Topic: Senior project for high school - 78 CB750K

[Bill/BentON Racing]

Thanks, here you go , mo bling! How y'all doing? Bill

[Restoration Fan]

We did very well today, Bill.  Not as good as you because we don't have a running bike yet, but we're getting closer.

First, in true Stella fashion, nothing comes easy.  So the shifting that was working so well yesterday...well, today it was being a pain.  So we took it back apart, put it slowly back together (this time with Blue LocTite on the screws and bolts...take that Stella, you b**ch).  Got everything torqued down to spec and shifts like butta again!

Second, we figured out what was stopping the jugs from going down....we had the cam chain guide on backwards. 

So, in true SOHC4.NET fashion, we decided to improvise.  Rather than removing the jugs and re-installing the pistons (remember that I brought your tools back to you yesterday so we didn't have those to put the rings back in the cylinders if we removed the jugs), we decided to lift the jugs just enough to try & remove the little pin and be able to turn it around. 

It took us the better part of an hour or so, but we were indeed able to remove the lower roller pin, the lower roller, flip it around and re-install it.  It wasn't easy but we finally got it.

As soon as we got that right, the cylinders went right on.  Then, it was head installation and cam chain timing time.  Easy as pie.

Knit 1, Pearl 2.  Knit 1, Torque 3. (with a little supervision by Mike)


Top dead center on #1/4 cylinder..shows on the mark.  Get the cam shaft marks parallel to the head (well, it was parallel when I started taking the photo.  By the time the photo snapped, Logan had moved it slightly.)






More fun with torque wrenches.


Couldn't resist sitting the valve head cover, breather cover and starter cover on top of the engine to see how it would look with its shiny bits going.

[Bill/BentON Racing]

Paint z tappet caps to match cases!   Good job guys. You guys are persistent! K. Bill

[Restoration Fan]

I meant to mention, Bill.  Those carbs are beautiful on Calendar Girl!

[AintNoEasyWay]

Ahhh love that blue!!

[PGF550F]

Ahhh love that blue!!

X2.  That color really pops on that engine!! What Brand and color is that paint?

[Restoration Fan]

Ahhh love that blue!!

X2.  That color really pops on that engine!! What Brand and color is that paint?

Thank you both.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

It's VHT Engine Metallic with a light silverish, gray looking top on the can.  It goes on and looks more silver than blue until it starts to dry and then it turns the blueish tint.  We cured it in the oven as well to set the paint but it didn't really affect the color; it was pretty much that way once the paint dried.

Edited:  Found a picture of the paint can.

[callmejarob]

Looking great!! I should be getting my engine back this week but then I have to send bits off to get plated!  ARGH!

[Bill/BentON Racing]

VHT part number SP403 Titanium Silver Blue!  Bill

[Restoration Fan]

Realized yesterday that we had never polished the points cover so got that out and soaked it in Metal Rescue to get the little bit of rust that was showing on it, then polished it.  Unfortunately, it has a slight dent in it.  Doesn't look awful but it's not great either.


Few more shiny bits bolted on but with gaskets this time and new shiny, stainless steel Allen wrench bolts to secure them.


Finally found a feeler gauge today that has the correct size for setting the valve lash.  The other 2 I purchased on Saturday were either too big or too small.  Hoping to get them set tomorrow and finish buttoning up the engine so it can go in the frame.

[calj737]

Hoping you're using some AntiSieze on those shiny SS bolts into the aluminum cases 

[Restoration Fan]

Hoping you're using some AntiSieze on those shiny SS bolts into the aluminum cases 

Yes sir!   I remember someone (you, I believe) making that suggestion in another thread and did exactly that.

[calj737]

Shame about the points cover. I know Bill's got a few mintys laying about in the kitchen (on your next visit  )

[Restoration Fan]

Shame about the points cover. I know Bill's got a few mintys laying about in the kitchen (on your next visit  )

I meant to tell you that you should see "Camp Camouflage" now.  More tarps covering the whole thing up and the collection has grown and is going to grow again as Bill is buying something like 11 more bikes out on the west coast sometime this summer and driving them back across the country.

