Author Topic: '75 CB400F to make pretty again..finished pics (Read 36107 times)

nvr2old · « **Reply #25 on:** November 17, 2013, 06:24:51 PM »

Stashed the Corvette into winter storage to make room to work on the 400F. Set it up on an old piece of carpet. Nuts, bolts, washers and things don't seem to bounce or roll away with carpet.

Thought I'd let the GS keep it company this winter.

Came apart pretty easily over the course of a few hours. To take the air filter/battery box out I found that I had to disconnect all the wiring and take it out the back of the frame, which required removing the rear wheel and the exhaust first. Hope I remember to reverse that sequence when it comes time to re-assemble it..

A little grungy and a little rust in spots. I'll repaint as much of the frame as necessary after the swing arm comes out.

Parts are starting to pile up

Not bad for a couple of hours

First thing to do probably is to get the frame and engine cleaned up and repainted to get it back to a roller. Then start on the body parts. I think I'm going to go ahead with the Ducati tail and a plastic CB450T Hawk front fender I picked up on eBay. Overall this bike is in great shape. Shouldn't take more then a few months to do it stem to stern.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #26 on:** November 17, 2013, 06:40:37 PM »

Great looking Wes Cooley replica!!

brandEn · « **Reply #27 on:** November 17, 2013, 06:50:26 PM »

Right on!
Looking forward to updates.

jackseattle · « **Reply #28 on:** November 17, 2013, 08:07:28 PM »

Very nice, I'll enjoy seeing what you do with this great looking 400f

nvr2old · « **Reply #29 on:** November 17, 2013, 09:48:43 PM »

Quote from: CB750 Cafe Racer Fan on November 17, 2013, 06:40:37 PM

Great looking Wes Cooley replica!!

Thanks. That bike is a blast to ride. The only non-Honda I've ever owned in 40 years of riding.

tweakin · « **Reply #30 on:** November 18, 2013, 06:12:09 AM »

Looking great Larry!

nvr2old · « **Reply #31 on:** November 19, 2013, 10:16:03 PM »

Not much to report other then just getting the rest of the bike disassembled about as far as I need. Got the swing arm, shocks, carbs, air box, coils, and the wiring harness removed after work tonight.

Everything has come right off, no fuss at all. The airbox was a breeze compared to the GS's..holy s--t what a pain. Didn't bust one knuckle or utter one single swear word..

I'm such a supporter of powder coating frames since doing the S. Man, that thing turned out nice. All you do is drop them off and when you pick them up..done. I swore I would never sand and prep another one for painting. This frame is so nice under that thin layer of dirt, though. I'm pretty sure I can just clean it, scotch brite 80% of it and sand a few spots that will need some spot priming. Then just throw on a couple of coats of black single stage urethane.

I'm gonna prep and paint the engine right in the frame, too. Remove the oil filter, the clutch cable, (forgot to pull that off..) mask around it and shoot it silver. Probably paint the engine first. As one big lump it'll be easier to mask then the frame.

I'm really enjoying this. It's been a long time since I did a bike for myself, and this is the first one that I'm doing completely solo. I'm a painter, not a mechanic. I don't have my best friend and certified Honda Tech at my beckon call since my move to Sandpoint, Idaho. He's the one responsible for getting all my Hondas apart and back together. He's the one that got my GS running so well, too. It's fun remembering procedures and everything he's taught me over these many years and applying it to this 400F.

tweakin · « **Reply #32 on:** November 20, 2013, 05:12:15 AM »

What a great bike to start with Larry, looks super clean.

Sandpoint ID? WHen did this happen? Hope you still have access to a paint booth.

nvr2old · « **Reply #33 on:** November 20, 2013, 10:42:29 AM »

Sandpoint ID? WHen did this happen? Hope you still have access to a paint booth.

[/quote]

Thought I had mentioned it to you, tweakin. Been here for a year now. Took a job at a AAA radio station doing the afternoon show. No, I don't have a spray booth here, 90 miles from my shop in Spokane, but I do have access to one in CDA 45 miles away. Email or call me and we'll discuss your tins.

nvr2old · « **Reply #34 on:** November 24, 2013, 05:25:44 PM »

Got a few more hours of work done on the 400F this weekend. Finished disassembling the the frame and engine. Removed the foot pegs, shift linkage, rear brake pedal, ignition, handle bars, side stand, oil filter, front and rear engine mounts and engine covers. It's down to cleaning, sanding and repainting now.

Nice, eh,,?

Got busy sanding for an hour or so on that, the airbox, sub fender, and the swing arm. Nice to have an understanding wife..

Seeing finished parts occasionally keeps me motivated..

Thanks for looking.

nvr2old · « **Reply #35 on:** November 29, 2013, 10:07:31 PM »

A little progress in the past couple of days. Got the engine and the swing arm area of the frame all cleaned up and ready to start sanding for paint.

I also started fitting the Ducati 750SS tail section. It's so close to the same, I'm amazed. The Duc is quite a bit larger physically.

I was really hoping to use the stock Honda seat latch and hinges, but they're not going to work. The seat pan sits right on top of them.

I'm going to leave them there, though. Thought about cutting them off, but decided against it. If I ever want to return it to stock, I'll be glad I didn't.

The back fit real close, but not quite. I could drop the back, but that would raise the front which I don't want as it sits on the frame rails perfectly this way.

