My first build - 75 Honda CL360 Scrambler

So i've tried MEK to strip the inside of the tank to no avail. I've run MEK through it twice and nothing came out. I'm going to try acetone next.

I've been reading a lot about engine rebuilds and am wondering if I should even open up the engine at all? It's a 75 with around 6000 miles. I don't know it's history or how it runs, I only heard it start up for a quick second before I bought it. The petcock leaks so there wasn't any gasoline in the tank. the seller just poured a small amount in and kickstarted it to hear it rev quick. Should I get everything else done, put the engine back in and go from there?
 
Compression test will let you know if you need to take the engine apart. I'd still do valve and timing chain adjustments, however.
 
Thanks for the advice. These guys on youtube have great videos with detailed explanations. videos are so much better than books for me to learn from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlx9xu22mLM
 
djsmiles said:
I've been reading a lot about engine rebuilds and am wondering if I should even open up the engine at all? It's a 75 with around 6000 miles. I don't know it's history or how it runs, I only heard it start up for a quick second before I bought it. The petcock leaks so there wasn't any gasoline in the tank. the seller just poured a small amount in and kickstarted it to hear it rev quick. Should I get everything else done, put the engine back in and go from there?

6000 miles isn't a bunch on one of these, so you are probably doing the right thing by just adjusting the valves, etc. Mine has about twice that many miles but I rode it a lot before tearing it down so I knew it was in decent running condition. Ended up tearing mine down to do the 378cc conversion, but I did it because I wanted to not because it really needed the attention. If you haven't before, I'd suggest you check out the thread by crazypj about 360s there's lots to learn about them there; lots of good tips n tricks.
 
Is crazypj still in business? I sent him a message a couple months ago about rebuilding my carbs and have not heard back.
 
djsmiles said:
Is crazypj still in business? I sent him a message a couple months ago about rebuilding my carbs and have not heard back.

Yeah, I've seen him on here in the last couple days. Who knows, he might be out of town for the holidays or whatever. Write to him again.
 
So I just won the original heat shield on eBay and I"m super excited about it. It was the only one listed and I got it for what I think is a really good deal. http://www.ebay.com/itm/272438019023?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Would anyone be able to tell me what size bolts I'm going to need to attach it?
 
So I just did an unbelievably stupid thing, I was cutting off the mounts for the center stand and got grind happy and cut off the motor mounts. For some reason I thought they were part of the stand. I don't even own a welder (yet) so now what? I found a frame in Oklahoma for $50 but the seller won't ship it's
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You only should buy another frame if it has a title, otherwise you put yourself into a whole different mess. I guess if I were in your shoes right now I'd see about finding those rear engine mounts you cut off and hang onto them. Not sure if they could be welded back on, but they may, at least be helpful to use as a pattern. I'm pretty sure that you should be able to hang your engine back in w/ the other three sets of mounts and then find a welder/fab shop that could either weld your old mounts back in place or make and install replacements for you. Ask around at garages and your local auto parts stores, somebody will be able to recommend someone who should be able to help you out. If you have a local vocational/technical school you might be able to get their metal working department to help you. In the future it might help to put some tape or a zip tie or something else on the pieces you want to keep so they don't "come off" by accident. I speak from experience :( and I'm sure there are a bunch of other DTTers on here who have done the same thing.
 
Thanks ridesolo, gd what's with the user names, my name is Miles. Anyway, I admit this was a complete dumnass stupid newby dumb thing to do. I should have tagged things from the beginning. Thank you for your recommendations.


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djsmiles said:
Thanks ridesolo, gd what's with the user names, my name is Miles. Anyway, I admit this was a complete dumnass stupid newby dumb thing to do. I should have tagged things from the beginning. Thank you for your recommendations. [/url]

Dumbass & newby maybe, Miles, but it happens. A while back I was grinding a welded lug off of my frame that needed to be relocated. Each side has a top and bottom lug and the top one on each side needed to be cut off, relocated, and then welded back on. I got the tools of destruction out and went to work... only to discover after I had the first lug cut about 2/3 of the way through that I was cutting off the BOTTOM lug because the frame was sitting UPSIDE DOWN! Dumbass? Yup! Newby? Nope, just dumbass! ;D We all live n learn and hopefully don't have to relearn and relearn and relearn too often! Cory
 
If you can't find the mounts and you need a pattern, let me know. I have a frame here waiting the motor and I can make a pattern and measure distance if needed.
Regards,
John
 
I called around town and got quotes anywhere from $75-150 but most guys said I had to bring in the frame with the engine mounted just to get a price. So the frame I found in Oklahoma sounded so much easier. I measured my frame and got an approximate weight and dcalled the local Mail-Mart in the sellers town and got a quote on shipping of $63 plus the cost to box it up. So $50 for the frame and approximately $70 to ship sounded way easier. I talked the seller into dropping off the frame at mail-mart for an extra $20 for his time. The next day i got a call from mail-mart telling me the cheapest is UPS at $166 plus $25 to package it plus taxes = $195. I almost crapped my pants. They said because they had to box it up and all that crap that it came out a foot longer than my measurements and 13 lbs. heavier. I could have drove down there and picked it up for a lot less money. So I will soon have another frame to work with. that mistake only cost me $265. oh well. live and learn. it's definitely not the most expensive mistake I've ever made.
 
djsmiles said:
I called around town and got quotes anywhere from $75-150 but most guys said I had to bring in the frame with the engine mounted just to get a price. So the frame I found in Oklahoma sounded so much easier. I measured my frame and got an approximate weight and dcalled the local Mail-Mart in the sellers town and got a quote on shipping of $63 plus the cost to box it up. So $50 for the frame and approximately $70 to ship sounded way easier. I talked the seller into dropping off the frame at mail-mart for an extra $20 for his time. The next day i got a call from mail-mart telling me the cheapest is UPS at $166 plus $25 to package it plus taxes = $195. I almost crapped my pants. They said because they had to box it up and all that crap that it came out a foot longer than my measurements and 13 lbs. heavier. I could have drove down there and picked it up for a lot less money. So I will soon have another frame to work with, that mistake only cost me $265. oh well. live and learn. it's definitely not the most expensive mistake I've ever made.

Sure sorry to hear about all that, Miles. Hopefully when you get that new frame you can settle in and get back to your project. As a side note, don't trash your old frame. The task of putting the engine from a XR600 into one of these frames involves actually relocating that lower frame crossmember and mounts so you may find that somebody might be interested in buying that frame from you for their CB/CL360 to XR600 project. ;)
 
Great to hear you'll be back in business shortly. When you get the new frame I recommend just leaving the center stand mounts on the frame. They are not visible, don't weigh anything and allows you to put the stand on when ever you want which comes in handy when doing some maintenance.
 
We all make stupid mistakes...mostly late night and in a rush.

Take your time and eventually learn to weld/fabricate. ...or make friends with those who can! ;)

I'm sure there are other parts to work on in the meantime!
 
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So I got the new frame and I've taken off the rear hoop and cleaned out the triangle, that's all I'm going to cut off. I've used paint stripper on the tank, twice, and found out that it's been repainted at some point because you can see the original stripes underneath. Acetone really did a good job removing the old liner, now I've filled it with vinegar hoping to remove what little surface rust remains. Oh and I replaced the tank cap gasket which was super easy once I took the spring thing out of the cap. And I've mailed the carbs off to PJ to be rebuilt.


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