OMG what have i done

[granpymike]

Hi, I  am a somerset boy,my existing and well loved bike is my old matchless love it and has been my pride and joy for 3 years.
I've bought a 1976 Honda 400 4 2 owners from new left outside for 5 years looking neglected and unloved.Lots of rust but has a spare engine and a Haynes manual.
I know very little about the 400 4's but like the look of them and looking for a winter project,havent got a clue where to start so looking for inspiration from you guys.
I rebuilt my Matchless with the excellent help from the AJS Matchless owners club.I think it very important to give feedback of any advise given, these forums are great with lots of ideas passed across but did they work?.
Baack to the 400 where do i start i collect her next week (bought for

[K2-K6]

Hi Mike and welcome to this forum.

1. Open tappet covers and try to get new oil onto cam / followers to prevent pickup.
2. See if you can get plugs out, small amount of reddex or similar down each bore.
3. See if you can turn it over gently with the kick start, just slowly to see if anything is stuck maybe one full revolution.
4. Get power on and check for oil pressure light working.
5. Spin it over with plugs out to see if it'll reach the stage where the oil light goes out.
6. Check for sparks and fuel (easier said than done) many threads on here about 400-4 carbs cleaning etc.
7. Try to start it to assess if it will run.
8. Change oil and filter.
9. Decide if you want to go towards getting it Mot'd and running, has the advantage of a good debug assessment and evaluation before a strip and rebuild if that's where you were heading.

Each step obviously is dependant on the previous one checking out.

[granpymike]

Thanks K2 K6 will do all you suggest,How much do you guys reckon it would cost to rebuild a sad 400 4 new mudguards front and back,new wheels new paint job the list goes on.

[K2-K6]

I'm more familiar with 750's and the general running of engines than the 400-4 specifically, so for costs on that one you'll need help from some of the other forum guys as to parts availability etc.

Hope you can get it to go to give you a good start point though.

[Bryanj]

Problem is parts, I dont think new rear muguards exixt anymore and some vital engine internals have been obsoleted so you will need the help and encouragement of this board plus the sister US site and Uk and US flea bay

[kent400]

They are not too bad for parts, take a good look at David Silver's web site. Most of the engine parts that wear out can be found and there is a metal replica rear guard available. The front one is still available at