1958 Enfield/Indian Trailblazer - Kustom Cafe Racer Project

AgentX said:
Just leave it chrome, man. White's gonna get all funked up after the first week and draw attention to itself. The bike is awesome, but let's not get too precious with things, especially the way you plan to ride it.
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Right, which is why I didn't spend the extra time to make sure the gas tank is 100% perfect. It's 95% perfect, but that last 5% would've taken another 6 hours to do. Plus the guy who taught me how to paint also drag raced cars and once said "Never paint a race car/bike perfect. It's bad luck." ;)


Peter at Bedlam Werks is really kicking some ass on my seat pan! I spoke with him on the phone this afternoon and we went over the final measurements and touched based on a couple of items before starting the final welding and finish work. It does look obese compared to a CB750, but keep in mind that this is an old school British twin, and the frame itself is 10.5" wide in the seat area. She going to be sexy when it's done., and it's looking like it will be finished before the end of the week!



 
The seat pan is finished! A HUGE thank you and shout out to Bedlam Werks! Absolutely superb work and great people to work with, highly recommended.


 
Well ummm..... I never want to hear the words "bad ass" again. Ever.

Like I said I had thought about using this nice trench coat that has 2 large panels without seams. But after seeing that I think I'm just going to skin it with Gorilla tape.
 
Well, it going to be a very busy week this week or 2. My spare set of heads showed up yesterday and look to be in better shape than what is on there, so I need to tear them down, degrease/decoke them, drill out the stud holes to 3/8", put them on the belt sander to make sure they are true, find the best 4 valves out of the the 2 sets of heads and lap them in and reassemble. Head gaskets are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and tomorrow after work I am picking up a set of Emgo shocks that I found on CL. Some guy in my neighborhood bought them for a project and never installed them and only wants $50, I figure for the price I can't pass them up. Then of course, the new seat pan should arrive any day next week. After I get it fitted I'll need to prep for paint and then shoot it. Busy Busy!
 
Got the Emgo shocks installed this morning. I was skeptical because they are only 2" wide and very skinny compared to stock, tho they are listed for a Triumph 650. I offered $40 and he accepted. When I first installed them I put the preload on the 3rd notch and I couldn't even get the suspension to compress. So I lowered to the first notch and they feel really good. Only issue is that the extra 1/2" makes the center stand barely touch. So I'm going to weld some pieces of pipe to the bottom of the AVL stand I purchased over the summer until it's the correct height.




 
I got a lot done yesterday! Tuesday, I disassembled my spare set of heads, cleaned them up good without going crazy over shine, and took them to a local head builder, Heads By Drew. After a thorough examination it was determined that the valves stems are worn, the stem tops were hammered, the guides are worn and the seats are hammered. We came to the conclusion that I was going to have to spend a few hundred, or nothing at all, to make these heads work. Drew was nice enough to grind the valve stem tops to make them flat and smooth again.




So yesterday, I started lapping the valves using a cordless drill. I put the drill on top of the valve stem and then spun the valve while pushing in and out on the valve face in 1 second intervals. The intakes only took about 1 minute each of grinding, but the exhaust valves took about 3 minutes each. All said and done, with the valves reassembled there is no light shining thru the seats, nor does any brake cleaner leak past the seats. Saved them!!!!! ;D





With the top end reassembled, the left cylinder is good for 115psi and the right cylinder a healthy 150psi. I'm hoping after I warm her up and do a hot torque that the left cylinder will come up a little bit in compression. If not, no worries, I'm still doing better than I was when I first put this bike together 2 years ago. :)

Also, the Bedlam Werks seat pan arrived yesterday!!! I need to change the mounts, but boy is it sexy!!! 8)


 
I would think you would do a proper job on cylinder heads after the time and money spent on rest of bike
Using a power drill, even cordless is never a good idea even if it is 'quicker'
You will put lnes and steps into valve seat and valve face only spinning in one direction
Have you checked valve clearances since starting motor to heat cycle it?
You'll probably find clearances have tightened up as valve sinks deeper into head.
Personally I've never got worn guides and stems to give a good reliable seal, valve moves around too much due to rocker arm motion
Worst case scenario, you loosen adjusters to get clearance and rocker arm catches on spring retainer edge.
Things get seriously bad if it happens
 
In the day you could get undersize valve guides from Enfield and then reamer them to your valve stem size.

Hitchcocks / similar might be worth a call.
 
I realize my unconventional method of lapping is not ideal, but it worked. As far as my budget goes, you could say I'm pulling dollar bills from the end of the rainbow shooting out of my ass. The plan has always body work this year, engine next year. If the lapping didn't work I was going to roll my bike into the corner until I had $2500 saved for the new motor.

And I avoid Hitchcock's like the plague, with their over-inflated prices, conversion rates and cheap products. I only use them now when I absolutely have to.
 
I GOT A LOT DONE TODAY!!! :D

A member of the Royal Enfield forum sent me a brand new Dunstall that he had bought for his Bullet before he sold it but never installed it. So a huge thank you to him for helping me complete the classic race exhaust! ;) I welded it directly the head pipe, since I always remove the exhaust with the muffler attached anyway, and gave it a nice little kick out. It comes back and exits even with the rear tire and is 66" in total length. He had already packed the core with fiberglass, and while extremely quiet, it chocked the motor out so bad the bike didn't want to run or even rev. So after consulting with my Enfield performance guy on the phone I decided to remove all the fiberglass and cut the core down to a mere 3" in length, compared to 24". The throttle response is crisp and has a real nice bark out the exhaust. I am really liking the new exhaust as a whole, and between that, the heads, and the dry clutch set up (attempt) I am super excited to get out for a test ride. ;D


Here's a video of the exhaust. :)
http://youtu.be/3i2h4BlEYW0


And after work today I got the new Bedlam Werks seat pan installed on the bike.... Fucking Sexy! 8)











 
Well, not trying to pick a fight or anything but I think I know way more about being broke than you do I grew up broke. ;)
I'm Welsh, working class, grew up as the collieries (coal mines) were closing and railways being shut down, very little 'new' industry moved in
Got laid off in 2011,only had two weeks work since then.
Fighting with Workman's Comp insurance company about back injury and arm injury, multiple of surgeries,etc (see avatar, 3-1/2 yrs so far :( )
You can DIY motor a lot cheaper, it isn't too difficult but you would need a few special tools.
eBay would work for a few of them, don't need to be RE specific.
Valve guide drift is just a piloted drift.
Valve guides can be made from phosphor bronze or silicon bronze bar, buy the bar and find someone with lathe (craigslist, etc it's real simple turning job)
You would need to buy a reamer and tap handle to turn it.
You could measure valve stems and have guides made to fit the worn valves (as long as they are not too oval?)
Even if you bought a valve seat cutter or three it would come out way less than $2,500.00 and you could have a pretty much 'race' quality head repair
Pretty sure you could DIY it for less than the cost of the seat pan
 
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