Hi all
After weeks of lurking and learning, I decided to make an account and bring y'all along the journey of my barn find build.
One day on Craigslist, I came across an estate sale that had a picture of a barn on it. In the back of the barn I saw a bike and decided I would go check it out.
There sat a 1978 CB550, last inspected in 1982 and totally seized up. Pitting and some surface rust, but all in all it was in decent shape, sans the engine. I offered the guy $150 and he gladly took it and I drove away with it in my pickup.
I plan on doing a full, frame-off Resto-Mod, Tracker style.
Day 0: Got the beast home and power washed the entire thing, top to bottom. Took the tank and seat off and rolled it into the garage.
Day 1: Started breaking everything doing and disassembling the motor. This was especially difficult as it wouldn't turn. It was a challenge but I managed to cut the head off one of the cam gear bolts and had access to the other and was able to get the cam chain off for disassembly. Got the Valve Cover and Cylinders off. I can't tell what happened, but my guess is water got into cylinder 3 and rusted the whole thing up.
Day 2: Got almost everything out / off the frame and continued to break down the motor.
I am at my first block in the road and it seems like I can't get the two shells for the crankcase to come apart. I've got everything according to the Cylmer manual off, sans the stator rotor. Does the absolutely need to come off?I just want to get in there and look around. The rods are a little corroded and I want to make sure that nothing else down there is rough. In the barn the bike had no oil pan drain plug or oil filter, so moisture was able to get into the crankcase. The pan was covered in sludge on the inside.