1937 Brough Superior 982cc SS80 & Petrol-Tube Sidecar (see text)

Registration no. FWL 826 Frame no. M8 1605 Engine no. BS/X 4642

• One of some 300 AMC-engined SS80s surviving
• Present family ownership since 1954
• Requires re-commissioning/renovation
• Non-matching numbers

Brough entered the 1930s with an entirely JAP-powered range, and then, after a brief absence, the SS80 reappeared in 1935 as the SS80 Special, this time with an engine built by Associated Motor Cycles. Similar to that of the Matchless Model X, the 982cc sidevalve v-twin incorporated Brough's preferred 'knife-and-fork' big-end bearing arrangement instead of the side-by-side connecting rods of the Matchless. The SS80 continued to use the AMC engine until production ceased in 1939, by which time Brough had built 460, of which some 300-or-so survive.

According to Brough Superior Club records, its Works Record Card shows that 'FWL 826' left the factory with frame number 'M8 1909' and engine number 'BS/X 4642'. Since then 'FWL 826' has been rebuilt around frame number 'M8 1605' (taken from another SS80 registered 'BRH 799') and retains its original engine (as marked above). 'FWL 826' was despatched to Layton's of Oxford in December 1937 while 'BRH 799' had gone to Jordan & Co of Hull where it was damaged in an air raid in May 1941 and been presumed lost. Frame number 'M8 1909' still exists in SS80 'FTV 710', which was sold as an incomplete restoration project by Bonhams at Stafford in October 2013 (Lot 395).

In the early post-war years 'FWL 826' was owned in Lancashire by a Mr Boyd, and in 1954 passed to BSC member Jim Smith of Warrington. The family's sole means of transport, the Brough was ridden regularly until the late 1960s when a Minivan was purchased, including holiday trips to Wales and twice-yearly visits to the Isle of Man for the TT and Manx GP. Following Mr Smith's death in October 2001, the Brough passed to his daughter, the current vendor.

Originally a solo, the SS80 is currently attached to a Brough petrol-tube sidecar chassis (number '182') that left the factory when new attached to another SS80 registered 'ETV 331'. The latter was first owned by one A E Briggs, Resident Engineer at Heysham Harbour, Lancashire. The sidecar currently fitted is of unknown make.

'FWL 826' last ran circa 2017 and will require re-commissioning at the very least and possibly more extensive renovation before returning to the road; accordingly, the machine is sold strictly as viewed. Accompanying documentation consists of Brough Superior Club correspondence, an old-style logbook, and a V5C Registration certificate.