the car to its original glory. Mr McGlaughlin,at 92, visited and wanted to take it home, making Bruce a big offer which was refused. Four gallons of paint and twelve of thinners which came with the original car, were used to add the final touch to what is now a superb treasure, the only one of its era globally. Detail was the essence and as the vehicle had been registered as a Dodge because of the early engine change, a lengthy beaurocratic “battle” ensued to secure the rightful registration right down to the DB 1925 number plate which satisfied the official that it was Dodge Brothers but Bruce was happy that it signified the D(X)B(uick). The car was a star at the Buick 100 years celebrations in Napier. Bruce and Mollie still have the car and have arranged for its continuous use and safe keeping.

Part way through this project the Buick work stalled as Bruce reckoned it would be cheaper to work on one of the motorbikes. About 1964, probably during one of his pig hunting exploits to the Puketi forest, Bruce found scattered about a shed what turned out to be the remains of a 1928 Raleigh 21 Deluxe motorcycle with many bits damaged or missing. Over the years he tracked down the original owner, sourced original paper work and embarked on a restoration to original specifications which involved hours of panel beating, casting and machining of petrol tanks, hubs and axles, mudguards, handle bars, lamps, timing case covers, “making” an Oldham oil pump, total cast and machine of the carburettor, bolts and nuts turned to specification the list goes on, to a total rebuild which would be a story on its own. The beautifully completed machine has been donated to the Matthews Vintage Collection where it is proudly and thankfully displayed together with one of his Miele bikes, a testimony to twenty five years of patience and dedication. He reckons that in hind sight, this project was probably dearer than the car refurbishment!

Perhaps the real visual showpiece of this man’s skill is his restoration of vintage hubcaps, many of which were unrecognisable before he put his magic touch of detail on them. Frank Walker had quite a collection and did the paper work or research and Bruce and others contributed old hub caps which he duly beat, plated, polished and cut the polish to make them look old. The collection is now prominantly displayed on a board in the Far North Branch clubrooms, a reminder to members of the dedication and expertise that Bruce built into a hobby which has immortalised part of the country’s motoring history.

Bruce, with Mollie who so often kept his dinner hot while he was in his shed, has contributed a great deal to the spirit of vintage motoring with his enthusiasm, skill and wealth of knowledge, all of which makes his Fifty Year membership badge a small but very deserving award.

Dave Duirs July 2012