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  • strange engine

    Hi folks. I've heard of a machine which seems to have a non-standard engine, and I'm wondering if it was ever fitted as a limited run option. The bike is a 1956 20S, and the strange fitting is a 225cc 1H engine. Was this a factory fitted engine or has someone built a bitza? Mr Sparrow's excellent book makes no mention of a 1H being used.

  • #2
    Originally posted by TerryS View Post
    Hi folks. I've heard of a machine which seems to have a non-standard engine, and I'm wondering if it was ever fitted as a limited run option. The bike is a 1956 20S, and the strange fitting is a 225cc 1H engine. Was this a factory fitted engine or has someone built a bitza? Mr Sparrow's excellent book makes no mention of a 1H being used.
    Its a bitza, Greeves never fitted the 1H engine. It may have been the one that came up on eBay in July 2014 in Aldeburgh, this one but the pics have been deleted now http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/greeves-mo...p2047675.l2557

    I also have a record of a 1H engined 1957 20T with an S McCarthy, Lincs in 2015 frame number of which is 7049T.
    Last edited by John Wakefield; 18/03/2016, 12:02 AM.

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    • #3
      Thanks, John, now I know. Terry.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by John Wakefield View Post
        Its a bitza, Greeves never fitted the 1H engine. It may have been the one that came up on eBay in July 2014 in Aldeburgh, this one but the pics have been deleted now http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/greeves-mo...p2047675.l2557

        I also have a record of a 1H engined 1957 20T with an S McCarthy, Lincs in 2015 frame number of which is 7049T.
        In the book Villiers by Carrick and Walker on page 267 it says 1H 799A was supplied to Greeves. It may not have been fitted of course.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Stuart Baskill View Post
          In the book Villiers by Carrick and Walker on page 267 it says 1H 799A was supplied to Greeves. It may not have been fitted of course.
          Yes the 1H 799A engine is listed in the appendix as being supplied to Greeves (no model specified though) & to James for the K12 Colonel. This listing was composed by Rob Carrick from a number of sources & is known to have some inaccuracies & maybe typing errors. There were also lots of engine serial numbers that were omitted because they were not known at the time of publication. I spoke to Rob on a number of occasions informing him of other serial number that I had come across, & he likewise had come across some more himself.
          If any engines were supplied to Greeves it would almost certainly been for evaluation purposes, as to my knowledge there are no records of any Greeves model being fitted with a 1H. Unfortunately we cant ask Rob for the source of his information on this particular listing as he is no longer with us. RIP Rob
          Last edited by John Wakefield; 19/03/2016, 11:37 PM.

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          • #6
            Strange engine.

            A few years I put a 1H engine into a DC frame as a temporary measure to recover it's reg.no. The exhaust port is near central therefore partly obscured by the frame beam,making exhaust pipe bend very acute.Perhaps this is one reason Greeves did not use this engine. Les.

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            • #7
              1H engine

              Greeves may have evaluated it for Invacar use.

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              • #8
                1H engined Greeves

                This 1H engined DC was seen at the 2016 Lincolnshire Wolds Run at East Kirkby Aviation Museum on 30th April. Is it a members bike?
                Attached Files

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by John Wakefield View Post
                  This 1H engined DC was seen at the 2016 Lincolnshire Wolds Run at East Kirkby Aviation Museum on 30th April. Is it a members bike?
                  I have recently had an email from Stewart McCarthy who is the owner of the yellow Greeves seen at East Kirkby air musem. The frame number is 7049/T from a 20T trials bike & fitted with a 1H engine, but the back end looks like a DC, so a 'mix & match' special.
                  Stewart would like a bit more go so wonders if he can fit a 2T 3T or 4T twin, and where could he get some engine plates.
                  To my knowledge the 1H (and 2H) singles use the same fixing as the twins so I would think that its a simple job to swop engines using the existing engine plates, obviously a new exhaust system would be needed. Can anyone confirm this & would the chain line be correct?
                  Last edited by John Wakefield; 11/02/2017, 10:45 AM.

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                  • #10
                    I see you are selling your 1H special Stewart McC https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254614292...i4SfIHhQMkmo9s Nice bike for the back lanes and as the 1H uses same engine mounts (as I mentioned in my earlier thread) as the 2T 3T & 4T twins it would be a straight forward job to fit one of these.
                    Attached Files

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                    • #11
                      Back on eBay due to a time waster https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Greeves-R...wAAOSwh9de8lC~

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                      • #12
                        For sale on Car & Classic in Lancashire for £3495 seller says 'immaculate show winner' https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1241582

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                        • #13
                          I put a 1H (225cc) in a Greeves Roadster frame about 3 years ago but it was much heavier than the 197 8e it replaced so not really any faster. I had to set the engine back to get exhaust clearance. I did find a reference in an old motorcycle magazine to a trails result for a 225cc Greeves so maybe there was
                          one !

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Stevefromleicester View Post
                            I put a 1H (225cc) in a Greeves Roadster frame about 3 years ago but it was much heavier than the 197 8e it replaced so not really any faster. I had to set the engine back to get exhaust clearance. I did find a reference in an old motorcycle magazine to a trails result for a 225cc Greeves so maybe there was
                            one !
                            No I dont think so, that would probably have been a bored out 9E, the 1H as you say was a very heavy engine with no more power than a 9E and gears not suitable for trials. The 1H was never fitted by Greeves in any type of bike, it was mainly used by Francis Barnett in their models 71 & 75 Cruiser, and James in the K12 Colonel. Frankly I cant see why Villiers bothered to make a 1H or its bigger brother the 2H (250cc)

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by John Wakefield View Post

                              No I dont think so, that would probably have been a bored out 9E, the 1H as you say was a very heavy engine with no more power than a 9E and gears not suitable for trials. The 1H was never fitted by Greeves in any type of bike, it was mainly used by Francis Barnett in their models 71 & 75 Cruiser, and James in the K12 Colonel. Frankly I cant see why Villiers bothered to make a 1H or its bigger brother the 2H (250cc)
                              I think that the 1H came out several years before the 2T was available.I tried a 1H in a 1956 20T in the mid 1980,s in trials and it was almost as useless as I was.It was a decent road bike though.Villiers hadn,t made a twin for years before the 2T came out.I think that they copied the Excelsior Talisman twin a lot. Villiers did supply Greeves with one 1H engine.Probably they hoped that Greeves would use them.

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