Where do I start ? As soon as I started to dismantle the primary drive it was obvious there had been issues. Firstly there was no lock washer fitted to the clutch centre nut and it was only finger tight so the whole thing had been moving around.
All the steel plates were warped and the cork plates had definitely seen better days, the basket lining rivets were well proud of the lining.
Also the engine shocker nut had worked loose and it had eaten the split pin that is supposed to keep it in position (what a stupid and inadequate idea this was) Also the primary drive chain was very loose and while I remember there was no engine sprocket lock washer either and the nut was also only finger tight. So all these things together had lead to a certain amount of damage to the inner and outer casings which I have had welded up.
With everything now fixed and new parts in hand I set about rebuilding the old Ariel's primary drive. New parts include; shocker split pin, primary drive chain, engine sprocket lock washer, thrust washers, needle bearing, clutch centre nut lock washer, steel plates, cork plates, gasket, basket relined, spring studs, springs, spring nuts and clutch cover re chromed.
We now have a clutch that appears to work fine, engine turns over with great compression and gearbox seems fine, just waiting for some nice new fixings for the outer covers of the primary and that is another job done. Stay Tuned.