Pics at last!

[Old Fogey]

Correct Ron!

The thing is , do you just carry on working with what you've got or go on buying engines in the hope that you get something better?

With anything 30 years old there is no telling what kind of use/ abuse the thing has gone through or what all the POs have done or maybe not done to it.

Or do you just GIVE UP?

Well. That Just Ain't Me

With all the time and money that's gone into this thing already I WILL get it sorted out, whatever it costs.

This was to be a project to give me an interest in my old age; didn't realise that it would be the thing to cause old age

Well, the next stage is to get the bearings and bores measured up and then get the block hot-tanked to get rid of the yrears of accumulated muck.
Never having had one of these down this far I'm still trying to fathom out the way the various bearing shells are chosen, so if anyone has advice on that I'd be very glad of it.

[roncar]

The thing is , do you just carry on working with what you've got or go on buying engines in the hope that you get something better?

If your original and spare are any indication of what you have available, rebuilding seems to be your best option. I know that my main concern is money. I have a complete '79 block that I only paid $20 for it. Just a complete set of main and connecting rod bearings are $250 from mother Honda. Rings would add another $200 or so. Then there's all the gaskets adding another $150 or so. So you could be looking at $600+ just in parts.

With anything 30 years old there is no telling what kind of use/ abuse the thing has gone through or what all the POs have done or maybe not done to it.

Which seems to be what you are facing.

Or do you just GIVE UP?

Well. That Just Ain't Me

With all the time and money that's gone into this thing already I WILL get it sorted out, whatever it costs.

Not as nice as it's looking. If you had started with the engine,........ a total 'nother story.

This was to be a project to give me an interest in my old age; didn't realise that it would be the thing to cause old age

Should keep you busy for a while.

Well, the next stage is to get the bearings and bores measured up and then get the block hot-tanked to get rid of the years of accumulated muck.
Never having had one of these down this far I'm still trying to fathom out the way the various bearing shells are chosen, so if anyone has advice on that I'd be very glad of it.

Chapter 6 in the Honda manual, identifies where the marks are and how to select the proper bearings. There is 3 types of bearings: main, connecting rod 1&3, and connecting rod 2&4. Each with 5 different sizes. I would give it a good read before I ordered any. It appeared that some sizes may be "no longer available."

[sunnbobb]

Thanks for the pics, it is very useful. The good news is that when you are done, you will be able to drive that bike for a couple hundred thousand miles, knowing it won't let you down..

[Old Fogey]

Thanks for the reply Ron.

Remembering that this is 'Rip-off Britain'. I have made up a list of parts to do the job right, a complete rebuild with rebore and pistons etc.

With some small parts still missing and having sourced the cheapest bits I can find, a lot of which are pattern parts, the total so far is around £1200 or $1700.
I simply cannot afford that kind of money so it will be back to the drawing board and a rethink.

As for the bearings, why Honda couldn't have done the tried and tested 'regrind with oversize shells' I don't understand.
I've read and re-read the bit in the manual but it still hasn't sunk into my head yet.
But I know where there is a brand new crank.. in France.. only 800 euros...

[CYBORG]

if you truly need a crank, i have good ones laying around could let you have one for the cost of shipping.

[Old Fogey]

Thanks Doug.
I was only kidding about buying the new crank. I just happened on it when searching for bits yesterday.

I will get both cranks measured up and see what I've got. Hopefully one of them at least will be ok.

If not, there could be a begging letter in the post

[CYBORG]

you need to know that if i have it its yours for the asking. and i have at least three engines tore completly down, and one still together. the bearing system can be a little hard to understand. but once you get the hang of it, it really makes good sense. its about as close to blueprinting as you can get from a factory. but the parts are pricie. can be cheaper to buy a complete bike that has been wrecked, but has a good engine.

[Cookie]

A lot of times bearing can be reused if in good shape. A lot of these bikes die from disuse at low miles. If you were able to get a crank with a good set of bearings that plastiguage out it could be as good as new.

[Old Fogey]

Just ordered the Plastigauge!

[Cookie]

I had a Mercedes 190 E that I put about 250,000 miles on. It was making some noise and burning some oil by then so I tore it down for a rebuild.
The main bearings still looked so good that my machinest refused to change them. When I sold that car at a bit over 300,000 miles it still ran better than it had new. I had the thing 17 years of daily transport.
I used to mix and match blown up VW engines in college, it's amazing what shops throw away that can still work.
If you could find a couple more of these engines for parts... but that's probably tough over there.

[ElPiloto]

... its about as close to blueprinting as you can get from a factory...

That is the reason these engines last sooooo long. All you have to do is maintain them properly. And not abuse them.

[Whiskerfish]

Fogey

Just guessing but I can probably ship a complete engine for about half of that??

Just an option. You want me to do some checking?

[Old Fogey]

You guys are all fantastic with so many offers of help.

Bear with me for a few days. Once I get the Plastigauge and check out the cranks I will take the block down to the engine shop to get the bores checked out, since I don't have the equipment to do that myself.

When I've got all the info to hand then is the time to make decisions.

New piston sets (piston, rings and pin) can be had for about £64 /$90 each from CMSnl; not sure what the reboring would be, probably in the region of £80-100.

WF, don't go to all that trouble just yet.
I would only need the block anyway which would sure save on the shipping.

All the parts for the heads are either here or on order and I've loads of belt and cam covers (which all need cleaning up but thats mainly elbow grease and not money!).

New belts, gasket set, seal kit and whole stainless bolt kit for the engine are already here.

The main clutch parts off the 79 are fine, new friction plates arrived today.

And a bit of luck at last.

Scored a brand new stator off eBay for £21 / $30!

[Roady]

You're definitely going to know what you end up with then, eh?

Nothing like building an engine. I did a lot of VWs back in the olden days. Once hopped up a '71 bus engine and put it in a '67 beetle. Man, I loved that car. British Racing Green on a Kraut Burner. I apologize for nothing, it was a stock color.

So, you an early riser then?

[Old Fogey]

You're definitely going to know what you end up with then, eh?

Well, that would seem to me to be the best way. I don't want to either throw things away unneccessarily or spend money if I dont have to.

This is the sort of thing we are up against here £149 = $215
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-GL1000-Gold ... 240%3A1318

So, you an early riser then?

Nope, that post was done when I came in off night shift and in case you are wondering, yes, I was very late out last night.