Shovel top end . . .

Thanks, Johnny. As for this "rebuilder", he is no longer in the employ of the guy I bought the motor from. Apparently, he was getting lots of complaints from others who bought "rebuilt" classic motors from him.

Pure Evil Performance out of Mechanicsville, Va., has a good rep for doing quality work and that is who I will send the heads to.

Maybe the owner should absorb all of the cost of getting that motor rebuilt properly and not by him. I can understand that mistakes happen but it seems that everything in this motor has failed quickly. I would be steaming!!!:rant::rant:

. . . To go upside his head with, right? I've gotten kinda partial to this ol' shovel motor by now. Besides, he would NEVER give me back what I paid, PLUS what I put into it, and that would be a pre-condition. I'll keep on fixing it it until it's, well, fixed.

Can't be too much more. Besides, I'm getting very familiar with all it's nooks, crannies, and idiosyncracies. But in this case, familiarity doesn't breed contempt, but rather a deep abiding affection . . .

So far, the bottom end seems solid.

As I said on the "cam seal still leaking" thread, now I'm taking the whole motor to PEP in Machanicsville, Va. next week for a complete rebuild.

Well, I have decided not to go with the boys up in Virginia. They are an unknown factor and I suppose there might be a risk in getting buggered yet once more. My friend and indy, Tattoo Tony, has been helping me a lot. I tore the jugs off and took them to him and he honed them for me at no charge. He also checked the rods, wrist pins & pistons and they appear to be okay. He is going to help me put the jugs back on at no charge. I played a music gig at his girl friend's B-day party Saturday night at no charge. It was outside but there was a fire ring right in front of the stage and he set it up really nice with a canopy and a backdrop with lights. It was so cool . . .

Today I'm sending the heads and all the original parts out to Dennis Thurlow, who Tattoo trusts to do a righteous job. Dennis is the Harley guru around these parts.Then it's wait, wait, wait . . .

I also bought one of those new roller chains for the ol' sled - Tattoo's recommendation. He's putting on some extra links for me in his shop. Next will be a Daltry Power Vent for the crankcase breather and next after that will be a Crane 2000i ignition. Yup, I'm gonna do away with the points, boys, probably sometime after New Years.

You mean a Dyna 2000i ignition....good choice,have one in the Evo....
Do you have a link or info on the Daltry Power Vent??
You're going modern now eh Roller chains,electronic ignition and a crank vent...I think you're going to finally get a reliable good running shovel...What cam you gonna run??

Dunno yet on the cam. I can't seem to find a link to the Daltry power vent. Thought I'd mention that there were some vertical scratches that Tattoo could not completely get out of one of the barrels. He thinks it will be okay to run, though. Or I'd have to get a new STD barrel for $150.

What I actually meant was a Crane HI-4N ignition module. Hasn't been out long and about $300 and has all the settings including the all important kickstart mode. Compatible with my shovel. Single or double fire and I don't have to switch my Andrews double fire coil. One wire straight to the coil.


Maybe Santa will get me one this Christmas - I sent my letter to the North Pole already.

Tattoo runs the Daltry power vent on his shovel. I couldn't find a link.

I'm still going to carry a set of points in my tool bag - just in case!

The tech who is doing my heads called and said that 2 of the valve guides were too tall to accomodate seals and that was why there were no seals on the guides and why, of course, the puff of oil came out when starting the bike up. He will machine them down to the right height and put in the Viton seals I sent him. Also said the seats are okay. I'm getting new valves and springs. The springs I had were too weak. Also getting a glass bead job.

My barrels, heads and rocker boxes were all from different bikes - one barrel is aftermarket. Tattoo said they just pieced together a mish mash of parts and called it a '77. The bike is registered as a '77 because of the serial numbers on the block.

The guy's name that messed up my motor is Mitch Buster. I hope he never works in a bike shop again . . .:angry:. More likely, however, he's out there somewhere messing up somebody else's stuff.

I got the new rings in the pistons and Tattoo is coming by one of these days to help me get the jugs on.

Geeze JB...the more you say about the engine you have,the more pizzed I get....I'm really liking HRK's bag of doorknobs as a gift to the guy that slapped those parts together AND the guy that sold it to you...IMO the guy that sold it to you should man up and make it right...but that ain't gonna happen,so onward ya go...

That Hi-4N looks like a good unit and they addressed the heat issues some of the Hi-4's had...you're gonna also need an OE timing rotor that's not included with the ignition...I also found on Amazon it's about $80 cheaper than J&P...
You gonna add a VOES since you're going electronic??

Here's the instructions for the Hi-4N and the part number for the rotor you'll need...also the coil they recommend to use with it...

http://www.cranecams.com/uploads/instructions/9000-6100.pdf

you know what kills me the most is any one who knows any thing about shovels is that the guides allways sit high when installed and must be machined down for the seal not to crash into the retainer ! this guy was such a hack ! well you will get a nice running shovel now. and you can enjoy the ride for a change . you will spend more time riding and not wrenching.

is the guy doing your heads replacing the guides?hope their at least being mic`ed (valve to guide clearance),and as far as the cylinders,if you can feel a scratch with your finger nail,the cylinders should be bored to the next oversize (assuming they where set up at spec before,just honing them could take them over spec too)

Yes, I can feel the scratches with my fingernail. there are about 2 or 3 of them. This just gets worse, doesn't it? Tattoo says to run it anyway.

But if I have them (both) bored, wouldn't I also have to buy oversized pistons & rings to match? What would it cost to have them bored? A new cylinder is $150.

Couldn't I just buy a new STD (1200 cc) cylinder and keep my current pistons and the new rings I just bought?

God, this just keeps going on and on . . . :witsend:

He is not replacing the guides, just machining the 2 tall ones on the back head. He said the guides are ok. They have been replaced at least once before and are in good condition.

I don't think you'd get a good ring seal if you just ran it with the scratches...maybe a new jug and a set of rings so you could fit them to the new jug....this is just my opinion with not much of a knowledge base...Prodrag or Baggerpaul could give you better advice....bag of doorknobs is lookin' better all the time eh....

That's why there were no seals on the rear guides, and why oil was seeping into the combustion chamber. That's what started this whole chain of events . . .

if theres oil getting between the valve & guide,guides are worn out,replace them,just cutting down guides and installing seal wont stop the oil for long.as far as the cylinders go,bore to next oversize.sounds like your getting more bad advice & more crap work.do it right or dont do it at all

You could do this as long as the piston is stock diameter and not already oversize.
Before you have it put back together, have the valves and guides checked with a micrometer to verify they are within spec as Prodrag said. The clearance should be listed in the service manual. Make sure everything is done correctly this time so you don't have to redo it all again next year.