Topic: Sandcast #97 restoration

[lucky]

Some good quality liquid,not paste paint stripper carfully applied to the gasket may soften and break the bond. I have not seen much that can stand up to that material.

Just buy Goo-get-off at any hardware store or use  some Seafoam. Works perfect.

[markb]

Now for some interesting stuff (at least for the sandcast guys).  I compared the rubbers between 97 and 1553.  The one on the left is off 97.  If you look at the lower left part of the rubber there seems to be a slight difference.  There is a slight curve on 97’s and more straight on 1553’s.  But I thought that rubbers on VINs before 302 didn’t have holes so it looks like mine have probably been changed.


So this got me thinking about the rubbers on my K0.  Instead of four wide and four narrow, they are the same size but symmetrical.




Checking in an early parts book shows that style.  I also seem to remember something about a recall on these.  Is it possible that the ones on my K0 would be correct originals?

So like I said, I thought this was interesting, but wait, there’s more!  I’m sure some of you have heard about 2-hole hubs and the later 4-hole hubs.  How about a no-hole hub?!  I didn’t notice it until I took out the rubbers but 97’s hub does not have any holes.


Anyone seen this before?  I’ve never heard of it.

[Greggo]

The very early stuff on these bikes is really interesting.  It's like the Porsche my dad is working on - almost like the early ones were put together with some leftover, or one off stuff just to get them out the door!

[Magpie]

The updates came fast and furious it seems. Cliff.

[markb]

I hadn't posted for a while so I needed to catch up.  Unfortunately I spent too much time on the computer yesterday and not enough time doing real work.   

[ekpent]

Had anybody on the Sandcast site heard of a no hole hub before.? I am sure they are waiting over there anxiously with each and every post you make as you go through that early bike. Must be adding to their database quite well in their 'differences' section.  Seems like everytime you work on a section its like opening a Christmas present 

[Hinomaru]

The no-hole rear hub is a new one on me.

This 8/71 recall letter shows that the rear wheel dampers, clutch springs and drive sprocket need to be replaced:

http://data.sohc4.net/SB750/recall_letter.pdf

The Honda 750 parts book dated 12/71 shows part number changes to the dampers:

(click on image for a larger view)

[markb]

Had anybody on the Sandcast site heard of a no hole hub before?

A couple of the guys had.  One of the guys had actually seen one, on a 1-digit sandcast.  They say it's one of the rarest parts.   
Hinomaru, thanks for the additional info.  Interesting.

[markb]

I’ve got some progress to report although I had very little to do with it.  I decided to send out my gauges.  To me there are a couple of key things on a restoration and the gauges are one of them.  And these were definitely beyond my abilities.

They were pretty bad to say the least.  Here’s the speedo before…


…and the tach before.  Believe me, they were worse than the pictures look.


Here’s the restored product.


It was important for me to save the original cast housings since they are different on later models.  I had the NOS rubber cushions without ribs so that was really my only contribution.


Marcel den Butter (user name lecram on this site) in the Netherlands did the work.  Here’s his webpage:
http://www.cb750faces.com/webshop.php
I’m extremely pleased with the finished result and definitely recommend him.  He’s easy to work with and kept me informed every step of the way.  Thanks again Marcel.

[Damfino]

Wow! Beautiful job Lecram!! 

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

Many thanks for your nice words, Mark. It was a great pleasure to do this for you. Especially the speedo was in a very bad condition. I am happy that I was able to completely repair the speedo as well with original Sandcast parts.

Pic 1: The internal mechanism as it came out of the speedo

Pic 2: The internal mechanisme in parts. I kept the unique series 1 parts and added some series 2 sandcast parts which are the same as the first series

Pic 3: All parts brought together

Pic 4: Completed with the day trip counter

[hoodellyhoo]

So besides the cast housings, what was able to be saved from the original gauges?

Great job Lecram. They look great!