Also, something that just came to my mind earlier that Bill taught me.  Since not everyone has access to a guy like Bill Benton, I thought it might be something others would appreciate knowing as well.

If you see a shift cover on a Honda that has the shift pattern on it like mine does (see picture below), that means the cover came from a '75 or later bike.  Many of the British bikes, like BSA's and Triumphs, prior to '75 actually shifted on the right side.  But in 75, the USA required that all bikes shift on the left side and Honda began putting the shift pattern on the covers.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Ron, once the engine is back in the frame, what's next??

[Restoration Fan]

Oil tank and oil lines first, then triple tree with the new All Ballz bearings, followed by the electricals.  Front forks will go into the trees once we can get them done.  One of them is apart but the oil seal is coming apart in pieces.  Tomorrow, we'll try boiling it to get it out.  The other is the real problem. 

The hex nut at the base of the bottom part of the fork is stripped and not wanting to come out.  We're trying to come up with a clever way to get it out.  Once that's done, we will boil it as well to remove the fork soils, replace those and fork oil and the front end goes back in/on.

The rear hub, rim and spokes are on their way back to Buchanan's now since they sent me the incorrect outer spokes for the 17" rear rim.  The girl on the phone from Buchanan's swore they were the proper one...umm, no...they're not.  They'll see that quickly once they get it.

So, once they get the proper ones laced on the outside and true it, they'll send it back to me.  At that point, we mount tires and have a rolling chassis.

In the meantime, we'll be working on the electrical and trying to get the new wiring harness sorted out with all of the old connections...cleaning all that up.  And then.......we try to start it. 

Until then though, still a lot of stuff to do.  The big thing is the electrical but we did more painting of bits yesterday (headlight bucket, cam chain tensioner, and the metal piece that holds the tach/speedo/idiot lights).  We still have to figure out how to paint the switches black and the writing red and make that look good.  And we are still deciding on the paint colors because the next big paint job is the tank and side panels.

I've been sold on Candy Ruby Red all along but we haven't decided 100% yet.

[calj737]

To get that stripped hex bolt out of the lowers, HEAT and an impact. Now that they're apart, you'll have to jam a wooden broom handle down the tube to lock the damper rod from spinning away.

There's a crush washer between the bolt and the lower, and the corrosion over 40 years locks the threads in. If you tried removing it without tension on the bolt from above, and no heat but muscle, you've made a mess.

If the bolt is so stripped that even a square drive socket won't grip, weld a short and stout bolt to it. Then heat the stuck bolt and turn out the pair of them.

When I say heat, I mean cherry red hot before you twist it out. Been there, done that lots of times. And be sure to replace the crush washers.

[Restoration Fan]

There's a crush washer between the bolt and the lower, and the corrosion over 40 years locks the threads in. If you tried removing it without tension on the bolt from above, and no heat but muscle, you've made a mess.

If the bolt is so stripped that even a square drive socket won't grip, weld a short and stout bolt to it. Then heat the stuck bolt and turn out the pair of them.

cal,
Thank you.  The one that's stripped still has the bottom and top portions together, so there is still tension on it.  Bill and I tried hitting it with the impact but it was already so stripped that the bit just turns in it.

I haven't tried a square bit yet but I'll try that tonight.  But I think we're going to end up taking it to have something welded to it so that get it out that way.  I don't yet have a welder although that's been on the list of things that I've been eyeing for a while.

Ron

[calj737]

Try heat (propane torch) and then the impact, especially if it's air driven. But the at is the key.

You might just "crack" the oil drain screw though. With all the heat you could boil the fork oil and without a vent, well, you get where I'm going....

[madmtnmotors]

Drill the head off that bottom bolt and the fork will pull apart leaving a stub to grasp (once pulled apart). I use left hand bits and often get lucky as the bit "grabs" and spins the bolts remains right out. 

[Bill/BentON Racing]

Ron, got LH bits and seal remover tool, c'mon tonight! Bill

[Restoration Fan]

Ron, got LH bits and seal remover tool, c'mon tonight! Bill

Bill,
Sounds good.  Logan and I will just bring the forks over there so we can do it right on the spot with some "adult" supervision. 

