Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

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911hillclimber
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Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

I thought some of you would be interested in a motorcycle project for a change.
This will be a thread documenting the restoration of my Terrot MT1, 1949.
The bike was made by a very large bike company in France called Terrot. They made many bikes, simple to very fast, for the working man to the racers.
This is a simple 2 stroke bike sold to go to work and back in the simplest way possible at the time, it is sort of the equivalent to the BSA Bantam.

The bike recently came to England and I bought it as a simple winter project to fully restore the MT1 as best I can, my third '2 wheeled winter project'.

The bike was almost complete but has been in a small accident but I think has had a good life in France.
Every nut and bolt came apart with no effort!
There is no rust at all on the panels and the frame but the chain guard is very thin in places.
I think the engine will need to come totally apart to repair the engine castings and replace the crank seals.
The sprocket has been welded onto the shaft in the past....

I will be using many parts from the British BSA Bantam and have already modified the handle bar levers to fit the Terrot as the originals were broken.
Some pictures for you:

£995 buys you one of these from France. No MoT required, no vat to pay, no papers either!

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Handle bars were re-bent to level them up;
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Taken apart easily, original tyres and a tank shiny inside, perfect.
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All foot controls were bent so with a little eat all were straight again
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by smallspeed »

Love it! Have a real soft spot for the terrots :)
911hillclimber
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Thanks, you are only the second person I know who knows the name!

100cc and a sizzzzzling 6 bhp.
45 mph apparently. :shock:
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KS
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by KS »

911hillclimber wrote: 45 mph eventually. :shock:
There, corrected that for you... ;-)
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by smallspeed »

45 probably feels like 450 though! :lol:
911hillclimber
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Speed is not a problem until you try to stop....
This strip-down has been dead easy until this afternoon, time to strip the front and rear wheels.
First though, cleaned and re-built the front headlamp, bowl made of stainless so a bit rusty but cleaned up well enough, the yellow bulb is original and a strange size, but ok, and the festoon side bulb the same vintage (1949) and the connector is in brilliant shape!

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The front wheel was first on the bench, but the brake is poor to say the least, and the braking surface of the drum looks toast, but with no spares I have to fix it. Not too sure how yet....

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The rear is stunningly poor! Big question how to restore this one too, a challenge! :blackeye:

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Got permission from The Boss to have the lot pro blasted instead of me doing it (lesson learnt from doing my last project), so hope to use a good understanding local crew.
Mud guards are really good condition, no rust, original black paint and lots of dry mud.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by smallspeed »

I assume the wheels are pretty balanced so could be put on a big lathe and the brake surfaces trued/cleaned up that way? Prob a lot easier if you're disassembling the wheels completely I guess.. If you are I think i can just about get 6" dia on my lathe - you're welcome to use it if you need
911hillclimber
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Thank you for the offer.
I think the hubs will go in a decent lath for a light skim to remove most or all the rust but some specialists will do this and re line the shoes to the new diameter.
The drum surface is direct to the pressed steel hub, so no liners!
This means you can't take much out or machine true and re sleeve the drum....
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by Winston Teague »

Thinking about your brakes, I'd clean them up by hand, rather than machine them, then give the braking surface of the hub a light grit blast which should rough up the surface a little. Take the wheel and backplate assembly to Midland Brake, Station road, Rowley Regis (they like traditional forms of payment), get them to reline in a hard ish material, use it, this will polish the surface, see how you go for 100 miles or so, and then if necessary reline again with softer linings. The surfaces by now will be much better, on flimsy brakes drums stiffness may be more valuable that surface condition. It is on Austin 7 Drums. Good luck. W
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by C3s »

An excellent read, thanks
911hillclimber
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Thanks Winston.
I have emailed Villiers Services in the same region, about 8 miles from me.
They re line shoes but say nothing about the drums.
I'll give your guys a try, and I'm happy with traditional payment systems.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by KS »

I used Villiers Spares when I got the brakes relined on the Monet & Goyon. Good service
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911hillclimber
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Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Good to get personal experience Keith, thanks.
They sell lots of other parts I hope I can use so worth a visit, esp when so close.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
911hillclimber
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 18909
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

After the pain of self blasting and cleaning many parts from my last project I decided to have almost all the parts blasted of paint, mud and surface rust at CWS who also made my new spokes and supplies the hard to find tyres needed for the restoration all in one go.
8 days later they are all done and in the parts rack in my computer room (with kind permission of The Boss) to keep them dry.

I have all the primers now to prep and paint in etch primer the parts. Everything is gloss black so nice and simple but will add a pin stripe to lift the blandness of black and black and blac...
Time to get the plating out and to get the seat professionally covered in a water proof vinyl, but maybe dark brown instead of the factory black.
Costs already starting to build up!

Image
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
911hillclimber
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 18909
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Terrot MT1 Motorcycle restoration project

Post by 911hillclimber »

Snatched a few hours in the cold garage this afternoon and decided the tank had to be stripped and checked out carefully. Bad tanks can kill a bike restoration esp as there are NO parts anywhere...

I bought this bike because it looked complete and rust-free, and the tank is no exception. It all came apart so easy and won't need much to bring it back to full life.
The petrol tap has been repaired somewhere between 1949 and now in France, see picture. It is finding these tweeks that makes this kind of project fun.
Hope to get parts to chrome and bright zinc plating early next week.

The tank's top trim is clamped under an alum ring nut to a steel tank and undisturbed for 67 years. Some WD40 and gentle tapping and it unscrewed! No galvanic corrosion at all.

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Side trims similarly in-clipped and in-screwed with ease and will polish up well. The knee pads are supple and no cracks at all, too good so far.

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The petrol tap has been repaired using an old French coin, and is really nice and looks leak-free, time will tell. Just unscrewed out of the tank base after 67 years.

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I am really impressed just how well made this Terrot is, lovely to work on.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
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