Having spent some time now working on the WLA, being someone who feels everything should have a name, I decided to call the Flathead Hank (as in Hank the Yank). It is really hard for me not to build an emotional bond with the bikes we work on. Of course, Hank now held a very special place in my heart, and as the days of working on it carried on, the bond grew. I really started from day one wondering who had ridden him during World War 2 (I am also known for giving bikes genders, some male, some female and some genderless, but Hank was definitely giving me male vibes).
Had Hank seen any action? Did the person who rode him during the war ever miss him or think about him? What had happened to him after the war? Of course, some of these questions would remain unanswered, but some, the Bangers & Cash team, would research and see if they could find some of Hank’s history.
Now back to the restoration…
Our Hank Restoration Begins
Once Klodi & Pete had removed the WLA’s engine, we were able to start stripping it down and find out what was causing the low compression and non-starting issues. We did try a few more times prior to taking the engine out and off camera to run the bike and, once or twice, were able to get him running, but not for long and not well. As the engine came apart bit by bit, the problems became quite clear.
For starters, two valves were not closing and had an awful amount of free play. On top of that, the pistons were not looking at their best, and there also was a great deal of blowing around the cylinder head gasket. Fortunately, Pete knew an engineer who specialises in WLA engineering in Northwest London, and we were able to get the cylinders directly over to him to get the engine restoration work started. For anyone with a WLA, Flathead or Knucklehead Harley that needs engine work, please look up Toshi at Bell 45. The man is a genius and a master of a dying art of engineering and machining, without him, this project would have been almost impossible.
Toshi replaced the piston & rings to +2.00 oversize and bored and honed the cylinders to accommodate, he replaced the valves and the valve guides and re-cut the valve seats. He did an amazing job, and if it wasn’t for this project, I wouldn’t have met Toshi, so I will be forever grateful for that.
While the main part of the engine was over at Bell 45, I set about skimming the cylinder heads in-house. Having not skimmed for at least 5 years, I really had to put my back into it, and my arms and shoulders ached for days, but it was a really satisfying thing to do, and the end result was perfect (even if I do say so myself).
We managed to source a carburettor rebuild kit, and Klodi and Peter fully restored the carb and renewed all of its internals. I worked on the wiring system, getting all lights running, and Bernie took on the task of replacing the exhaust (which was not an easy task, so top credit goes to Bernie).
All of this was done sometimes on camera and sometimes off; we also had times when we would have to wait for parts to come from either the USA, Poland or the Netherlands, so on occasions, there were gaps between working on Hank, but not many. As the seat and the panniers were incorrect, I managed to source reproductions from Poland; these would be the finishing touches, the last parts to be fitted at the completion of the project.
The bodywork of the WLA was really in a bad state. It had at some point in its life been resprayed (badly) several times and as it was an Olive drab Matt finish with no lacquer over its petrol had discoloured a great deal of the fuel tank and other covers and rust was starting to take hold of many parts of the bike. Originally these bikes would have been painted with whatever shade of olive drab was on hand, no lacquer was used and the military markings were splashed on with a stencil. Remember these bikes were built for war not ascetics so Bangers & Cash wanted us to preserve as much of the patina and originality of Hank as possible. So, I had to get a balance between saving the bike from rust and future-proofing it and at the same time keeping the originality. As any restorer will tell you this is really not an easy thing to do. Knowing where to start and where to stop and to preserve rather than restore is a very delicate balance.
Of course, being in the motorcycle industry for so long, I was able to call on another one of North London’s amazing talents. C&C Car Paints in Tottenham, as ever, were able to re-create the matt paint for me. I visited them with the fuel cap off of the bike, and they were able to match that colour for me and make me as many aerosol cans as I needed, they sent me on my way with the right colour and also made me some petrol resistant matt lacquer to make sure the parts I had to repaint would not only blend in but be protected from any future petrol spills. As ever, thank you, C&C.
The preparation for the bodywork was a huge task. Stripping the years of old paint, sanding and preparing took days and I needed help so I managed to drag one of my regular clients, Dan, in to give me a hand. In the meantime, I managed to find a company to reproduce the stencils for the military markings to replace then the paintwork was done. All in all, everything was going along perfectly. During the preparation of the paint work, I uncovered what I believe may have been the original colour of the bike. It wasn’t olive drab but rather a sandy colour. I called the Bangers & Cash team to let them know what I had found and it seems that the team had also uncovered some potential history of the bike but you will have to watch the show to see what they found.
Part by part, the body was finished, and the engine parts were returned to us, and on camera, the re-assembly began. By this time, I had moved on to the restoration of the original leather gun holster, the pick axe and the dashboard while Peter and Klodi focused on the engine rebuild. By this time, it was the height of summer, and the pressure was really getting to us to meet the September deadline that the Bangers & Cash team needed us to meet.
Watch the episode on channel U&Yesterday now.
Unlike the Germans, who were very methodical and punctual, the US Army never kept track records of their material.
So although we know the 42WLA type III was used by the US solely, we can’t tell who exactly rode the bike and where…
Many thanks for your feedback Pascal