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9/19/08 (note the slow pace, but it's due to budget constraints)
Back to work, and plenty to report:
Got in the replacement cylinders, they are at .040, but will hone out nicely without going to the next overbore. Boring to .060 over should be saved for "worst case" scenarios.
New pipes, hex head sump plug, throttle cable and 2nd footpeg rubber-
Powdercoated stuff needed a bit of welding to fix places where the chain had sawed into the swingarm and a crack (sorry I forget to get a photo), all spiffed up now-
Rims re-chromed and ready to send for lacing with new spoke nipples, also re-chromed fork seal cups& kickstart lever-
9/23/08 (Around this time, Ned informed me that his wife was pregnant, so the funds and the project pace were going to move even slower.)
Well, a bit of bad news, although not TOO bad...
The springs were overheated and need to be replaced
Guides were all loose in their bores, definitely explains the smoking (picture here shows them pulled out with bare fingers. They'll have to be replaced with oversize bits-
One valve was a bit bent and burned, sticking to the guide
That guide was wallowing around in it's bore, it'll probably need an even bigger oversize replacement
All the valves are worn and need replacing; pretty significant oil burning
So, a total valve job is in order with all new parts except the seats, collets & keepers that were all serviceable.
The head itself looks okay other than the worn out valve guide bores, the seats are not too badly sunken that they can't be re-cut, and the head is not badly warped or trashed, so it can be re-faced.
The replacement cylinders will clean up okay, but MIGHT need to go to .060. At least they won't be at max overbore of .080.
Assembly will start real soon with the chassis work first.
Note the different front hub; Ned and I discussed options, and he decided on an upgrade to a '69 front hub & TLS brake that I had in my pile of spares.
Forks ready to go back together with all the appropriate new bits present and accounted for EXCEPT I seem to have lost track of one of the restrictor cones!
Ummmmmm..... Does this look right to you?
Both springs had been cut, and unevenly at that! I found a good pair on a spare set of forks I had on the shelf.
Almost done, just need the other restrictor and I'll nip 'em both up and pop the fork assembly onto the chassis next week.
Had to cut a slot in the ground-down sludge trap plug to remove it, found it to be about 40% blocked with crud-
Tore up the trap tube getting it out, along with over a tablespoon of gunk-
New tube in place after flushing the crank really well, running hard wire through the oilways, and scraping out the trap. You can just see the tipped nose of the flywheel bolt, Loctited in place-
New allen-head plug Loctited & peened in place-
Machinist will dress everything up when he re-balances the crank.
Cylinders are done, and the pistons are here. Just waiting on the Right main crank bushing to get re-sized to the crank, and the bottom end will go back together. I expected the shop to call today with the crank & bushing done, but they haven't called yet and it's already 4:45.
Head gasket face resurfaced to clean up as much corrosion as possible; what's left are just blemishes-
I'm completely confident in the finish. The area between the cylinder wall and the circle is near perfect, and the slight staining outside the circle is no problem. There is no actual pitting, the machinist kept cutting 'till it was clean, and he advised me that a .001 reduction of the deck would be insignificant to the compression and operation. Miguel has been doing my stuff for about 30 years with zero issues; he's also the ONLY machinist that the local bike shops trust their engine internals with.
FINALLY got the cases and crank back with the new bushing and crank perfectly matched.
I also found a properly oversized valve guide that the machinist will be able to turn down to install in the one wallowed out guide bore that was overbored to correct.
Engine build will start on Monday, after everything is lined out and the workbench space cleaned and cleared.
Came out to my office to find that the UPS guy had delivered a box and just set it in my office last night, instead of knocking on the door of the house. Anyway, dug out the bearing shells, went out into the shop and OF COURSE, THEY ARE THE WRONG BLOODY BEARINGS! .030 OVERsize instead of .030 UNDERsize.
They're sending me the right parts on priority so I guess it'll be Monday before the bottom end FINALLY goes together.
Sorry, but it's "nobody's" fault, the package was marked correctly, items in the box were the incorrect parts. I HATE when that happens.
Had some fun installing the tappet guide blocks. Instead of the old setup - two blocks each with one broken lip and one chunk cracked off the top corners, I found and replaced one in perfect shape and a second one with both lips and a smaller chip off only one top corner.
Piston rings needed to be end gapped, I took them to .011 (book calls for .010 - .014). The rest was easy.
Tomorrow, the head will be done and the engine will be sitting in the rolling chassis, at least. If I'm not totally worn out, I'll get more done.
Got the head back from the machine shop, they had a heck of a time repairing the wallowed out guide hole and had to construct a new oversize guide from a real nice candidate that I happened to have from an incorrect order for a '53 iron head pre-unit 6T.
Really nice work to match the profile, length and outside diameter for a perfect fit!
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