The plan is to fill the existing holes and then mold in a fiberglass "ear" to the bottom of the tail where the new bolt hole will go through. I can make it almost disappear with the paint scheme I have in mind. The PO of this part had it sand blasted..gulp. Almost ruined it and decided to buy new aftermarket parts for his restoration. I painted his bike and he asked me if I wanted the old fiberglass body parts. Sure. I'll find a use for them. Glad I did. I think it'll look really right on this 400F.

nvr2old · « **Reply #36 on:** December 24, 2013, 06:52:21 PM »

It's been a crazy busy few weeks at work, frigid cold temperatures and getting ready for the holidays, so not a whole lot to show. I did get the engine and frame sanded and prepped for paint. Just finished painting the engine and will let it set for a couple of days before wrapping it up under masking to spray the frame. If I ever talk about sanding a frame again instead of powder coating, and you're standing next to me, feel free to slap me..

Pretty happy with the engine colors, very subtle, but I wanted something other then just all silver. Cast iron gray for the jugs and head, bronze for the other covers, silver for the block.

Filed and sanded smooth all the fins then removed the paint from them

Anxious to get the frame painted so I can get it back to a roller. Thanks for looking.

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #37 on:** December 24, 2013, 07:54:36 PM »

That engine is beautiful. You need to add a small sandblaster to your tool collection. It's messy, but the absloute best way to strip a frame and clean off any rust at the same time.

nvr2old · « **Reply #38 on:** December 24, 2013, 10:42:33 PM »

Thanks bankerdanny. This is the first frame I've sanded in quite some time. I usually always have them powder coated, and swore I would never sand another one, but thought I could get away with just a few touch ups on this one. Once I got started, I couldn't stop. Damn, there's a scratch..oh, there's another one..this will be the last one, for sure....oh, wait..

tweakin · « **Reply #39 on:** December 24, 2013, 10:52:02 PM »

Engine turned out great Larry!

calj737 · « **Reply #40 on:** December 25, 2013, 02:49:46 AM »

Quote from: nvr2old on December 24, 2013, 06:52:21 PM

If I ever talk about sanding a frame again instead of powder coating, and you're standing next to me, feel free to slap me..

Long distance *Slap* !

An absolutely beautiful bike and workmanship. Can't believe you went through the trouble on painting theta engine in the frame... But the results are world class.

Merry Xmas to you, and anxious to see the bike come together-

nvr2old · « **Reply #41 on:** December 25, 2013, 10:14:50 AM »

Thanks for the kind words, guys. As crazy as it sounds to paint the engine in the frame, it really wasn't too difficult.

nvr2old · « **Reply #42 on:** December 29, 2013, 07:57:25 PM »

I'm waiting till next weekend to spray the frame. My wife will be at work all day, and she's really sensitive to the fumes. With the garage attached to the house it's impossible to keep them all out. So, I thought I'd dink around with some parts that don't use paint. I fitted the '82 Honda CB450T Hawk front fender today.

It actually fit the forks real well once a bit of hardware was cut off.

Sets down on real nice now.

I thought it looked a bit heavy so I cut about 4 inches off the back.

Better, but still too much on the front..so..

I think that looks a lot better. 4 inches off the back and about 3 inches off the leading edge.

Does it look too modern for a mid 70's bike..? Hmmm.. I'm kind of on the fence, but I believe once it's painted and it matches the rest, it might look pretty cool..I can always put the stock chrome fender back on if I don't like it.

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calj737 · « **Reply #43 on:** December 30, 2013, 03:29:52 AM »

That's a nicely modified fender. I think if you paint it in a flat black, it will disappear from your eye, but still provide the finished looked. You could test that by a rattle can's worth of paint and then wipe it off with Laquer thinner promptly.

nvr2old · « **Reply #44 on:** December 30, 2013, 10:05:23 AM »

Thanks for the input. I agree that it being silver right now, it really jumps at you. Once it's a darker color it will blend in more. I might try to lighten up the side braces a bit more, too. I only paid 15 bux for the fender, so if I chop it up too much and ruin it, no big deal..

Stev-o · « **Reply #45 on:** December 30, 2013, 10:08:26 AM »

I like the fender and agree, once painted should look better. You painting that tank? Blue??

nvr2old · « **Reply #46 on:** December 30, 2013, 11:47:58 AM »

Yes, the body work will all be painted the stock Varnish Blue. I really want this bike to look like it could've come from the factory with the style I have in mind. Still thinking about how it'll look with the stock chrome front fender, and the stock chrome rear fender with the tail section. The Ducati 750SS the tail comes from also used a rear fender and tail light, so it might not look out of place. We'll see. I'll mock it up both ways and go from there.

nvr2old · « **Reply #47 on:** January 05, 2014, 06:30:58 PM »

Yay! Finally had a couple of days to get the frame painted. Wish I had my shop here for this. Boy, I'll never take good heat, lights (and an exhaust fan) for granted..

Started masking the engine. Only took about 30 minutes.

2" tape worked great for covering the bottom half and to keep the paper away from the frame rails.

Primed it after getting the front end masked. I covered the entire floor with plastic so as to keep my landlord happy..

One coat of primer..two was enough to cover the bare metal..

Ahh..shiny again.

I'll let it set for a few days, and then re-assembly begins. Can't wait to get this back together so I can get started on the body work.

Stev-o · « **Reply #48 on:** January 05, 2014, 07:22:12 PM »

Looks great. Rattle canned it?

tweakin · « **Reply #49 on:** January 05, 2014, 07:35:28 PM »

Frame turned out awesome Larry. I wouldn't expect anything less. Looking forward to see what you do with the body.

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Author Topic: '75 CB400F to make pretty again..finished pics (Read 36107 times)