88SS oil flow system

Bacon's Norton Twin Restoration' is the obvious source of info. Some bits:

'Larger pump from 1961'

'three start worm up until 1966'

'from 1966 and engine 116372 rocker oiling taken from pressure side'

The 650cc Nortons were the first with the "S" pump. They were assembled in late 1960 as 1961 models, first of them being numbered 93601. This pump had a bit wider gears but all the oil-ways were the same as the earlier Dominators. The last year for the 88ss was 1966 and that is the first year for the 6-start gears and pressure fed rocker oiling so if any 88ss bikes were put together with those improvements it was very few of them. I thought I read that the 88ss bikes were the first ones to utilize the froth tower on the oil tank.

Since you are putting together a 500cc engine with it's short stroke you do not have to have the "hump back" crankcases for the clearance the 650cc crank needs, and would be able to use any alternator style crankcases, even those from the late 1950s.

Since it is very likely you will never find a set of 1966 88ss crankcases bare in useable condition, you should plan on modifying an older set to racing specification. For the 1964 Daytona races in the USA Dunstall was hired by AMC to build four 88ss road racers. In addition to those four bikes a fifth was entered by Dunstall who had Dick Mann riding for him. In the 200 mile race Dick Mann's bike did not go the distance, but the 88ss bikes which Dunstall had prepared for AMC and which had been shipped to and entered by USA distributor Berliner did finish all their races. Two of them were entered in the 200 mile-long experts race, and the two others taking a first and third in the 100 mile-long amateur event. The engines in these bikes were modified 88ss units using re-worked standard parts, even the camshafts were SS items. So with the parts that you have at hand you could not go too far astray following Dunstall's lead.

The complete paperwork and build-sheets with all details for these 1964 Daytona racers including oil system mods can be seen here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.267296343317638.60571.187441501303123&type=3

The actual 500cc Domiracer bikes built by the Norton works in 1962 and earlier used more one-off parts in their build, including 1.6" and 1.75" rod journals, bucket camshaft followers on needle-bearing cams, and in a few cases rotating-magnet magnetos, alloy cylinders with chrome bores and eccentric rocker-arm adjustment.

The 88ss crank can take a lot of abuse. The 88ss was introduced in the spring of 1961 and it's crankshaft had a much smaller diameter sludge-trap in it than the earlier Dominator crankshafts. It had 1.5" rod journals as all production Dominators and it ran all-alloy connecting rods. The connecting rods can be a weak spot in the engines, especially now 50 years later. Heinz Kegler ran the Norton roadracing effort in the USA for Berliner from late 1962-on. He tuned an ex-works 1962 Daytona 88 for a decade which was fitted with an 88ss crank and steel carrillo rods, these turning out to be more reliable than the works crank and rods the bike originally was equipped with. The Kegler bike ran in a number of Dayntonas, the Canadian Grand Prix and many other lesser road-races over a 10 year span with very good reliability.

Previously wrote:

Hello again - Does anyone know if any of the 88SS models had the modified oil flow and return system like the later 650SS models? If so from which engine number was this done ? ( In this change the timing-side crankcase had a larger diameter oil feed hole and the oil pump was larger capacity to suit. I believe the oil feed to the rockers was also modified and fed directly, rarther than from the scavenge return flow. In this case the rocker spindles were probably different having no scrolls on them? I am not sure but some of the 650's also had a double speed oil pump drive as well - but that may have been an earlier modification.) I am building a period 500 Domiracer using genuine 88SS crank, rods, barrel, cam, followers, pistons, pushrods, downdraught head, notched 10-ball timing-side main etc but find that the crankcases that I had intended to use are a matched pair of 1961 99SS with the small oilways. They are identical to the early 650 cases - so if anyone would care to swap a pair of late genuine 88SS for a very rare set of 99SS please leave me a message here (or call me on 01373 451130.) Cheers for now, Howard.

I have an 88SS engine except for the timing side crank half which has a crack in it. I could break it as it is stripped down if you want the cases. Would you be interested in any more of it? I am in Canada so there would be shipping costs. If you email me at bjpemb@gmail.com I could send you some pictures, the cases are in good condition just a couple of marks around the drive side shaft seal but nothing inside so I guess it stayed in one piece. Cheers, Bill.