Topic: 1972 CB750 Four K2 -- Rebuilt to NEW OLD STOCK -- PIX ON PAGE 50

[edwardmorris]

Somewhat better pix, mostly trying to see if the paint got everywhere between the fins.

[edwardmorris]

Can anyone spot a fin repair?

[oldhatt45]

Ed,
At anything above 5 mph, anyone that can spot it is likely to be wearing tread marks shortly and probably won't tell.  ROFL

Nice Work!

Charlie

[edwardmorris]

HA! Good one Charlie.

So the head and cylinders are nicely baked and safely packed away. I took Ron's suggestion and polished out the dowel pin holes nice and smooth to the point where the pin now goes in and out with minimal effort. When packing the head, I noticed that the the four cam tower studs are missing  I'm assuming Mike had to remove those for getting the machine work done, so I emailed him. I'm not half as worried about the fact that they may be lost, as much as I'm now worried that the head will leak. From what I read around here, these things are cursed and once removed, a leak is inevitable 

Branden's top end write up mentions using a high temp thread sealant to avoid the leak, anyone have any luck with that?

Also, now I've gotta go pick up a stud wrench/tool....right??

[754]

Nope. Double-nutting is fine when installing newly cleaned fasteners.
Sometimes i grab my lathe tailstock chuck to hold studs to install.. Quicker..

[edwardmorris]

OK, will try that. Just found out that these are NLA from Honda, so I really hope Mike saved em!

[MCRider]

HA! Good one Charlie.

So the head and cylinders are nicely baked and safely packed away. I took Ron's suggestion and polished out the dowel pin holes nice and smooth to the point where the pin now goes in and out with minimal effort. When packing the head, I noticed that the the four cam tower studs are missing  I'm assuming Mike had to remove those for getting the machine work done, so I emailed him. I'm not half as worried about the fact that they may be lost, as much as I'm now worried that the head will leak. From what I read around here, these things are cursed and once removed, a leak is inevitable 

Branden's top end write up mentions using a high temp thread sealant to avoid the leak, anyone have any luck with that?

Also, now I've gotta go pick up a stud wrench/tool....right??

My first non-Mike top end had the studs removed by a good machinist and reinstalled by same. But he simply didn't know the CB750, working on mostly newer things. It leaked within 20 easy miles. 2nd top end by Mike, I installed the studs with sealer as he recommended. No leakd in 20 hard miles. Not much I know but fingers crossed.

The reason to use studs in an application (I think) is so that you don't crank down on the stud to case threads. Dbl nutting here is fine as you just want a firm handwrench tightness. Like 8ft lbs. The higher torque goes on the other end which will pull both ends appropriately. But even there in this case, 8 ft lbs is enough.

[edwardmorris]

I heard back from Mike, he's going to look for some straight ones and send them to me, so that's good. Permatex high temp thread sealer is what in Branden's thread, will have to try that unless there are better options.

I wondered about just using regular bolts instead, but Ron basically answered the question before I asked

[MCRider]

I heard back from Mike, he's going to look for some straight ones and send them to me, so that's good. Permatex high temp thread sealer is what in Branden's thread, will have to try that unless there are better options.

I wondered about just using regular bolts instead, but Ron basically answered the question before I asked

Yes studs have their place and if Honda wanted them there they should stay. You'll want to goop the stud and the hole with a Q Tip, let it set up for a few minutes till tacky, then thread in. When you're done you'll see your goop dripping out of the holes on the outside of the head. Better goop than oil!    Mike had me use Harveys TFE Paste with TEflon. I'm sure your Permatex is similar.

[edwardmorris]

Pro tip from JMR: If you're storing the freshly worked on head, spray some WD-40 into the ports to keep the seats from rusting.

[edwardmorris]

Little time, so little progress, but progress nonetheless.

Crank drain and oil galley plugs, I showed them the least love when it came to prep work as I didn't wan't them too shiny and guess what, I can't take a pic without them blinding the camera! The levers, I sanded off some deep pits then quick incremental wet sanding rounds, they came out alright.

[HondaMan]

Little time, so little progress, but progress nonetheless.

Crank drain and oil galley plugs, I showed them the least love when it came to prep work as I didn't wan't them too shiny and guess what, I can't take a pic without them blinding the camera! The levers, I sanded off some deep pits then quick incremental wet sanding rounds, they came out alright.

I might suggest this on the levers: when I did that with mine, they kept turning my hands black when riding. It never got better until I "sealed" them (for lack of a better word?) with Simichrome polish. When I used that stuff, the rags came out black from it, but the levers quit doing it to my fingers.

After I finally wore out the levers (pivots) I got new ones, with the clear plastic coating on them. That works, too!

[edwardmorris]

Little time, so little progress, but progress nonetheless.

Crank drain and oil galley plugs, I showed them the least love when it came to prep work as I didn't wan't them too shiny and guess what, I can't take a pic without them blinding the camera! The levers, I sanded off some deep pits then quick incremental wet sanding rounds, they came out alright.

I might suggest this on the levers: when I did that with mine, they kept turning my hands black when riding. It never got better until I "sealed" them (for lack of a better word?) with Simichrome polish. When I used that stuff, the rags came out black from it, but the levers quit doing it to my fingers.

After I finally wore out the levers (pivots) I got new ones, with the clear plastic coating on them. That works, too!

Mark!! I'm glad you're still subscribed. I've sealed ALL the pieces I've done so far with White Diamond Metal Polish per Ryan/73Nancy's recommendation, that stuff works great. Same thing, while it makes the final finish slightly dull, the rags come out black (excess polishing compund??) but the final buff cloth remains spotless.

[edwardmorris]

Finally finished sanding the new dyno cover. Acid burn is a terrible thing. I sanded so much off due to how deep the burns were, its now a performance part, lightened and all 

[edwardmorris]

It was marked R2, lift is. 285, and. 301..... Not sure of year..

This just worked out great! Its a K2 cam.

Excellent info on various cams and lifts by Mark

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=62266.msg677979#msg677979

[Davez134]

Replying to a post on the last page, I used Teflon paste on my head studs on my last build.  No leaks after about 8000 miles.

[edwardmorris]

And finally, here it is. Project Ice Cream, officially done with reconditioning every last bit. Now, moving on to slow assembly of little bits over the winter, then full throttle next spring.

[edwardmorris]

Forgot to note, the oil based paint sharpie still hasn't showed up, that's what's I'm going to use to fill out the black background on the Honda logo and the rim around it.

[edwardmorris]

So this happened 

\

Need a K2 tach now, paged Bill already, anyone else have one?

[BPellerine]

ouch!bill

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sux.

[HondaMan]

Ow!
How did that happen?

[edwardmorris]

Ow!
How did that happen?

On their ride home  to me just my rotten luck.

Still no luck with a replacement, anyone have a K1/K2 tach stashed away and willing to help? Even a parts one will do as long as the core is functional.

[edwardmorris]

Gauge issue sorted, ended up using a parts tach to fix it up, caused  a little scuffing and scratching on the outer housing, will need some touch up paint.

In the meanwhile, started putting little stuff together, starting with this carb back plate. DIY zinc has been holding well, fingers crossed

[edwardmorris]

Ah, the one step forward another one back phase! Started putting the controls back together and had a nightmare getting those pesky springs and balls to stay in place. Thankfully, my beautiful wife who has much better dexterity helped me out and we got the left hand control done. Nice new sleeving from vintage connections, just need to dremel clean the bullet connectors before assembly. I ran the turn signal buzzer shut off in its own sleeve in case a future owner wants to get rid of it, should be able to do a tiny bit easier.