Sprint Special

[dave bushell]

Anyone know the capacity of the tapered biscuit barrel Sprint Special tank?
Thanks. Dave

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

The ones I have owned all seemed to vary a bit in size and shape, but the average capacity was around 1.25 gallons at most.
Brian

[dave bushell]

Thanks Brian. I’ll just have to fill it to be sure.
Dave

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

I’ve had five Sprint Specials, and also rode the ex-John Hartshorne, ex-John Griffith, ex-Doug Wright bike (now with Martin Heckscher) quite a bit. Looking down on the tanks from above, some were the same shape as a Super Squirrel tank, and some were egg-shaped. Looking at them from the side some had parallel seams, and others were tapered. As the bikes were made on a bespoke basis by the Competition Department, for different sports, as well as fast road work, it is not surprising that they vary so much. Then A E Reynolds made his own Sprint tanks too, being ready and willing to make up a Sprint Special from the single-downtube framed 1931-1933 Flying Squirrel Sports Model. Many original tanks rotted out over the years, and replacements have been made by a number of willing folk. Jack Butterworth made me one years ago, using a pair of stainless steel pressings made by another member. No wonder there is so much variation.
If you get one that has rotted through at the bottom, they are usually firmly stuck on the seat tube with more corrosion, being virtually impossible to remove without cutting them to pieces. Plenty of grease on the seat tube when fitting a tank !
I recently supplied John Rose with a John Underhill drawing for Super Squirrel oval tanks, which could no doubt also be used for Sprint Special tanks with minor alterations. I don’t know if John has managed to locate the elusive press tool required to make the tops and bottoms, but if anyone needs a tank he would be the first person to try.
Brian

[John Rose]

As far as I am aware, the press tooling is held by Graham Moag, who has the job in hand.
Graham will be able to advise when top and bottom pressings are available for two speeder tank construction. I would like to make up a few tanks when the ends are ready.
John

[dave bushell]

Hi Brian
From above, my tank is the same shape as a Super Squirrel but the side view is tapered. Fortunately there is no rust, but not only that, there is no tube running through the tank, instead at the rear of the tank there is a “U” shaped channel that fits around the saddle tube and is closed off by a cover plate held on by four 1/4″ bolts.
Dave

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi Dave, I think, but am not sure, that you have a tank made by A E Reynolds, or perhaps Hemmings. Certainly much easier to remove/refix ! What is your removable rear chainstay frame section like ? Is it all tubular ? Or does the bit under the saddle consist of a big cast lug incorporating mounting holes for saddle springs, with a forward projection with a hole for mounting the nose of the saddle? At the bottom end of your seat pillar tube does the lug have a square shoulder for the tank to sit on, or does it taper off ?
Brian

[dave bushell]

Hi Brian. I acquired the tank off Ebay, so don’t know it’s origin. The removable rear stay section is part tubular with the upper part a cast section. The frame was Derek Shire’s “Eggboiler IV” sprinter and had most lugs taken off and different ones brazed on. The seat tube was modified to hold oil with two take-offs, one each side.
Dave

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

I had another of Derrick Shire’s “Ye Olde Egg Boiler” Sprint Specials, the last one he had, and in road trim, but no kickstart provision. When he died, in November 1997, Margaret sold it to David Earnshaw, who in turn sold it to John Thompson, and I bought it from him. It had a Hemmings ‘Paramount’ nine-stud head/barrel assembly, with a solid copper head gasket, and it went well for a short-stroke engine. I wonder what became of his supercharged sprint bike, the one with Douglas ‘Radiadraulic’ front forks. I have all his photo albums (4) and various Sprint Specials feature in them, but no doubt some are just reincarnations of the same bike, much modified over the years.
Brian

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