1937 MAC 350cc

This machine was built from a large quantity of MAC spares I'd accumulated in the 70s, plus the remains of one man's racing efforts in Northern Victoria that included 14 sets of crankcases, uncounted barrels and heads and other odd engine parts.

I sat down one day and sifted through all the engine parts, taking into account the least worn, and what I considered the best looking cams and followers, as well as a piston and barrel. The best set of crankcases were chosen, many of them having suffered race damage, and so the engine was assembled! The same process eliminated several broken and/or repaired gearbox shells and doubtful clutch parts.

I had several frames, only one of which was straight and undamaged. All the forks that I had were less than perfect, but I chose the least worn set and straightened them. I made new fork links and fitted new spindles that I had in stock. Mudguards were over the counter blanks, the rear being modified in the style of Velocette practice. All the relevant components were stove enamelled, assembled with the newly built engine and gearbox, and the bike was fired up.

After a bit of fettling it proved to be quite a potent machine – but it was only raced, quite successfully, on two occasions, mostly due to the fact that at this point in my life, I was resident in SE Asia most of the time, and Glenda's life style was changing also.

It was later decided to convert the bike to a road machine and this was done, once more using components from the junk box, or reproduced as in the case of the tool box. Ignoring the purists, the electrical system was converted to 12 volts using a voltage doubler black box, and in the absence of a Miller headlamp a Lucas unit was used, and Yamaha direction indicators fitted together with a more realistic tail lamp. The switch gear originated from a Honda step through, and a modern battery was concealed in an old hard rubber case.

The MAC was never registered as had been intended, and so it sat in the Velocette line-up in our display area for several years, being moved to our new home at Briagolong when I retired in 1984. Glenda married and moved around Queensland for several years but now, with three teenage children, she has finally returned to Victoria and built a new home at Stratford, Gippsland, near the rest of the family. As is inevitable, the MAC has found a new home with an enthusiast down the valley, and the proceeds of the sale could now be anything from tiles, paint or a washing machine!