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Very nice.  There are likely to be  a few departures from standard,  but you are doing the right thing spending time with the machine to  cement the bond before diving in. As long as it has oil where its needed , a primary chain with  half an inch of slack to avoid  damage to bearings and the engine does not get overheated you won't go far wrong.  Stay away from traffic and enjoy.

Welcome Steve, The bike looks absolutely stunning to me, may you have a long and happy relationship!

Welcome Steve. As others have commented, you have a great looking International.

Just one thing, I would really look closely at your frame number.

My Inter was built in July 1937 and has an engine number about 600 before yours. I think your frame number is more likely to be 85502 as mine, as confirmed by the production records is 81764. A frame number of 35502 would date the frame to 1929. Your frame has the turned up radiussed front bottom cradle which is correct for a 1937 frame.

Hi Steve,

Best site, apart from what is on this site, is vintagenorton.com operated by Simon and John.

You can zero in on a particular year and model and they have plenty of photos.

Send me a personal message by clicking on my name and we can discuss in more detail than on the forum.

regards, Ian

If your frame is hard stamped with number 3 and the registration document matches the frame...leave well alone! You don't want to stir up the proverbial hornet's nest in today's world.

As said above, the usual steering damper was the Andre damper, which sits with its friction discs above the fork. In the early 30's the reaction arm was bolted to the tank top. By the mid 30's there was a lug on the back of the head crown to take it. You should have the lug. Replica dampers are sold. Try 'racingvincent' web site if you feel the need. After the War they fitted the type you have, but by then they had telescopic forks.

Those bikes were used and abused on track and elsewhere and would all have been dropped a few times. 

I believe tank support brackets are sold, but they would not be difficult to make.  I think your front one is already an alloy flat bar.

Frankly I wouldn't worry too much about originality.  It is difficult enough to achieve if you have easy access to a museum bike of the same period, and most of those are not as they left the factory. Other Inter owners will or should admire it for what it is. Those who snipe will do so out of a mixture of envy and ignorance!

How does it GO?!

Its going to be a facinating voyage of discovery  to unravel  the life and history of a machine like this.  Are the engine and frame  a pair ?  Did they start life together?. Was the bike smashed and broken and the parts seperated for years ,possibly in different ownership, to be re-united by a chance advert . How much of the bike has been  recreated by an enthusiast working in a shed over a lifetime?.All possible.   The chance that its mostly an orriginal bike thats been restored  is slim. Lets hope it works as well as it looks  .We eagerly await the Head cam vid with enhanced sound effects  of riding with the Brooklands can !!.

Engine and frame numbers were generally not very far from each other..to a few thousand...but did not match until the number sequences started again after the war.  Gearbox numbers were entirely separate.

If you look at the back of the gearbox you should find it stamped with the ratios it left the factory with. Inters generally had close ratio boxes. Kick start boxes have a lower bottom gear, which helps in town or hilly country. Standard touring ratios (much the same as Commando) make more sense, but possibly devalue the bike!

If you have a toolbox like yours, the numbers aren't very easily seen anyway. And the internals might not even match the box numbers.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. My experience has been that the Best cosmetically restored bikes are usually the worst  for mechanical bodge ups !!  I would now only be interested in a machine that exhibits the signs of lots of regular use.

Will clear up a lot of your numbers issues. Chris Streather is the man behind the certs for your bike and is well versed in what you need. As David says, don’t get hung up on numbers or originality, very few if any are as shipped.  I will look up my collection to see if there are specific 1937 details listed.  My own model 30M is 1937 but has extensively altered over its life.
What you have is a beautiful riding machine. You can tweak the details as you go.

Cheers

Jon

Hi Steve,

What I was going to discuss with you is I think you may have unknowingly identified your frame.

I believe it is a 1946 Model 18 overhead valve frame as this would be identified by the following description:

(i)  A small letter A.  This is the year code for 1946

(ii)  A number 3. This is the model designation for a Model 18 which was a rigid frame 500cc overhead valve single.

(iii)  A space and then the actual frame number which in 1946 started at 1001 and finished around 7200 give or take. Your number 5502 fits this perfectly.

In 1946, girder forks were still fitted and the brake was on the right hand side.

My sales catalogue shows the brake cable adjuster high up where yours is as well.

There are a number of differences between o.h.c. and o.h.v./s.v. frames making It difficult to fit the engine in the roadster frame so the previous owner has done a good job. Look at the petrol tank mounting, seat spring fixing and the additional bracket for the muffler.

I wouldn't do anything to the bike. Just enjoy the ownership of an o.h.c. Norton

Hi Steve,

Firstly we should really transfer this discussion to the Singles section of the forum.

I've attached a couple of photos from "The Roadholder" sales catalogue for 1937. Note the Andre steering damper which required a specific mounting point at the top of the frame just behind the bearings.

I can scan the photos in high def. when I get your email sddress.

Ian here are a few shots under my tank to show the mount platform. 

Hi Steve,

   I can visually confirm Ian's identification of your frame as a 1946 Model 18. International rigid frames were not made after 1939 except for specific competition specials. The Model 18 has different tube lengths and lugs to an Inter and this gives the bike a different stance. See attached photo of a 1937 Inter. It may give you more insight if you look in the Singles section of this forum and the post titled "Looking at pre-war Internationals".