Honda-SOHC

Collected my zinc plated bits and pieces this week and I've sent some fork and shock parts for chrome plating which look like being an 8 week turnaround. Still haven't fully removed the cylinder base gasket but it's currently soaking in WD40 at the moment. I've never come across a gasket as stubborn as this one.

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Also stripped the forks which are in surprisingly good condition to replace the seals. One fork came apart easily but the bottom socket bolt on the other fork refused to move and the Allen drive rounded the socket out. Had to drill thro the to the shank to remove the damper and found a rock hard adhesive or sealant around the head, top threads and copper sealing washer. Fortunately soaking in cellulose thinners softened it and freed the washer.

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I'm going to try industrial strength paint stripper on the crankcases and any brand recommendations would be welcome. First though, in the next day or two, I've got to tackle the sheared sump bolt which I've been putting off, really don't want to get that wrong. 

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Well progress has been much slower than I wanted but the frame, stands, brackets etc have now been powder coated and the swing arm phosphor bronze bushes from Julie fitted.

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The VIN plate was damaged and partially detached at the top when I got the bike but its straightened out reasonably well. The damage at the top is more noticeable in the photo.

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I know taper roller head bearings are popular but I had an unhappy time with them on my VFR400. I ended up fitting the stock Honda bearings which were perfect so I’m doing the same again.

Tomorrow I’m taking a pile of nuts and bolts to Able Platers in Livingstone who do small batch barrel zinc plating. They’re very near to a soda blasting company so I’m killing two birds with one stone and taking the cases along. However I’m unsure when I’ll be able to spray them as its far too cold in the shed and garage. Its very frosty at the moment and taking a lot of willpower to work in the garage!

I already have the engine and gearbox oil seals and but am unsure which gasket set brand to use as I’ve read conflicting opinions. I would like to get a genuine Honda head gasket if that tackles the oil weep issue.

Second that (although 350)

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Welcome to the forum. I’m also in Scotland not far from you in Biggar.


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I’ve just got some cellulose thinners to try. If that doesn’t work I’ll have a go with acetone.


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I’ve been distracted by a number of house and car jobs that needed doing but I finally got around to splitting the cases today. I’d removed the sump previously and thought one of the bolts was missing. Now its on the bench I’ve found that the bolt has been overtightened and the head has snapped off. I’ve removed broken studs before but I’m going to farm this out I’m not 100% confident with this one.

Other than that there are no obvious horrors. I’ll carry out a proper inspection in the next few days but so far I know I need to replace the primary chain.

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Thankfully the markings on the crank are clear and the code on the back of the crankcase is B B B B B

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The crankcase shells look generally ok to me apart from number 2 lower and possibly 2 upper which have a score marks although I’d welcome honest opinions.

So if needed I reckon the mains are B3 Black, B2 Brown, B1 Green, B2 Brown, B3 Black and big ends all 2A Yellow.

Hopefully getting the frame and bits back from powder coating this week, will feel like its really underway then. In the meantime I’ll keep chipping away at the cylinder base gasket which is resisting removal.

Good tip Ian thanks. I'll give them a try, they're fairly near too.

Despite stating in my new member intro thread that I was looking for a 750 to restore, I’ve ended up getting a CB350F (American import) instead. There was a post about it on this forum
http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,29772.0.html

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Its obviously been stood for a long time and there’s a lot of surface rust but everything is solid. The tank has a couple of shallow dents but looks good internally. The mudguards have fine pitting but are free of dents and should be ok for stripping and replating. I was surprised to find the owners manual under the seat, unfortunately without its cover (I get the impression the manuals are rare and I’ve scanned it if anyone wants a copy). The first thing I noticed when sitting on it was the relatively high bars. My VFR400 is too low but this is very upright for me and it seems the bars fitted to the European model are a little lower? Anyway that’s some way off yet. The pipes are not going back on!

The frame and other parts have gone for powder coating today and and I’ve made a start on the engine. The pistons have a lot of carbon deposits. The exhaust valve in cylinder 4 was very slightly stuck open and the top ring in cylinder 3 had seized in the piston.

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A couple of the bores have very slight rusting in places - photo actually makes it look worse than it is. There was nothing worrying in the sump.

The only problem I’ve had so far during disassembly was the oil filter bolt, ridiculously overtightened. The bolt already had slightly rounded edges and would not move. Eventually ended up rounding the bolt head. I drilled thro the head and tried using my largest stud extractor but gave up at the point where I was convinced it would snap. The only remaining option then was to drill with a 20mm bit to remove the head and part of the flange. This allowed me to withdraw the housing and unscrew the remainder of the bolt. Unfortunately I caught the housing which will now need remedial work.

Reading Nurse Julie’s and Royhall’s build threads has been great preparation for splitting the cases hopefully this week. No doubt as well as a rebore and pistons, some big end and main bearing shells will be needed. I’d welcome any advice as to which ones I can reuse.

Alan