HOW TO BUILD A CLASSIC TT RACE BIKE MOLNAR MANX NORTON
“IF ANY MODERN RACER GETS ON A MANX NORTON, AS SOON AS HE SETS OFF DOWN THE ROAD HIS PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT IT BEING SOME OLD BIKE ARE COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY.”
CR: HAVEYOU ALWAYS BEEN MECHANICALLY-MINDED? AM: Yes, I suppose I have. My dad was an engineer and, like now, the engineering works was at the back of the house in the old stables.
My father was a genius – he designed and made very complex packaging machinery. But, he was seriously flawed in that it was always the next project that was of interest.
It was almost like in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – nothing in the house quite worked. It all nearly worked – but it just needed that little bit... and it never quite got that last little bit. But that was my dad.
He was actually the first person to make replica parts for the 250mm Fontana brakes in the very early 1980s. He made the pattern work, did all the designs and drawings and all the bits and pieces – and eventually, after about 18 months to two years he produced a batch of 250 Fontana front brakes, all of which were sold by the time they were made.
He probably made about 30 – but
