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| The 1930 type 49 Amal Binks. Very similar at first glance to the 1930 Type 6 Amal |
-SG- It is probably common knowledge among those with an interest in the twenties period, that Binks, Amac and Brown and Barlow agreed to join forces in late 1927, to form Amalgamated Carburetters Ltd. (name changed to Amal Ltd about 1933). However, the new designs did not appear on the scene until the end of the following year, ready for the 1929 season. Initially the company produced needle type carburetters in brass supposedly embodying the best features of the Amac and B and B designs and these were designated the types 4, 5 and 6, depending on size. The type 6 became - after a few modifications along the way including a change of material to Mazak - the type 76 and towards the end of the thirties, after yet more changes, the 276. The types 6, 76 and 276 were all used throughout the very late twenties, thirties and forties by Nortons both on 350s and 500s. And to answer the 'yes, but' brigade, the type 29 carburetter, with a bore size starting at 1 3/32" and going up to 1 1/4", joined the line-up in 1930, becoming the 89 and then 289, as the decade and modifications progressed. The 29, 89 and 289 (bore 1 3/32") were standard wear on '30s CS1s, according to one of my Amal Information sheets.
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| The 1930 type 49 Amal Binks partly dismantled |
I am not embarking on the seemingly undocumented trail which leads to the TT Amal carburetter of the early thirties and later, save to say that it appears to be a direct development of the final version of the 1928 needle type TT Amac, while the Amal type 27 needle-less carb. (introduced in 1929) owes its design features to the earlier - needle-less - TT Amac.
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| The type 49 with other parts - the air slides upper left and the 1929 type 9 throttle slide and top/slide guide, centre. |
But what of the Binks designs? The new company continued to produce the two jet types 7, 8 and 9 for 1929, looking at first glance like a regular Amal and using the Amal float-chamber, but internally being entirely on the Binks principles. And these changes affected Nortons, whose CS1 and ES2 models had been fitted with Binks' own two jet carbs. (with a bore of around 1 3/32") since production began in late 1927. What happened was simple - the two jet Binks was replaced by the new 'Amalised' versions, the types 7, 8 and 9, complete with Amal float chambers, and this appears to have taken place early in 1929. And the 1 3/32" bore version of the largest size - the type 9 - was used by Nortons on the CS1s and ES2s.
I find it rather strange that despite the substantial number of CS1s and ES2s despatched in 1929, I do not think I have ever seen one of the quite numerous survivors still fitted with its original Amal Binks carb. Why this is, I don't know! Anyone out there who reads this and is still using an Amal Binks, please let us know. Incidentally, this is not the case with the 1928 models where a few still have the original Binks carb. in place.
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| Type 49 body, jet block (top), lower union nut, top ring, throttle slide, and (cracked) top/slide guide. |
The early '29 unrestored CS1 which has been on the site previously (Alf's at the time, but now Mick's, following Alf's death last year) came without a carburetter BUT the throttle and air cables were still in place and attached to the ends thereof were an Amal Binks top ring, top/slide guide, air slide and throttle slide. It has been established that these all formed part of a 1929 type 9 Amal Binks carburetter. Alf could not believe his luck when he managed to buy on e-bay a 1930 version of this carburettor (type 49), which although more or less all there and complete with Amal float chamber, had a broken slide guide which had been glued up. What was rather irritating was the fact that the 1930 versions of the Amal-Binks differ slightly from the 1929 versions and as a result Alf's original and quite good parts don't fit straight onto the 1930 version. However, it looks as if a few minor modifications can be carried out to make this happen and Mick and I are working towards this.
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| Type 49 throttle slide, jet block (underside) and lower union nut. |
Mick has taken photos of the carb. parts and the outwardly similar appearance to a regular Amal is apparent straightaway. The top/slide guide and throttle and air slides are all very close to the original Binks versions, while the small jet block carrying the pilot jet and main jet is an Amal idea, and as with the type 6 carbs., it is held in place by the same bottom union nut. The float chamber seems to be the standard 1930 bottom feed type - I think unchanged from '29. Apart from the fact that the top ring and top/slide guide differ between '29 and '30 models, the 1930 type 49 incorporated a throttle stop screw on the side of the body, a feature also of the 1930 versions of the Amal types 4,5, 6 and 29.
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| A 1931 photo from my files of the Type 49, showing the throttle stop screw - similar to, but not quite the same as, the Amal Type 6 etc. |