Winter project progress

[thumperjsa]

What if...

When preparing the head for the helicoil, some shavings got in the cylinder and did not get out through the plug hole. Could have got jammed in the intake for a few beats and then blown out the exhaust.

or not...

[Ken Talbot]

Looking at it closer tonight, that makes a lot of sense. You can see the end of the insert in this photo. If you look closely, you can also see where the aluminum has flared out towards the valve:

The flared-out bit is rough enough that is entirely believable that there was once a much bigger chunk that could have smacked the valve a few times before it broke off. This is making me rethink the practice of installing a helicoil with the head still on and using a shop vac to blow out the shavings. I've done two helicoils without removing the head and don't think there was any problem. Maybe I was wrong....

[prometheus578]

Ken, thanks for clearing this up. Was a good puzzler.

[Ken Talbot]

Spring has arrived and things are still coming along slowly.....

The cylinders are still at the shop to get bored out for the Wiseco kit. The head is there also for a valve job.

I discovered a rust hole in the bottom of one of the bottom frame tubes that is going to need some reinforcing. I'll add a similar patch to the other tube to keep it all looking like it belongs.

On the home front, I've sandblasted pretty much everything that is going to need sandblasted so will be ready for powdercoat work soon.

And finally, the carbs are now ready for reassembly:

[Rubba]

Nice Work!

Man, that's impressive. I just rebuilt my SH carbs but no way would I go to the trouble to paint or polish them. You're gonna have a real showstopper.

[fxrer]

Ken,

Nice attention to detail! Now I understand why you know where all those tiny little jets are hiding.

Question, though; Why are you having the chrome pieces powder coated, instead of re-chrome? Wouldn't a full restore be worth more, down the road, if in original condition?

Another question - are those stainless lines from Randy? How do you like them?

Final question- how do you insert those pictures within a thread?

[Ken Talbot]

Having all of the chrome pieces stripped then powdercoated is strictly a personal preference. I've already got Tsunami as a 'bone stock, all original' 1891 'H , and Black Ice as a 'restored to 90% original" 1980 LG. This one is different again - a restoration where the main goal is a custom look. No matter how you cut it, this bike will never be worth more than someone else might be willing to pay for it, and I'm pretty certain that will never measure up to the time and effort I put into it.

The stainless lines are from Randy, but I haven't had a chance to see them in action. I put Goodridge lines on SWMBO's 'H, and Tsunami has a set of Russels. Both make an enormous difference in braking performance, and I'm sure the lines from Randy will do the same.

Finally, pictures within a thread take a bit of effort. You first have to post the images to another internet location such as space provided by your ISP, or by one of the free services like photobucket.com that will allow hot llinking. Then it's a simple matter of clicking the IMG button above and inserting the photo's URL. Once you get it, it is actually easier than it sounds.

[John]

WOW!!! If that's just the carbs and associated hardware, then I can't wait to see the rest. Nice work.

[randy]

Ken,

I am humbled. That settles it. Your avatar is a crown!

[Ken Talbot]

Just back from the powder coating place

Stopped in this afternoon at the powder coating place and brought home most of the parts. Haven't even had time yet to remove all the masking tape:


The wheels were still too hot to handle or pack, and four parts had a bit of off-gassing trouble and still need a bit of work. We'll pick them up next week.

The frame is at a local bodyshop to have the rusted-through section cut out and replaced. Then they'll sandblast everything but the identification plate, and paint it up in a nice satin black epoxy.

[Do Lee]

Man that's going to look great.

[Ken Talbot]

Of course, the next question was what to do with the various pieces I couldn't/didn't want to powdercoat. For example, the engine block, cylinders, head, the starter cover, tailight, etc, etc.

I tried some black spraybombs, but really wasn't happy - everything was coming out way too glossy. I played around a bit with some model paints, mixing flat black with gloss to get a satin like the powdercoat. It became very apparent that that was not going to be feasible. So, I finally broke down and bought a gravity feed HVLP touch-up gun and some Mar Hyde semi-gloss automotive trim coating from a specialty supply house.

All I can say is WOW!!!! I should have bought a gun years ago. I can't believe how much more control you get, how much more consistent the spray pattern is, and how easy it is to clean up. Compared to using spraybombs, this is almost cheating.

[Douce]

nice to see someone that is as sick as me.
Nice work!!!!
A black spray paint that I have had excellent results
with is;
MET black and MET gloss.
The Met gloss is more like a satin than gloss.
"Refinishes steel, Aluminum, stainless and Chrome Trim"
Sold to body shops.
Transportation Maintenance Products
Vancouver BC, Seattle,WA.

Keep us posted on the fine work
Douce in Rupert

[Ken Talbot]

Getting started again

Well, it has been a while, and progress this second winter has not been what I was hoping for.

I took a spill on my basement stairs on Friday the 13th back in January and ended up with a broken shoulder. Three months later and I am pretty much off of the painkillers. I've been able to get back to attending a step aerobics class three mornings a week, and have resumed weightlifting at the gym to try to get my shoulder strength back. Mobility is probably close to 70% of what is was thanks to lots of physiotherapy and assigned exercises at home.

So, I thought, the long weekend would be an excellent time to get started on the project again. I got everything sorted out on my workbench in the basement and began with putting the head back together. I got the valves in yesterday, then tonight I got ready to put the shims and buckets back on to prepare for installing the cams. I made a nice table in Excel to record installed shim sizes, measured clearance, and required new shim size.

I ran into a bit of trouble getting the last couple of buckets installed because my valve compression tool had slipped and gouged the bore slightly where the bucket rides up and down. In a few minutes, I had removed those valves again and smoothed up the walls so the buckets would slide freely.

That seemed like a good place to call it a night. I was all set to grab something cool from the 'fridge in the basement' and see if Two Wheel Tuesday was on.

Then it dawned on me that I had forgotten to install the new valve stem seals that came with the new gasket kit. Obviously, this was now one of those 'one step back after two steps forward' scenarios. I popped the rest of the shims and buckets off, took out all the valves, and got all the cans of parts lined up ready for a second run.

Next session, I'll start the assembly with the valves and the valve stem seals. For now, the fridge is calling me....

Sure am glad I didn't get much further before realizing the mistake!

[skids]

Re: Getting started again

Oh boy, sorry to hear about the mishap on the steps! I messed up my shoulder on a bicycle wreck once and it took a couple of years to get to 99% ... OK, maybe that other 1% is an aging thing!

As tough as it is to get the damn valve keepers in place, I would say that your finding of the new uninstalled valve seals was a very good indicator to walk away from the project for a bit. Keep smiling.

Originally posted by Ken Talbot

Then it dawned on me that I had forgotten to install the new valve stem seals that came with the new gasket kit.