And it was all going so well…

The Royal Ruby

Resident in Cambridgeshire for all its life, this Royal Ruby was first registered in 1919. Discovered in Milton, just north of Cambridge, by two lads from the city, it needed full restoration. Overall, the lightweight was sound, but its fuel tank was poor, with lots of rust pits and even holes to its upper faces, and with a poor base too. Doubtless, when the machine was confined to its long term storage in the 1920s, traces of fuel remained in the tank, which, during the winters, attracted condensation, causing severe rusting to the bottom panel. And probably a scenario like the above accounts for the rusting and pin holes to its upper surfaces.

The Royal Ruby was fully restored, with its tank patched. Work included cladding the majority of the base with another section of sheet steel, applying patches to odd, larger upper holes, and solder-filling the rest. Rebuild complete, the single speeder entered and competed in a number of Banbury and other runs and was often ridden to and from venues. In a day it often clocked up 200-plus miles. Circa 1967, its big end failed and it was taken off the road to rebuild again one day.

After its owner died, the project passed to a good friend, John, who undertook a full restoration in 2003. While much of the machine remained sound – including chassis, exhaust system, levers handlebars etc – the tank had deteriorated, in part due its poor condition when first restored in the early 1960s, then vibration during its extensive use in the early to mid-1960s, although the repairs effected during the first restoration remained sound.

Using the route of lining the tank extensively with a then well-known two-pack tank liner served both to stop up any holes and also