69 BSA bobber project...or...the cure for wintertime madness!

[BrianK]

Great thread! Appeals on some many levels - Brit Bikes (I am a Norton aficionado but love those Beezers also)! Resurrection (god, if this one can come back from the dead there's hope for us all!)! Bobbers (no wonder you're inspired - that Beezer bobber is my new desktop scene - this week...)!

Good luck and please continue the updates! - BrianK

[YZman]

Aint nothing better than UPS day

So lets see what the UPS man brought me today....




Hey a trashed clutch basket ??????




Ok yea thats another project. That belongs to my sons YZ85. Bought that basket used off ebay for $15 to try and steel the rubber cushons out of it. I bought a Moose billet basket for his bike and when I drilled the rivets on his old basket to get the gear off (new baskets dont come with the gear) his rubbers came out in pieces. Yamaha dont sell rubbers seperate sooo.....here I am trying to rob them out of another trashed basket....wish us luck.



Anyways.....there was another big heavy ass box here....what could it be





650 dual carb head w/ valves and a 650 cylinder. No broken fins....Yoink


Sooo does this cylinder look a little better than the other one??




$125 delivered thank you very much

[YZman]

Got a little cleaning done on the clutch cover also. Backside is still pretty fuzzy but the business end is sure looking nice


Before



After

[Bloodweiser]

looking good.

are you just using mothers + steel wool?

[YZman]

Scotch brite pad and Blue Magic metal polish cream. Basicaly the same as the mothers. I have a tin of that also and it works about the same. I have also tried eagle one never dull....not so much. I like the blue Magic better.

Scotch brite the piss out of it. Go wash your hands and scotch brite it again. Go wash your hands again. Then hit it with a wax pad and the metal polish and buff clean....go wash your hands and do it again. Eventualy your hands dont get dirty and you know your gettin close.....did I mention to wash your hands...man aluminum polishing is some dirty work.

I have also found that a small Brass brush on my dremel works good for gettin into the little crevises like screw holes.


Hey...speaking of polishing..Anyone have any idea what the valve cover is made of? I tried my scotch brite pad trick on it and cant even put a dent on it. That is some seriously tough material. Anodized maybe? Magnesium? Anyone...anyone...

[skrub]

Whats your part of Mich. I'm in Sanford near Midland.

[Ernest T]

Good start. That'd be my dream project--an old Brit twin of some sort. It seems like you can mix and match parts to your hearts content on those old bikes.

[YZman]

Originally Posted by skrub

Whats your part of Mich. I'm in Sanford near Midland.

Westside. Muskegon area

Mailman brought me a full gasket set today. Blood I dont know what took your so long. I bought mine from Steadfast cycles on ebay saturday and had them in hand today. They are english made gaskets if that means anything




Ya know...Ive noticed that my Ford Ranger has taken on a pecular funk these last few days from hauling parts here and there. It has totaly over come my Glade air freshener thingy in the ac vent. Its now a cross between parts cleaner, aluminum polish, and 40yr old BSA funk.....I think I like it. Man I wish I could bottle that smell up...I could make a fortune!

[YZman]

Another quick update. Didn't get anything done on the moto this weekend other than pluking one frozen clutch plate outta the basket (man them things are rusted in there but good). Stayed in the house mostly, gotta do some housework sometime ya know. Keep the missus happy and all that

But

I did get a little work done on the valve cover. That thing has given be some serious grief. It was major ugly and did not want to come clean regardless of my attempts. But I finially prevailed. Its still not nearly as nice as I would like it to be. But its getting better.

I didn't get any good before picts but this will give ya an idea



And after



I also got in the mail today a Clutch puller tool, Stainless Steel allen head bolts for the side covers, and the seals for the engine. A few more pieces of the puzzle.

Heading south for the weekend for some dirt slinging on my shiny new 08 KTM 300 XC-W...I can hardly wait. I am sooo tired of the snow. So no work will be getting done for a while. But I have tools now so when I get back....yeaa....its on!

[Anorak]

Nice, I really like the looks of BSA engines. I had to deal with rust on a smaller scale with my Laverda. Take a look at Evap-O-Rust, I bout it from Caswell Plating. Great stuff, leave parts in it over night and they will be rust free. I also used the electrolytic process on some parts like the exhaust system. Probably would have unstuck your cylinder but the logistics might have been complex. Electrolytic rust removal is really easy, if you're interested there are plenty of resources on the web. The "frozen" clutch is just plain funny.

[crazydrummerdude]

YZman, wanna polish my engine?







Hahah..

You're doing awesome work so far. I think I'm starting to get the BSA bug.

[jeep44]

Allis Chalmers?

[YZman]

Originally Posted by crazydrummerdude

YZman, wanna polish my engine?







Hahah..

You're doing awesome work so far. I think I'm starting to get the BSA bug.

Hah..that'll buff right out!

[crazydrummerdude]

Originally Posted by jeep44

Allis Chalmers?

Yep, WC.

I love those shots. I timed it perfectly when my brother was tapping on the oil pan... and the case of the disappearing valve on the head is pretty funny.

That's what happens when you buy a parts tractor on ebay with only one shitty small picture. There ain't many use-able parts on it.

[dragoon]

Originally Posted by YZman

Not so bad looking. A little dirty but nothing too bad. Sweet.

You are quite the optimist

You are doing some amazing work. I kept thinking, "that looks like junk" then you really caught my attention with the cleaned carb shot

Lookin' good man