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

So besides the cast housings, what was able to be saved from the original gauges?

Great job Lecram. They look great!

Thanks.

Only the gauge bottom, the cable drive body and the frame of the mechanism (with the main shaft) were saved. All other parts were completely gone. Luckily, all rusted and broken parts were similar with the later sandcast speedo which I had in stock.

[markb]

Thanks Marcel for adding some additional history.

That's exactly why I delegated this task to the expert.

[ekpent]

Great job on those gauges.That will really make the bike pop even more. Sure your not a watchmaker also ?? 

[markb]

I dropped off my parts for chrome plating today.  I should have taken a before picture but I already had it boxed up.  I threw in the fenders from my other sandcast too.  There were a few bends and dings in them and I figured it would help them do the straightening if they could compare them.  So it ended up being a pretty good size load.  I probably should have tried them out with a couple of parts first to see how they do but they came highly recommended and I saw some of their stuff.  Some of it was way too good for what I want but they seemed to know what I meant by dialing it back to a more authentic old Honda look.  I just hope they know what they're doing.  I don't know about you guys but these places scare me.  They always look disorganized with boxes of parts all over.  I don't know how they keep track of everything especially the little stuff.  I'll probably be having nightmares about a couple of double cut front fenders disappearing.   
Oh well, zinc next.

[Old Scrambler]

Mark..........those chrome shops scare me AND my wallet!..............One time I took two boxes. One was mine and the other was my brother-in-law's............they combined the boxes...........after 5 years we are still sorting between CL77 and CB77 parts.  Very nice clocks...........please remember to store them face-up to prevent lubricants from staining the faces.

[markb]

........please remember to store them face-up to prevent lubricants from staining the faces.

Excellent suggestion.  I'm going to double-check them tonight.
Thanks

[markb]

I finally have my zinc ready to drop off.  Part of the reason that it took me so long is I’m doing everything for 1553 too so I have just about everything for two complete bikes plus a few extras.  I’ve got everything from three engines too although I don’t worry about replating most of the internal parts.


I probably have 25 hours just into this bin full of screws, nuts, washers, pins, etc.  Besides wire brushing and cleaning, I ran a tap or die in or on every threaded part.  Maybe a little anal but maybe one in ten had some corrosion or gunk on the threads.  I’ve found that the more work I put into it the better they turn out.  I’m not sure where I got it but I had it in my head that there was about 5 lbs. of fasteners on one bike.  So I put this bin on the scale and it was 22 lbs. (10 kg. for you metric guys)!  No wonder my fingers are raw!


I’ve got all the carb screws and linkage and bowl clips too.  While I was at it I even threw in some of my homemade tools.  Which reminds me, I should throw in the Honda tools that need plating too.


My chrome should be done soon.

[knowsnothing]

Wow... i would never be able to remember where all of those go.....

[markb]

I don't either.  That's why I have spreadsheets with every screw, nut, washer, pin, etc.  It has the Honda part number and the dimensions that I measured when I took the bike apart so when I get it back from plating I sort them out, measure them and put them in bins according to part numbers.  Takes a while but its worth it at assembly time.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I love finding cool project threads I missed that already have 14 pages to look through. Nice work.

[knowsnothing]

I don't either.  That's why I have spreadsheets with every screw, nut, washer, pin, etc.  It has the Honda part number and the dimensions that I measured when I took the bike apart so when I get it back from plating I sort them out, measure them and put them in bins according to part numbers.  Takes a while but its worth it at assembly time.

Mark, you are way more disciplined than I .......

[ekpent]

Mark it helps also that you have another one already restored that you can run over to take a peek at as far as parts placement etc. I am always looking a stocker over when working on another,but that is a daunting pile of nut,bolts etc 

[markb]

A couple of guys have asked me for copies of my spreadsheets and I’ve been thinking that maybe they might be helpful for others and I’m more than happy to share them.  I started a separate thread here:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=103068.0