Starting on the Heinkel

It has taken me many months, but I've finally gotten around to starting work on the Heinkel. Making use of the Christmas holiday break, I dragged the boxes of parts out under the shade of the Robinia tree and with a couple of litres of degreaser and a wire brush started the clean up. Apart from the chassis and body work, there were four boxes of parts for the Heinkel. One contained the wheels and two spare tyres, in surprisingly good condition. One box contained most of an engine, one contained miscellaneous parts, largely related to the dashboard and controls, and there was a box of miscellaneous engine parts. I pulled out all the parts, categorized them, photographed them and then, where appropriate began cleaning them up to determine if they were salvageable. It was clear as I worked through the boxes that this machine has been cannibalized for spare parts as some integral parts were missing, such as the rocker arms for the engine (but the valves were all still in place). It also became apparent that I had parts from two different models - likely my 102-a1 and a 103-a1. This became quite obvious when I placed the two swing arms (drive chains) beside each other. They are noticeably different sizes. This is because Heinkel increased the wheel size from 8inch to 10inch when they released the 103-a1.

What I now know I have is:

• One full engine, minus all the mechanics at the top end
• One full set of engine seals
  
• Two spare cylinders and a spare head
  
• About quarter of a second engine (but with almost all the working parts removed)
• Two complete swing arms (for a 102 & a 103)
• Two full clutch sets and third set of clutch discs
• Two dashboards (one very badly battered)
• One hand brake control
• One foot brake
  
• One lights control
• Two wheels
• One brake drum (fully functional)
• One intact petrol tap
• Two Pallas carburetters (one missing about half its parts)
• Two engine mounting braces
  
• One petrol tank (but rusted)
  
• One complete chassis, footplate, and body work (minus seat)
• One complete headlamp
• Part of a set of indicators and rear light assembly
  
• One Heinkel flying wing symbol
  
• An assortment of other miscellaneous bits and pieces.

So, what do I need? Thanks to the good folk at the Heinkel-Club Deutschland I have a full schematic and list of available parts for the 102-A1. I've since taken several passes through the catalogue and produced a list of parts I require. It's quite long and, when it's all added up, quite expensive. In summary, the parts I need:

• Engine top end
• Exhaust and air filter
• Bike stand
• Rear shock absorber and fender
• Front brake drum
• Seat
• All handlebar controls
• Bowden cables
• Wiring harness, electrics, etc
• And some miscellaneous stuff.

Some of the items I'm sourcing from ebay.de at the moment because they can be found cheaper, although this is a bit hit and miss. Most parts from ebay are second hand and some occasionally prove to be in no better condition than the parts I'm replacing. It's all part of the fun.