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Cookie Bill's Custom Shop

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United Kingdom
Nuneaton
Cookie Bill's Custom Shop

Motorcycle restorations, custom bike builds and one off part fabrication/manufacture. Give us a call with your needs and we will do our best to help.

We undertake bespoke commissions and sell the occasional 'in house' built project bikes.

26/10/2026

A few pictures of the 1947 Triumph 3T. Rolled out of the garage and back in the open air after almost 70 years off the road. We still have a few finishing jobs to do, but at least it is back up and running!

28/09/2026

So, I’m starting on a few niggly little bits. The steering damper k**b that came with the bike (albeit not fitted), appeared to be the wrong one as it clashed with the speedometer bezel and the handlebar clamps. I suspect it’s actually from an earlier bike and maybe even a girder fork version. However it’s a really nice original period k**b, so I thought I’d use it. The solution? I made a small alloy spacer to lift the k**b clear of the speedo and handlebar clamps - sorted!

Great news as well today. I’ve finally taken the plunge and insured the bike even though it’s not turned a wheel in anger as yet. I think it needed to be done to give me the impetus to get the bike finished and start riding it. So I’ve just got to wait for the new registration plate to arrive (the grumpy b***ards at DVLA wouldn’t let me keep the original number despite my pleadings) and I can then have a tentative run around the village. Can’t wait…

25/09/2026

Well, we have life! The video is actually a little out of sync with the rest of my posts, but maybe some of you guessed that? So, just need to sort this irritating carb flooding issue then we can see if we can get her moving a bit!

24/09/2026

After a few days of RnR I’ve been back in the garage over the last couple of days working on the 1947 Triumph 3T.

I’ve changed the steering head bearings and rebuilt the front forks with new bushes and seals. I’ve rebuilt the front end and have fitted the front and rear mudguards and the chain guards. I’ve also fitted the new Terry seat, so it’s finally starting to look like a bike again.

I seem to have an issue with the float needle valve in the carb, because it keeps flooding intermittently, so I’ve tried polishing the seat in a bid to cure it. If it still doesn’t work I’ve been in touch with Amal and can still get replacement parts, so there’s a ‘get out of jail’ card if it’s still playing up.

I haven’t fitted the tank yet, but I’m getting closer to a start up! I might still get a few shakedown miles on the old girl before winter, so watch this space….

06/09/2026

They say that the path of true love never runs smooth. Well that sort of sums up my love affair thus far with the 3T. I decided not to rebuild the forks or the headstock until I had got the bike running reliably. However, she had other ideas as when I filled the forks with fresh oil, one of them leaked like a sieve anytime there was any weight on them. So the forks have been removed and stripped and I’m now waiting for replacement seals and other parts.

Whilst we were at that stage, I decided to strip down the headstock and check the steering head bearings which were very ‘notchy’. The good news is that the ball races are serviceable and it was old dried up grease that was causing a lot of the issues. I’ve ordered a new set of ball bearings as they are only a few quid and will then rebuild the complete front end once I’ve got all the parts to hand.

So plans to be road testing in early September have been a little scuppered, but we will get there. I’m determined to have it road worthy and hopefully get a few shake down runs in before I have to lay it up for the winter. She may have other ideas of course as trying to wake her from her almost 70 year slumber is proving a little harder than initially expected……….

29/08/2026

A bit more work on the 3T. Primary chain cases fitted, exhausts on, steering damper sorted and fitted - the list is endless and every piece I pick up out of the dismantled parts pile needs something doing. Testing, cleaning, repairing or painting. I spent some time testing the old Lucas cut-out/regulator, which, unsurprisingly after 60 odd years stood in damp sheds and garages is not operating as designed. I’ve decided to consign it to the bin and replace it with a modern solid state unit that can be mounted inside the existing housing. I’ve also go the wiring loom in place and have started marking up the various connections. Fortunately, this is a very simple bike with only horn and lights to contend with and nothing fancy like indicators etc.!

13/08/2026

A bit of time spent setting the ignition timing on the 1947 3T. All seems to be in order and I can confirm that we have sparks at the plugs. Whether they are at the correct time remains to be seen! I am getting ever closer to trying to start the old girl. Exciting times……

03/08/2026

I’ve checked the valve clearances today. They weren’t far off TBH and only needed to minimum of adjustment.

When I fitted the carb to the inlet manifold, there was a 5 to 10 thou gap in the middle of the fl**ge. This is quite common when the carb fl**ge is over tightened causing the fl**ge to ‘bend’ or ‘bow’. Obviously this would have leaked air leading to lean running, so I used some wet and dry paper on a glass top to lap the fl**ge back flat. The carbs now re fitted with no fl**ge gap.

And finally for today, I’ve rebuilt and re-fitted the Lucas dynamo. It basically needed a good clean and new cork gaskets. I did have a problem with a sheared screw on the wire connector which I managed to drill out and re-tap. I’ve bought a new lead insulator grommet as well. Ideally it needs a new set of brushes, but I’ll see how the bike runs first and then if all is good, I’ll replace them over the winter.

So I just have the ignition timing to check now and then I can look at having a go to get the bike running again. Watch this space…..

30/07/2026

…..and there’s more! I’ve refitted all the other instruments and switches to the petrol tank instrument panel. The instrument/inspection lamp switch was broken so I ordered a repro part. The problem was it didn’t fit properly and took about 2 hours of fiddling to get it sorted. These bits are quite commonly stolen off classic bikes as the originals are made from Bakelite and become brittle and often break.

I’ve sorted an issue I had with the gearbox. The gear lever was stuck in position, so I removed the outer cover to take a look. Because it’s been stood for so long the selector plungers had seized in position probably due to congealed grease and oil. It was a 5 minute job to free them off, clean, re-oil and re assemble. The front plate was then re- fitted using liquid gasket sealer.

And lastly, I’ve re fitted the engine sump strainer and plate with new gaskets. If you’ve been following my page for a while, you’ll remember that I had to sort out a bodged screw hole and ended up tapping out all 4 mounting holes to 5/16” BSW. The plate has been fitted with new high tensile socket screws and spring & plain washers.

That’s it for today, although there’s still loads to do. That’s the problem and the nature of the beast with these old bikes - almost everything you touch requires some kind of attention, so hardly anything is a 5 minute job.

30/07/2026

I stripped and rebuilt the clutch on the 3T. Some of the plain steel plates were very badly scored, so they’ve been replaced. I’ve fitted new primary and final drive chains and today I stripped, cleaned and rebuilt the Amal carb. It’s gradually starting to look like a motorcycle again, but there’s still a way to go!

Address

Hinckley Road
Nuneaton
CV136

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

facebook.com

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