Wanted: John Bowkett tuned Meteor

[jirushi]

Hi, I'm still looking for a John Bowkett tuned BSA Meteor.
A needle in a haystack, but who knows!
John tuned many Meteors in the eighties. He doesn't tune them anymore, I have asked.
Cheers, Louis
Ps. The screenshot is from JB's Facebook fanpage.

[Geezer]

You and me and a lot of others!

These things are like hen’s teeth.

[Hsing-ee]

Apparently they were harsh on firing.

A far sweeter tune is Shed Tuner's version, converted to a parachute.

[BSFNUT]

Does J Budd also put in a breech bolt as Bowkett did ?

[johnbaz]

I have a Mercury that was tuned (And customised a bit!), It had an axis bolt/nut fitted among other stuff done, It was done by a gent called Ed Bishop, I think from Essex, It's a lovely rifle and much more positive on the lock up that the other Merc's I have




I was told (If my memory serves) that the axis bolt assembly came from a Haenel but it looks more like a HW affair to me!






Cheers, John

[Bluefan]

I have a Mercury that was tuned (And customised a bit!), It had an axis bolt/nut fitted among other stuff done, It was done by a gent called Ed Bishop, I think from Essex, It's a lovely rifle and much more positive on the lock up that the other Merc's I have




I was told (If my memory serves) that the axis bolt assembly came from a Haenel but it looks more like a HW affair to me!




Cheers, John

That looks very foxy

[Hsing-ee]

Does J Budd also put in a breech bolt as Bowkett did ?

I don't think he does, I think you could just use a shoulder bolt and a nut. Bowkett may have used the HW bolt, which is wider and so some machining is needed. The lock-up on the Meteor is OK, the jaws will spread if you over-tighten the stock bolts or if they see heavy use, the trick is to squeeze them back into alignment with a padded vice with the barrel out. The actual jaws are hollow so you can't thread them, you have to use a bolt and nut.

Mercuries can be retro fitted with a Mercury-S bolt and nut but also need some machining.

[johnbaz]

Have to say that I dislike meteors, I thought the jaws were just very soft but then realised they're a sort of tinplate type construction with an inner yoke brazed or welded in to the outer part, If you look through the pivot holes there's a space between them, not sure if it's the same for all the marks, I've a mk1 and a mk2 but haven't stripped them yet to find out!!

This is a scrap cylinder from a Meteor, Can't remember which type it is though!!







I much preferred the Cadet/Major that preceded the Meteor


John

[greenwayjames]

I don't think he does, I think you could just use a shoulder bolt and a nut. Bowkett may have used the HW bolt, which is wider and so some machining is needed. The lock-up on the Meteor is OK, the jaws will spread if you over-tighten the stock bolts or if they see heavy use, the trick is to squeeze them back into alignment with a padded vice with the barrel out. The actual jaws are hollow so you can't thread them, you have to use a bolt and nut.

Mercuries can be retro fitted with a Mercury-S bolt and nut but also need some machining.

If you read the first four sentences of the text alongside the photo you will see that he did in fact thread the one jaw and the reason why.