does anyone want to take a wild guess at what they think the restoration of the Norton cost the two sons. I bet there wallets are quite a bit lighter,
Very weird. I have a customer who must have seen that video, because he brought me a Norton for restoration under similar circumstances. It's not for his father, but for another close relative. Just like the one in the video, the bike was obtained as part trade for money owed and has been sitting in a warehouse in junk condition since around 1980. And just like in the video, the owner doesn't even realize it's missing.
All of the mechanical parts are readily available new. But the missing body parts have been a real challenge, because the bike is one of around 200 made. It's a John Player Norton, just like the one owned by Jay Leno. This is what it looked like when he rolled it into my shop. Fairly complete, but the engine and trans and most other mechanical parts were junked by the PO's "rebuild" attempts.
It turned out to need a frame-up resto, and I'm about halfway done with it. Here's what it'll look like when finished. Value? Maybe $15k or a bit more, and that's about what it's going to cost him.
Stu O
