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Starting to rebuild an WD16H from scratch, it will be noticed that
many parts do not fit very well. Even using NOS parts is no guarantee that
they will fit as expected.
This may have been caused by the manual manufacturing process, lack of
tooling, inaccurate tooling and or tool wear over time.
Process inaccuracy can e.g. be seen by the different positions of the
cross brace on the upper rear frame tubes necessitating different
lengths of washers to properly fit the rear mudguard.
Misalignment of parts may also be the result of a road accident or
physical abuse during not very proper storage at a brokers yard or
un-attentive collector.
After many searches, no complete information has surfaced about
the dimensions and alignment of the Norton open loop/diamond frame and
forks as used on the WD16H machines. Post war, the army did apparently
not make the type of servicing books as for the Matchless G3(L) and BSA
M20's for the Nortons, likely because they were mostly phased out
relatively quick after the war while Matchless and BSA's were kept much
longer.
I have made drawings with the basic dimensions to help
checking the frames, forks and assembly of wheels. Wheel alignment
as given in the M&I manual.
 
click on
picture to download pdf
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