Whitworth - where?!?

[bob walker]

I guess I'm not getting something. I dismanteled my '59 BN-7 completely without using whitworth wrenchs, and used american standard non-metric sockets and wrenches. Seemed like everything fit. It is down to where anything else getting removed is done by cutting through welds.

Since, I have obtained a '73 Norton 850 Commando (two projects at once - man I have a cool wife!).

So, I decided to get some whitworth wrenchs for the Norton and the Healey, mostly because the motorcycle has so much exposed I don't want to chigger up the bolt and nut heads with the wrong wrench.

The problem? I have not found one nut or bolt on the Norton or the Healey that the whitworth wrenches fit on. It is like using a mertic wrench on a standard bolt. Also, the whitworth sizes are weird; the 9/16" whitworth is like a 1 1/8" standard wrench.

Any comments? Remember, if you call just me stupid, that is libelous so don't post to the group, you have to do that one on one amongst yourselves - just kidding ;-).

Seriously thanks in advance, this is a great group.

Bob Walker

 

[tony barnhill]

I've also noticed on my '53 MG TD that I can use standard sockets & wrenches to "loosen" thinkg....however, hen I go to reinstall everything, I need the Whitworth tool - there's just enough play in the standard tools that they slip as I'm getting tight.

 

[Dave Russell]

Bob,
I discovered the same thing. There are various fasteners that either US or metric or Whit. wrenches fit very well. Some years of cars such as my BN2 Healey require confusing combinations of Whitworth & US. I have a early 80's Triumph motorcycle that is all US fasteners. I have an older Kawasaki that requires metric & US.

I just gave up trying to keep track & use which ever wrench fits the best for a given fastener.
D

 

[SilentUnicorn]

i just dissasembled the motor on my 75 1500. i found one fitting( the oil pressure gauge to the block) that neither standard or metric would fit. pulled out the whitworth set and found a wrench to fit it.

here is a link to a comparison chart

https://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/whitworth1.doc


mark

 

[Stretch]

It's been a while since I've had them apart but I seem to remember a number of fasteners were Whitworth on SU carbs and some Lucas components. I also recall reading somewhere that Austin used Whitworth fasteners in many engine applications. The key is to use the same fastener that's removed. If bolts/screws start to get tight after as many as four or five turns, stop. The mechanical integrity can be ruined. Also, I believe that bolts with depressed centers in the heads are UHF (essentially our standard fine thread).

 

[wim janssen]

So to go short: you need a lot of tools when we want to commit self help when tooling our toys (he, how does that sound?)
What do you think of the guys here in Europe?
DIN, SAE, Whit, whatever, it's time to get your gear in order and CLEAN UP that garage.
Sometimes I can go nuts (what I actually do!!) about the non standard of tools. Then the wrenches fly low, I say.
May there rise a clever soul who orders all of us would be mechanics and real ones to use ONE size of tools only, whatever size!!! And that the industry may follow............

Wim Janssen

 

[bradal]

I have always found more Whitworth applications in the carbs. Those brass nuts are a pain to get loose in order to check the oil level in the dash pots without the correct Whitworth wrench, which is the reason that you see them damaged by the use of pliers so often. Other bolts and nuts seem to be SAE standard or fine threaded sizes. AL Bradley

 

[Roger]

Most British manufacture went to SAE (AF)or occasionally UNF threads in the late 40s / early 50s, largely to satisfy demands of the US Export market. It certainly meant we Brits had to buy another set of spanners.
BSW and BSF sizes refer to the bolt shank diameter. Spanners in the UK for SAE were marked AF - American Fine, or "Across Flats" in slang.

Hence the large apparent discrepancy in sizing - one is a measure of shank, the other of head.

[ 01-14-2004: Message edited by: Roger ]</p>