I’m pleased to report that the Club’s Pre-War Spares Scheme will be up and running again shortly, with a planned start date of 1st March 2023. A Club member has kindly stepped forward and agreed to take on this key role – full contact details will be included in the next issue of The New Con Rod magazine, posted to Club members at the end of February. As the owner of a pre-war machine myself, I view this as a particularly positive development!
New for 1948 …
A picture, it is said, is worth a thousand words – and this is never more true than when researching or restoring a motorcycle. This photo is, I believe, a factory shot of a Douglas Mk.3 Sport from 1948 or ’49, which was kindly sent to me by a visitor to this site.
The Mk.3 was introduced in May 1948 and offered in touring and sports versions. The Mk.3 Sport model, shown here, featured lighter section mudguards finished in silver sheen and was available with optional 21in front rim and a four inch section rear tyre. With twin upswept pipes, high-mounted trials-type toolboxes and a lifting handle built into the rear subframe, it was a handsome and purposeful-looking machine. And yours for just £197 17s!
Douglas Takes ‘Best in Show’
Summer days feel rather distant already, but this brings the warmth of the 2022 show season back! Spotted at the Maldon Museum of Power show in August, this mid-’20s Model CW is a lovely example of a 1920s flat-tanker, and a credit to its owner. The all-chain drive CW, with three-speed countershaft gearbox, was an up-market version of the belt-driven two-speed model TS, and together formed the backbone of Douglas 2.3/4hp range in the mid 1920s, before the popular EW model was introduced in 1926.
Two Flat-Tank Douglases, One Big Challenge
I often get contacts through this website asking for help to identify or trace machines, but a recent request was to find a home for the decidedly derelict remains of two flat tank Douglas machines, located in Australia. This project was clearly not for the faint-hearted but, as the owner and I had agreed, I put an advertisement into the Club’s magazine and waited to see what would happen. To my surprise, five readers contacted me expressing an interest and the remains have now found a new home, still in Australia. The photos give some idea of just how far gone the parts are but (as I know to my cost!), the camera can lie and the reality with old metal parts is often worse than the pictures suggest.
Crated and freighted, these two Douglases have now arrived at their new home and their owner has sent me some first thoughts. The bare frame pictured is a 1924 Model TS, while the machine with petrol tank is believed to be a Model CW from 1925.
This tank caused some head-scratching, until the new owner realised that it was a standard ‘box’ tank, modified at some time in its life by cutting the sides of the tank at the rear, bending the back end down and soldering a new bottom in place. Happily, the original fittings are still present and traces of the original paintwork show the Douglas name.
Clearly, with these projects, their new owner is at the foot of a mountain but I’ve asked him to keep me informed of progress. If there were a ‘back from the dead’ award for restoration work, these two machines from almost a hundred years ago would be strong contenders!
LDMCC at Founders Day 2022
There were some fine machines on display at the VMCC’s Founder’s Day at Stanford Hall this year – but none finer, of course, than those on the Douglas stand. We had a prominent – if noisy! – position beside the main ring which ensured a steady stream of interested visitors throughout the day. Club members had brought a variety of machines from the inter-war years, showing the development from flat tank models of the 1920s to the more modern saddle tank designs of the 1930s, plus a ‘hand-crafted’ replica of a competition machine which drew some admiring glances! I particularly liked the 1929 L29 model in ‘touring trim’, ie: with leather suitcase strapped to the pillion.
Well done to the organisers for their hard work.
The London Douglas Motor Cycle Club 