67 BSA Spitfire "Stay Clean"

Nice bike! I'll be watching this one for sure. I'd love to do a brit bike project but the donor bike would be so expensive. Heading to England in a few weeks to do some riding with my dad, he has a couple of BSA's a Rocket Goldstar 650 and a 500 Goldstar so I'll giving them a bit of a thrashing.
 
I've been told that the oil probably gravity fed from the tank to the sump because it has sat so long. And draining the excess oild from the sump may take care of at least the smoking issue.
AND last night I stepped up to the 21 century and replaced the old flip phone with it's shitty video (no sound) with a Droid 4... So a video is definately in the future!
 
Congrats on your new find! I didn't even notice you recently made this purchase. I saw the BSA in your sig on your last post and thought, that must be new. I am on board as well!
 
Yes wet sumping is common on British bikes with dry sump system. You can run it slowly and it will pump it all back to the tank in a few minutes if your pump is working. Open the oil tank and watch for oil returning if not shut it off and investigate. Big problem with most bas twins is the rt hand side bushing which is usually worn so your oil pressure suffers along with proper lubrication of critical parts. Best to get a manual and use brit bike .com for questions and references...
Good luck with the new project
Joe @vcycle
Www.joesvcycle.net
 
Thanks joea! I have been a member onbritbike.com since I found this bike once Swan pointed me to it. Great bunch of info there, they are actually the ones who let me know about wet sumping. I am going to be picking up their manuals on CD.
Now the good news, I removed the sump cover and straightened out the smashed pickup screen. Drain a little more than a quart and reassembled. Even though I have read of dry sump race engines all my life, it was a little un-nerving to fire up an engine that I just INTENTIONALLY drained the crankcase on.
But on the 5th kick she fired up and idled fine, No smoke from either exhaust and the both headers warmed up fine. I only ran it a short time then checked the oil level, it didn't drop much with some small bubbles on the dipstick. All in all I did 3 short runs and during the second pulled the oil cap while it was running and the oil seemed to be circulating.
Shut her down, cleaned out a corner of the shop and covered her up. Figured this is a good stopping point until I source some whitworth tools and get my manuals. All in good time, plus I am knee deep in the DOHC CB750 build "Rock-It".
 
OI Mate.. when you actually start going into that A65 engine if you have any issues let me know.. there are a bunch of pitfalls with rebuilds of these old ladies.. One being that the Manuals have incorrect increments of measurement and the like.. sometimes even the Points plates are marked wrong for TDC.... so when you start let me know...

Here are some pics of my 69 A65L..

Cheers
SETH

BSA2.jpg

BritJam.jpg

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Well, here is a little update. I've been scanning the interwebz for a decent priced UK spec tank for this bike to replace the 1.7 (< 2!) gallon peanut style US version. Problem is they are scarce as hell for a used one and a new reproduction costs over $500. I just get a case of "Optical-Colonitis" (I just can't see my ass doin that).
I started a conversation with Beachcomber and he was keeping an eye out for one in Britan. My thought process was they were standard issue there and should be more plentiful and hopefully cheaper. That led me to start watching e-bay UK. Sure enough, one came up at that I thought was a decent price.
A few more PM's to Beachcomber and he agreed, £99.95 was a good price, even for over there. A few messages to the seller and he checked the postage to here in indiana and that was an additional £61.65. That all translates to $267.57 USD total,$100 of which was shipping :eek: !!! I don't know how you poor bastards across the pond buy from places here on the states on a regular basis, You have my new found respect!
Anyhow, it was still half the price of anything I have found here, so I pulled the trigger and in about a week this should be here.

Fibre glass replica tank suitable for non oil in frame BSA Triumphs
I bought this for the A65 project we are building at the moment but a change of plans means it is up for sale again.
The tank is fuel tight and leak free.
Clean condition . Light surface marks associated with normal wear and tear. This requires painting as it was stored for over 10yrs before we purchased it.
 

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Well done my man !!

Just spotted one locally and the guy wants £200 for it ! You have a bargain.

Carriage IS a killer both ways. The UK mail service has recently revamped what it considers "letter mail"., a "package" and a "parcel" . Whenever I send patches or decals now to individuals - I have to state "letter", otherwise the postage is twice as much ! Depends on who I get at the post office, sometimes a jobsworth will feel the envelope and charge me for the decals / patches at the higher rate !

My pal deals in vintage guitars, and until recently it was quite profitable to buy and import from the US to refurb and sell in the UK. Until the US postal rates went through the roof !
 
Excited to see the new tank in your shop! Sounds like you got a really good deal! Maybe you can help me stop pulling out my hair finding a tank for my build...everything seems so overpriced for an old rusty tank. ::)
 
SilkySmooth750 said:
everything seems so overpriced for an old rusty tank. ::)
Ain't that the truth! It always seems they are either WAY overpriced or a rusted dented POS. If I run across a fair one for your '79 "K" I'll PM ya.
Patience is about the best advice I can give. Since it seems most E-bay auctions are 9 days I check at a minimum once a week. Vary your search terms! In your case Silky I'd use "honda tank" "gas tank" "fuel tank" "petrol tank" "CB750 tank" and always check the box that includes the description. Try not including the year because some sellers do not know there fore do not include it. Sort the results by price and shipping lowest first, and you can quickly scan up to the max amount you are willing to pay.
This BSA tank was somewhat easier because there are very few listed at any given time. Rust isn't an issue because it's fiberglass. The term "BSA Tank" also included oil tanks, but even with those added in, there wasn't too many to scan through.
 
I didnt know you had this going on. Cool bike, right side shift, I dig it. Now we have something in common to talk about. I have my Bonne build on triumphrat.net as well but I like this forum much better, more action.
I posted this reply on the wrong page! You may have seen it. haha
 
It's HERE!!! Got a card in the mailbox Saturday that I need to come pick up a package at the local post office that need a signature. Had to wait all weekend until yesterday morning. The suspence was killing me!
But I got it, unwrapped it, and to my surprise it was even better than I hoped. What looked like brushed on gray primer in the e-bay pic is actually a (shoddy) silver paint job, the shape looked close, but seeing it in real life it is EXACTLY what I was after.

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At $250 total, it is the most expensive single part I've ever bought for a bike. Christ it's more than I pay for most of my bikes... but I couldn't be happier. Half the cost of a new one IF you can find it.
The filler cap is in great shape, the petcock bungs have good threads, and it's been recently coated on the inside with something black and hard (POR-15?) that looks to be a nice even coat instead of pooled at the bottom. Even with the paint runs and partial sanding, it is the most beatiful tank I've ever laid eyes on! You can bet, later today I am going to get it mounted and more pics.
;D One step closer to this...

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Couldn't be happier for you HD.

Knock off the $80 -$90 you'd pay for the Monza cap ON IT'S OWN and what a bargain !

I think that anti- ethyl treatment [ Black goo ] is around $70 here in the UK ! ;D
 
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