[Bill/BentON Racing]

K, just let me know what time, Bill

[Restoration Fan]

In true Stella form, we had to do a bit of backtracking today.  After realizing that all of the cylinder studs never got torqued fully down and that we also forgot to put some liquid gasket sealant on the pucks, the cam chain and cam towers had to come back off.  Got all the top & second row studs torqued into the case....and realized the stud installation tool would fit on the 4 small studs up front that are recessed into the holes.  But there wasn't enough room to turn the tool.  So, the head comes gently off, torque those 4 studs down and the head goes back on.  In a span of about thirty minutes, it went from this:



to this


Oops, Stella is trying to get naked.  Stella!  Put your top back on!  Well, that had to wait for a while actually because a trip to Bill Benton's House of Hondaland Fun was planned.  Logan had to stay home and do a lab report write-up for his AP Anatomy class, so I took the front forks over to Bill's house.  After about 10 minutes, Bill showed me that having the proper tools and the right knowledge and experience are invaluable.  The stripped allen bolt I'd been trying to remove in about a gazillion different ways over a period of 2 or more hours was already out in those 10 minutes.  And a good portion of that time was Bill coming over to instruct me on the proper way to heat the fork lowers with the heat gun to get them ready to remove the fork seals (he wanted me to point out to Cal that he was instructing me PRIOR to me doing it wrong this time  ).



Before I left, Bill also swapped me a nice, shiny points cover for the dented, not-quite-as-shiny one that I had.  After I thanked Bill for all his help and got back in the Jeep, I was half-way home when Bill called to tell me that I'd left one of the fork uppers on the workbench.  Since I was too far away to turn around and still needing to get home to fix a late dinner (after 9 pm by this time) for Logan, I told him I'd just get it on the next visit.

Then, it's back home....only to find Logan still working on the homework for 30 more minutes.  A quick dinner at around 9:30 and Logan is just now finishing up the lab report.  At which point he looked at me and said, "I'm realizing that taking AP Anatomy may just be one of the biggest mistakes of my life so far!".  I didn't say, "I told you so" to him but I think my smile gave away my thoughts in that direction.

He helped me get the cam towers and cam shaft back on and aligned, tested it and everything works as it should.  By this time, it was after 11 and I sent Logan to bed and told him that I'd go ahead and put the valve cover back on.  I don't usually just work on parts of the bike without him, but we had decided that, come hell or high water, that engine is going back in the frame tomorrow.  We wanted to get that done and checked off the Finished list.  Since he & I will be out of town from Friday through Sunday as we travel around Georgia visiting some of the colleges that made his final cut, we're trying to get as much done as possible by the end of Thursday night. 

I only needed to set the valve lashing and I'd be able to put some of the covers on the engine.  So, after spending several minutes looking like a donkey with 3 arms and 4 fingers, I finally got the hang of setting the valve lash on each one.  A bit of gasket sealant on the gasket, a dab of anti-seize on each new stainless steel bolt, and voila the valve cover and breather covers are back on the engine.


I like it a lot like this, but I'm seriously entertaining Bill's idea of painting the tappet covers the titanium silver blue color to match the engine colors and make them stand out a bit.

But seeing the way that looked, I couldn't resist sitting the alternator cover on and the starter cover on the engine just to take a peak at how the finished product might look.


And...so, now we are ready to install the alternator cover, the clutch and clutch cover, the oil pump and then this baby goes back into the frame and the real assembly starts to make it look like a motorcycle. 

Tomorrow should be fun (yeah right) as we attempt to put the engine in the frame.  If Stella holds true to form, we'll put it in, only to discover that we put it in backwards and upside down.  But after we take it out and put it back in 2 or 3 times, it's gonna be a beaut! 

[calj737]

(Hint: exhaust studs go towards front wheel, and shiny bits up.) that ought to save you a few back-breaking hours of putting it in and taking it out... 

Glad you got your forks apart without drilling.