1958 BSA A7 chopper chop bobber project

 1958 BSA A7 ChopA 1958 chassis with welded and moulded hardtail and a 1956 motor. I bought this several years a go from the estate of a deceased biker who had killed himself on his Fireblade. It was very unsafe. the rear was held together with what seemed like tubing from a Raleigh chopper sissy bar. The back wheel wasn't correctly fitted. And all the electrical components were 12 volt items wired to a 6 volt supply! The guy obviously wasn't the smartest but his wife claimed they had ridden around on it quite a lot. (Last 2 pictures are of the bike soon after I bought it. after I got her running). I suspect it was originally built in the 70s and quite well so. before the previous owner got hold of it and had attempted a rebuild. I gave it a thorough clean up and set about the wiring and got it running. It was an easy starter. second kick every time and no oil leaks. but it was subject to wet sumping. So the engine was part stripped and cleaned. an SRM oil pump fitted and the mag drive converted to belt. I fitted a Alton 12 volt generator and a Pazon electronic ignition to get the electrics up to date. Had the seat recovered. had everthing painted in House of Kolor Candy Red over a Shimrin base and started to slowly rebuild. New Forward controls. lots of pike nuts. chrome plated the engine plates. and risers. New lights. horn etc. New jets. float etc on the carb. had the hubs powder coated and wheels rebuilt. Unfortunately moving workshop the rear brake assembly got lost. I have since purchased 2 brake plates. an early type for the Ariel full width hub (which is what was present before) and the later BSA full width type which is correct for the hub being used. All the other rear brake components are not present and would need purchasing. There are 2 sets of springers included. The originals which were in poor condition. These have been disassembled. And a fresher set with heavier tubing in lovely condition which someone had previously tried to fit to a Harley and failed. The stem will need removing from the original set and fitting to the new ones. The original electrics box is there along with a new stainless item. but I would suggest getting a new one fabricated to hold the 12 volt battery that will now be required. There are 3 rear spindles. the stainless item which ws originally there; this doesn't fit properly on one side of the hardtail. I assumed the correct one for the wheel and year would. so got one of those in stainless. It had the same problem. So an insert/spacer will need turning up in order to fit the hardtail properly (one side is a wider mounting than the other). There is an earlier type spindle just for completions sake. I suspect any of them will do the job. The sissy bar that I have will not fit the 6 inch fender that i had painted unfortunately. You could go the bobber route and fit struts and a single seat. get another sissy bar made or find a fender that fits better. I think the final option would be best and simplest. I had the original seat recovered in burgundy leather. The material is nice but the colour I'm not sure about. Should dye easily enough if you don't like it. New tyres are fitted and there is a new engine sprocket included. As is the story with so many of these. time and money and so many other bikes eat away at things until it ground to a halt. I have 2 other bikes to feed and a Harley to build so it's got to the point where this is clearly never going to get finished and it's making me feel guilty! Time to pass it on to someone fresh with less distractions and some new enthusiasm to get her back on the road. The bike needs quite a bit of finishing. wiring etc. But most of what you need is there in form or another. Even a Haynes bible and all the instructions for the alternator and elctronic ignition. V5 is present and of course you won't need MOTs and road tax is free! Whoohoo!I'll happily answer any questions that I can. and you are welcome to view daytimes. weekends and early evenings. Bike is Located in Waltham Abbey area.

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