Topic: cb350f - sitting for 20 years- Pics

[Prospect]

Hello

I picked up a 74 cb350f that had been sitting around for 20 years.  I paid $450. The bike is 100% complete (the headlight I took out for my cb400f) I was going to partially restore the bike over the winter to ride it next summer.  It's pretty rusty and I'm concerned about the state of the engine.  When I kick it over there is much less resistance than expected.  I did a compression test on #1 and #4 (kickstarter) and I'm getting 15 psi and 45 psi.  In fact it's even hard to register anything on the gague unless I kick it for a while (10 kicks) Is it common for these bikes to loose compression after sitting for so long due to internal rust? I'm not sure if it's worth it to restore if I have to tear down the engine.

[Bodain]

It's not likely it lost compression merely by sitting for years. It is likely it was parked many years ago because it stopped running from lack of compression. Most likely a valve problem.

[Hush]

Could be the rings are stuck in their grooves, this will cause blow by and will totally screw your attempts to get a compression test reading.
At $450 I'd take it and restore, looks like it has a good set of CB400f pipes on it too.
Unstick those rings before you condemn that engine mate.

[JB_Pgh]

Junk it, but sell me the seat first.   

Nice find for the money!

[HondaMan]

I'll take it!
Are you out here in the West?

Dang, what a find!

[strangedaze39]

I'd say thats a fair deal. You probably got the upside if anything, because now you have a CB350F! I'd rebuild the engine if the pistons are fine and the casing doesn't have any cracks. If you need some valves let me know I have a extra set laying around. First thing you need to do is start tearing that engine apart, and clean those carbs. I will bet all the money in fort knox it's not going to run without a carb rebuild 

If you need any help with that thing, don't hesitate to ask. I'm still learning everyday.
Good luck with the bike!

[petercb750]

Do the world a favour and restore it! It's too complete to junk.

[bucky katt]

dump some pb blaster or another penetrating oil into the spark plug holes...ALOT then let it sit for a few days to posen possibly stuck rings. do another compression test then, might just be stuck rings. were the plugs oily when you pulled them?

[Prospect]

Thanks for the ideas.  I'll probably make this a 2-3 year project to space out the costs.  I'll try the ideas you guys suggested and if still no compression then I'll put in a cb400f engine, ride it and keep working on the cb350f engine. 

I knew it was a good price when I saw it and that's why it sold 90 minutes after listing.  Like I mentioned there is a lot of surface rust and fading.  It was stored under a loose tarp in a shed.  The tank is rusty but I think I'll be able to salvage it with por15.  It'll require a total tear down, carb work (already ordered kits from a board member) paint, new spokes, spark wires, caps, etc.  We'll see about the exhaust ($$$). It's very similar to the cb400f which I've worked on for the last year.  I've learned from it and hopefully I won't make the same mistakes on this one!

Gotta go.  Taking my cb400f for it's maiden (long distance) voyage.