CB350F Restoration by royhall (NOW FINISHED)

[beemsquar]

Cheers Royhall, might give that a go myself. DSS are asking £125 for a new one, not including vat or delivery!

I just started a new thread, but probably should have asked you first, did you put any grease in your hubs when installing your wheel bearings?
I'm installing the same bearing kit, but wondered if the axle needs greasing first?

What gasket kit did you use on the engine build? Are DSS any good?

What graphite paste did you use and did you coat any other components other than the ones you mentioned previously in your post?

Or are there any good resources out there for newbie engine rebuilders?

This thread is proving very helpful and I'm loving your attention to detail.

[royhall]

Hi.

The axle question is answered on your other thread.

This time round I used a gasket set from Cruzinimage (you can find them on eBay). As they come from Japan its best to order everything you need from them in one hit as they will combine the postage (email them first). Don't buy the front disk pads from them though, as mine don't fit.

Resources (I assume you mean books etc) a good parts book is more important than a workshop manual. Most have exploded drawings clearly showing where everything goes. It also has details such as bolt sizes which is very important on a 400/4 as some of the bolts need to be the exact correct length (ie. front engine mounts and engine case bolts). Unfortunately the available 400/4 parts book is probably the worst I have seen for a while as the drawings are very small and over stuffed with writing (PM Ashimoto he usually has a good stock of PDF documents). I find the Clymer manual to be the easiest to use, but that's down to the person, some swear by Haynes or the genuine Honda?

This is the first time I have used a graphite assembly paste, I usually just use clean engine oil. It is called Graphogen and its not cheap. It was recommended by Trigger so no reason to not trust it.

Glad this thread is being of use to members, and thank you for all the positive comments about it. Not sure about being an inspiration though, but just glad it helps. It makes the time spent doing it worthwhile.

[royhall]

Just finished rebuilding the carbs. Got that carried away with it, I forgot to take the stage by stage photo's. All I have are the before and after shots.

This is what I started with.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Bit of a rusty clogged up mess I think you will agree.
Stripped the carbs right down and sent all the component parts off for polishing and re-plating where required. Had the bodies ultrasonic cleaned at the local lawnmower repair shop. A really nice old chap.
Totally rebuilt the carbs using new seal kits. They were really cheap, £25 for all four kits, so am hoping the quality is okay. Should add that they fitted really well so expect they will be good.

These are the after shots.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

The pictures don't really do justice to how much better they look. Wish I had remembered the during shots, O well.
Am going to polish the tops again and possibly the float bowls as they still look a bit pock marked.
Not had petrol in them yet, but will bench test them before fitting.

Next project is to try to complete the back end.

I would say this bank of carbs (although a bit fiddly) was easier to do than the dreadful PD carbs fitted to the 750F2 that I did on my last project. So hope they will be easy to set up as well.

In all, I would say the rebuild took me about 20 hours in total. Would probably be less than that next time as this was the first set of 350/400 carbs I have done. Without all the re-plating and polishing, may be less. Worth it though if the bike is going to run well.

Bye for now.

[JamesH]

Looks v. vice roy. Do you do your own plating or outsource?

[royhall]

Wish I could do my own plating James. It can be a bit of a mare sending stuff out (more getting it back really).

Maybe something I can have a go at on the next project as most of the plating on the 350 is done now.

Had a problem getting the carb bits done as nobody appears to want to be bothered with all the little pieces. Got it done in the end at an aircraft parts company in Preston, had to push them a bit to get them to take it on. When I collected it they said they would not do any more as its just not worth the time.

I really wish I'd had the carb bodies vapour blasted now as the dull alloy is letting them down. Would probably go back to the same over time anyway I guess.

Back looking for suppliers again I guess.

[royhall]

Hi again.

Decided to do the pictures full size after Steve's recommend on another thread. Saves all the clicking I guess.

Not fitted the rebuilt carbs yet, thought I had better have a go at routing the wiring loom and making a few connections. Can be a bit fiddly to do with the carbs and airbox fitted. Also got the back brake finished.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Had the back brake all assembled then couldn't get the brake arm back onto the splines. So had to strip the whole lot again. That resulted in two days of "toys out the pram" and garage door staying closed (sometimes it just pisses me off).

Anyway the wiring routing went fairly well, just need a few clips and a new rubber for the indicator relay. I'm never that certain when it comes to bike wiring so making the connections took a bit of time. Better to be careful now I reckon than having to search for fuse blowers later.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

The back mudguard was a completely different problem. As my original was so rusty it was close to holes, I decided to get one of the pattern replacements that are for sale everywhere. Got it from M&P eventually (not there fault they are probably the same everywhere), wish I had found a good used one and got it re-chromed.

