1946 bitsa project

[Simon.Gardiner]

Caps are both long thread versions....

I've been using the long-thread caps with O-rings, I found my caps were very slightly too long and when tightened in the exhaust rocker box they'd be in contact with the steel of the exhaust lifter, which would then scrape pieces of aluminium from the bottom of the cap (as the cap was tightened) to drop into the pocket in the head.

I've had too much 'fun' with shavings of aluminium with the 650 engine so I filed my caps down a bit.

(Didn't have any trouble with the O-rings slipping out, but I've been using thin ones which may help reduce the risk of that.)

SG

[nevhunter]

I never use any type of gasket there. Too much fiddling. Nev

[SEDoan]

Thanks for the information guys.
Vincent - interesting about pump sizes. I'm happy the Hawker pump is larger because I want maximum oil circulation - especially to the rockers and cam box. I've used the Morgo rotary oil pump in my '47 VH for 20 years and don't understand what over oiling is. It will wet sump after sitting for a week if the feed check ball in the timing cover is removed so maybe it is that? I put a drain plug in the sump plate so it was easy enough to drain and return oil to the tank. The other thing I've read is there could be too much oil in the crankcase of early engines that did not run an oil ring. Bad things about the Morgo rotary pump are that the feed loses its prime at every oil change and is tedious to bleed with 50wt oil and difficult to determine if feed has been restored if there is no feed pressure gauge. It's so bad that all my future bikes will have piston pumps.
Also thanks for the picture of the valve cap clip - might be able to make something like that.
Nev - thanks for the info on the decompressor. This one seemed to have some mushy material under the thin spring washers that I interpreted as gasket material so tried to replicate that. Unfortunately there is not much spring left in the dished washer. The thick o-ring sounds like a good solution if what I have doesn't seal.
Simon - thanks for the tip, Need to give that a closer look.

[KenS]

My exhaust lifter seal leaked as well with the original (cork?) sealing material. I replaced the seal with 345-38 O-Ring, 344A-38 Crinkle washer, and the two shims 346-38 & 346-39, .010" and .020" respectively. Solved the leak issue!

[SEDoan]

Been having too much fun to post progress reports but the days are getting colder and shorter so here you go - pictures from months past.

Twin pipes from Armours - but the right side was a little stray so it was straightened with a torch and pressure.

I had 2 previous Armours high right pipes that needed straitening which is why I ordered this one without chrome.

While pipes were getting chromed a friend found for me 6 pint oil tank that needed a little bracket repair and seam welding but was otherwise very nice. Had to reweld the seam several times before I got it to seal - tested with gasoline.

Then there was the remains of a swingarm battery holder that another friend found.

Some hammering, cutting and welding and it fits!

It's important that the right pipe be contoured with the oil tank in place. Wish I'd done that

[Paul Slootheer]

Looking good!

[SEDoan]

Thank you Paul - your '46 is looking very good too. Looks like it will be a lot of fun to ride.

So those last pictures got us through May and not much happened in June and July but then in August I started working on the battery straps and little brackets to hold the oil tank and tool box.
To make the eyes for the battery strap I cut a channel of the correct size in a steel block so that the strap could be pressed in and folded over to form the eye.

I made the trunnions from round stock and turned a suitable pinch-bolt on the lathe.
The toolbox was from a swingarm Ariel or inferior make and had 3 brackets spotwelded to it which were removed. The bottom toolbox bracket was easy to re-weld in the correct position, but it was a real struggle to form 3/4" x 1/8" flat bar into two upper brackets using a vice and a piece of pipe. It wasn't so bad making them individually, but getting them to fit the same was nearly impossible. Spent a day saving myself about 18GBP The same flat bar was used to for form the frame loop for the oil tank saving myself another 6GBP

Somewhere in there I got a painter friend to paint the oil tank so then went chasing around for the parts to plumb it. Where I live 5/16" copper tubing is hard to find. Finally the tank got plumbed and filled and a few kicks had oil returning to the tank. Hurray!

[Paul Slootheer]

Yes I expect it will ride ok. I only did a small ride around the house to check if everything is working. On this moment the machine is not road legal… I have to wait untill the end of this month for inspection by the Dutch DVLA to get a license plate. The moment oil is returning for the first time is allways a special moment!! Did you put in a later oil pump?

[SEDoan]

Paul - great to hear you are so close to getting your '46 on the road officially. You'll be amazed - here the law states that all the original equipment must be in working order, but there is no inspection unless the vehicle is declared a total loss by an insurance company. Because mine is built from parts that have no insurance wreck or theft claim it is already registered for the road! They still trust us to build a safe vehicle!

The pump is a new Draganfly Hawker pump. I've ordered another but they have been back-ordered for months.

With all the work on cycle parts I was also fitting fenders "mud guards" - blanks ordered from the UK a couple years ago. I wanted fenders that were slimmer and fit closer to the tires so got a C-shaped one for the front and a D-shaped one for the back to cut down. Looking to mimic this:

I had some front fender stays that needed cutting down to hold the arc of the front fender to the tire. This was very fiddly but the result is good:

Hardest part was making the fork-fender bracket. Hours were spent getting the contour and hole spacing correct but the holes line up so don't stress the brace or fender. (I've learned they can crack after some riding if poorly made)

The rear fender was far more difficult because it needed to be cut out to clear the chainguard. (The rear fender blank was full-width all along its length.) Simply cutting away part of the fender didn't seem right. I considered making a hammer form from wood and trying to peen the extra steel into a recess around the chainguard but imagined that it would pucker and dimple into trash. After talking it over with my brother the metal worker I decided to cut away the offending steel and make a patch panel. I made sure it could be made in paper before trying it in steel.

I started by cutting away all but about 1/2" of steel. It was cut with an abrasive wheel to avoid stretching and distorting the fender's shape as shears may have done. I then cut saw-teeth into the cut edge that could be folded over and welded to the patch panel.

[SEDoan]

A patch panel was cut and the curved edge folded over to form a beaded edge. It was iffy that this could be done but scoring a line on the inside of the fold with a cold chisel helped keep the fold on its curve. Trimmed to match the fender.

"Weld to stick and grind to hide" It turned out OK