Norton Gardengate Frame - Plunger Spindle Alloy Top Plugs - Pair

Product no.: 1039 B4/673-PR

In stock

£18.00
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This item is for a pair of the correct shape and profile, alloy plugs that were fitted into the top of the rear Plunger spindles that were fitted to all Norton Gardengate frames - from 1939 to the early 1950's, they are Norton original part number B4/673. 

These plugs are CNC manufactured from aluminium - as per originals, and the head shape, dimensions and profile have been faithfully replicated from an original pattern (see 3rd picture which shows two original plunger spindles - the spindle in the front has one of our plugs semi-fitted, while the spindle in the background has an original Norton plug still fitted).

Original plugs are often badly damaged, broken off or have just come out of the plunger spindle,  making the top of the plunger suspension area look messy.  Our plugs are CNC manufactured to a fine tolerance, and have a small shaft which is a fractional 'interference fit' to the original Norton plunger spindle centre hole, but also has an initial taper to the shaft - so they can be placed in the original spindle bore - then can be be lightly tapped into the original spindle hole with a mallet - and will greatly improve the appearance of the rear end, where they sit quite prominently. 

After machining our plugs have their plug heads lightly linished and polished - so they also look very pretty.  We pack each seperately in its own bag as a pair - so the heads do not get scratched in transit.  Price is per pair of plugs 

Original Design: It should be noted that the original Norton Gardengate plunger spindles were designed with a thread at the bottom of the spindle - so they could be pulled tight into a taper at the bottom of the plunger frame casting, with a heavyweight bolt (our Item Number 1014), while the top of the plunger spindle had an unthreaded 3/8" hole, with a cross-slot, where the hole was 'blind', i.e. it only extended about 2 inch deep.  I am not sure why they were designed this way - but it seemed likely that the alloy plugs were fitted partly for aesthsic reasons (they look nice!) and stopping water being trapped in the hole of the spindle, and partly to allow the spindles to be 'tapped' down into place when refitting to the frame, with the use of a soft headed mallet.  Unfortunately - after many years of use, many of these plugs get 'mauled', or snap off, often leaving the original plug shaft still trapped in the spindle . .. which results in that rear area looking unsightly.

 

Fitting Notes:

While these plugs look quite simple in design, the dimensions are quite important to ensure they can be fitted correctly and do not foul plunger frame casting in use - ours are machined to accurately follow the original dimensions.

The original Norton Gardengate spindle has an unthreaded hole at the top of the spindle - which has a bore of 3/8" (0.375").  It should be noted that the hole at the top of the spindle is not threaded.  Therefore original plugs were not threaded into the hole - but looked to have been tapped into place (which is presumably why some spindles seem to have lost their plugs over the years.  Our plugs have been carefully machined so that the initial part of the shaft is tapered, so that it will fit into the top hole of the spindle, but will quickly become tight as it is pressed down into place.  For the final part of the shaft - it has an interference fit of approximately 2 Thou on the original hole diameter - so it will be necessary to use a soft headed mallet (or some over soft headed mallet) to tap the plug fully home, but take great care when doing this to ensure that the soft alloy head is not marked or damaged by the mallet (or any hard bits on the caught in the head of the mallet.

It is of course important to make sure the hole in the top of the original spindle has any traces of the original plug are removed first (and you may want to check that if the original plugs are still fitted, that they are indeed alloy - in case they had previously been replaced by steel items by a former owner) . . . but they  are not too difficult to drill out any remains of the original plug.  It is a good idead to run a 3/8" hand reamer (or a good condition twist drill at a push) down the hole to ensure it is fully clean, before fitting new plugs.

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