The front top bolts lined up okay, but when I tried the side bolts the left one was miles out. After some deliberation I extended the slots with the Dremmel. The bolts went in but the mudguard was off centre to the wheel. More Dremmel with the left side extended forwards and the right side backwards. That got it lined up and all tight. Will do the inside of the mudguard and ground out holes with a good coat of cold galvanise before it's finally fitted.

Then for the back light. O dear!!

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

The bolt holes on this thing are a joke. After careful measuring the lines indicate where the problem is. Check out how badly out of line the light is to the mudguard.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Not sure what to do with this now. Do I try for a refund from M&P and look for a good secondhand one, or plough on with a fix. Really the holes need welding up and re-drilling in the correct place but that will destroy the chrome. Not sure what to do with this at the moment so am putting it on the back burner whilst I have a think. Ralph will be up there wetting himself now, "Bloody Pattern Parts" etc.   Wouldn't mind but this is the third attempt from three different suppliers, all have been crap.

On a more positive note, I have managed to find a local painter that comes highly recommended. He's got my parts at the moment and has given me a price of £380 for Candy Bacchus Olive but I have to supply the decals. Not a bad price, just hope his work is top notch. Will report back when its finished, probably about a month or so.

[royhall]

Well, I have managed to sort out the back mudguard problem. Easy really, just throw another load of money at it.  

Got a genuine used mudguard off eBay. It's a lot less rusty than the one off my bike so should re-chrome okay.

Gave it a test fit before sending it off, but as it's genuine there wasn't really going to be a problem.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

O look. Fits nice and straight at the first attempt.

Who the hell makes those rubbish pattern parts anyway. And who owns those feet.

[Tiny Tim]

Bike looks good Roy.
I sent my rear mud guard off with the rest of the chrome bits.

[royhall]

Cheers Tim.

Only bought the reproduction back mudguard as the one on mine was completely rotten. To be fair it was only £75 from M&P and they have given me £30 back for the inconvenience. So its only stood me at £45 and may be of use to somebody at that price.

Got a good (surface rust only) genuine replacement off eBay for £25 and that's now at the chromers. Should have done that in the first place.

Jobs stopped now for a couple of weeks as its IOM Classic TT time again. Hopefully the painting and chroming will be ready when I get back.

[royhall]

Been a while since the last update.

Just collected my paintwork from Thornton Paints. Am really pleased with it. Not sure if it's actual Candy or a mimic with metallic paint ( forgot to ask him), but either way its a spot on match with the scrap part I gave him.

He has done the tank, 2 side panels, 2 fork shrouds, 2 headlamp ears for £380 plus the cost of the decals. The whole lot was stripped back to bare metal to ensure the correct quality.

Here's a few pictures. Not the best as its twilight and they don't really do justice to the depth and finish of the paint.


This is the mess I sent to him
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]


This is what he sent me back
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Will post some better pictures when I get a chance. Not the best close up.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Tiny Tim]

Looking good Roy, your be finished soon.
Should get my chrome back early next week.

[MCTID]

Lovely.....can you post the phone number/ E Mail address/ Website of Thornton paints please?........and where do you get your chroming done......and do they Zinc/ Galvanise parts.
Ta mucho.......

[Bullit]

They look brilliant Roy. That's the colour mine is supposed to be. May have to get there number off you when it comes to paint time. Where did you get graphics?

[royhall]

No problem will post Thornton Paints details tomorrow. He's that close to me I didn't need his number so will get it when I pass tomorrow.

Had my chroming done at R&S Electroplaters in Manchester, Mark Bray-Cotton is a forum member. The chroming was good, but the second batch was chroming and BZP (clearly labelled) but it all came back chromed. Not really bothered as it looks better anyway.

The decals came from AFE Graphics in the states, they came as a full kit with all the warning labels etc. £58 including postage and I got lucky with the import duty, they must have missed it.

[royhall]

Lovely.....can you post the phone number/ E Mail address/ Website of Thornton paints please?........and where do you get your chroming done......and do they Zinc/ Galvanise parts.
Ta mucho.......

The details your asked for are:
Thornton Paints. Guys name is Alex,   01253-851040,    www.thorntonpaints.co.uk,    thorntonpaints@hotmail.com
R&S Electroplaters. Guys name is Mark,   01616834908,   www.rschrome.co.uk,   sales@rschrome.co.uk