Fordmike's 350 rises from the grave...

fordmike65

New Member
Well, I dug out(literally) my old '72 CB/CL yesterday. Poor things been rotting in my parent's back yard for about 15yrs since I laid her down. I got hurt pretty bad when some ass backed out of his driveway without looking. We built it up as a Father/Son project back when I was about 17. We used my Dad's 72'CB,but stole parts from my Uncle's '71CB & the CL my neighbor donated to us. I'm hoping to build up a mild Cafe Racer on the cheap using mostly original parts. I'm planning to tear into it this weekend. Hope I don't find any surprises when I pull the carbs & head off. Motor has about 17k on it. Thanks to those that have already answered some of my questions. I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can so I can rebuild this right the first time. Here we go...
 

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Looks really cool all busted up like that. Are you going to cafe it or what?
 
Thanks! I'm really excited about getting this thing back on the road. I'm taking a break from my 60's Fords to get this going. I really,REALLY hope it doesn't need all that much. It's my own damn fault for abandoning it all those years ago though. Obviously it needs ALOT of cleaning up. One good thing is that the tank is nice & rust-free inside. The seat used to look close to new,but the hot SoCal sun took care of that. The wheels have some rust,but I think some steel wool,scotchbrite pads & polishing compound should clean them up decently. Not sure what to do about the spokes. They don't look too good. I'm debating whether to strip the entire bike down now or to just clean the carbs & pull the plugs to squirt some WD or Mystery Oil in case there's a rust line. It'd be nice if I could get it running before getting into the brakes,suspension & cosmetic parts of the build so I know I don't need to worry about it. Any one have any ideas? Are there any "must-do" repairs,adjustments or inspections I should do before I even think of turning her over? Thanks again guys. I really do appreciate your input!
 
No work on the bike until this weekend,but thought I'd post some pics of something I found in my Grandfather's back yard. It's a shame he left it out for at least 40yrs,but someday I hope to tackle this project...
 

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I've never actually seen it before. Just heard about it from my Dad since I was a wee one. My Grandfather passed away a couple years ago, & we're finally begining to clean up his place a bit. As far as I know its a 1957 R60. Don't know much more about it. He also has an MG "saloon" of unknown year in the background, as well as a "67 FJ40,completely original in the driveway. Who knows what other treasures we will find!
 
Well,looks like I have some bad news... I took the tank,exhaust,air boxes,carbs & plugs out. Looks like I got some water in the right side cylinder :'( . I first saw a small trail of corrosion in the right side carb & down the intake a bit. Pulled the plugs out & saw where that trail lead to. I've sprayed a good amount of WD40 in both cylinders. I can also see some rust on the valves. Now, should I slowly try to kick the bike over a bit each couple days,or should I just pull the motor out & disassemble it? I'm thinking that I'm gonna need new rings,pistons,head rebuilt,etc. I've seen that members recommend replacing the timing chain & roller as well. I was hoping that I could get it started as-is(that was before my little surprise). Now that it looks more like I should tear it down, I'd like to upgrade whatever you guys might recommend. Should I go woth a big-bore kit(I've seen Wiseco 65mm kits for sale) instead of a stock oversize? Also wondering where I might find a mild street cam for it. Would a 68-69 be enough?(If I can find one) Is there anything that can be done to the heads for better street performance?(such as milling,porting,larger valves,etc) Is there a better carb available that may increase power? I've looked into the stock carb parts & for the price of reseal kits & diaphrams(if needed), I can almost get a set of 30mm Mikunis. How difficult would these be to adapt to the 350 throttle set-up? Sorry for so many questions. I'm quite mechanically inclined as I am a ASE certified factory trained Ford tech, I just don't know much aboout bikes & don't wanna f*ck this up. Thanks for any help guys. I've already learned a lot reading through this forum!
 
Yeah dude I recently was in a salvage yard and saw a cl360, just totally fucked, but that's the most fun when they need a lot of attention. Like girls. Any how, strip that bitch to nothing and only replace what absolutely needs replacing. Maybe like gaskets ,points/ condenser kit, petcock, piston rings only, battery, and lap the valves (a medium difficulty and gratifing project) that's what I did on my grave yard cb360 and she's banging now. All that may be 100-200 bucks. Dude, just buff it out lube it up nicely, and check for excessive wear. Do you have the manual?
 
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