vestandpants 1979 r65 winter/spring resto

[vestandpants]

hi again guys,

just to let you all know ive been busy putting the first installment of my resto into pictures and words on the following link :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22686607@N06/

i hope the link works  

parts 2 and 3 i will upload tonight if i have time. i have soooo many other projects at the moment its hard to juggle them all about  

v&p

[tagordon]

V&P
Thanks for the update.
Troy

[Justin B.]

Looks like you are getting rather motivated!  Good luck...

[vestandpants]

aye im getting there it is presently stripped down to the frame and ive left the engine in situ, minus heads and barrels for the time being.

the heads and barrels are getting a long soak in parrafin before sending the tops off to an engineer who will replace the valve seats for hardened ones.

once they come back, i will reassemble the pots and remove it from the frame. then the frame and engine (minus box) will take a trip to stockport (south manchester) to be bead blasted.

v&p

[vestandpants]

just uploaded more pics to the site mentioned in my first post.

have a good weekend

v&p

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Gosh v&p, that is quite a project there!  Great pictures!  

What do you plan to do about the fuel tank?  

What are your plans for the frame?  Powdercoat?

[vestandpants]

well, the fuel tank has a few dents, chips and scratches on it however i am not sure how to approach it. im stuck between filling in dents and sending it to be wet painted back to its original colour or send it to the same place the frame and engine is going and have it blasted back to bare metal.

the frame is going to be powder coated black. i cant emphasise enough how bad the paintwork on the frame is. previous owners have brush painted it 3 to 4 times and over the alloy bits too    i remember stripping the paint off the pannier carrier which took an age and several methods of removal before i got back to metal!

also, im doing the same to the wheels, bead blasted and powder coated in silver   unless ofc, fellow members would have any other suggestions?

v&p

[Ed Miller]

I took my Triumph tanks, side cover, and fenders to my local machinist who has a hot tank, and he hot tanked the stuff for me and bead blasted the remnants of paint off for 25 bucks.  It would dissolve any tank lining you have too.

If you put aluminum stuff in that tank you won't be able to find it later.

I wonder if my Chevy pickup cab would fit in his tank.  By the time the rust was eaten up I probably wouldn't have much left!  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

It was the rust around the petcock outlet that made me ask.  

I would imagine, by the time you sand it down to where there is no more rust (on the outside), you will have quite a lot of holes looking at you.

Some folks have found a donor tank to cut off a outlet to weld on.

If the rust isn't too bad, you may get by with a good cleaning and liner.

[steve hawkins]

I had a similar issue with my R65 when I bought it.  It was the same year/colour as yours.  Rust in the same place, only my was actuall leaking through the pin holes.

I knew a local chap who could braise the tank.  It tank needed a good drain and flush, and I beleive he still had to 'flash it off' to get rid of the petrol fumes.

However the repair is still in place and it was done in the winter of 2001/2002.

hope this helps.

[vestandpants]

Hi again guys,

just bumping this post, ive been working on my '65 again after a couple of months inactivity ... or should I say Ive been working on other projects which has drained my funds and time  

Ive just dropped the heads off to have new hardened valve seats and Ive asked the guy nicely if he could just whip some new valve guides in at the same time  

Also, the web address of my piccy site has changed slightly too :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22686607@N06/collections/

From there you can also look at another resto project I am involved in, however that project is going to take a little longer than my little '65  

thx, v&p

[Justin B.]

You're restoring a freakin' train?  [smiley=shocked2.gif] Man, you got waaaaay more motivation than I do!!!

[vestandpants]

Update:

went to pick up the heads yesterday and the fella hasnt done them yet but has promised me they will be done by friday. I hope so because ive ordered a complete top-end gasket set from motorworks and im planning in reassembling the top end on sunday/monday after which i can then:

1. dismantle the rest of the rear end inc. bevel from the rear wheel and drive shaft;

2. separate the 'box from the engine as this is being part-ex with an reconditioned unit;

3. remove engine in its entirity to be prepared for bead blasting (cover all holes and stuff);

4. dismantle the front end from the frame;

5. and finally prepare the frame to be sent away, which will be after my weekend away coaxing a 50 year old 16 cyl diesel engine back into life after 15 years of silence.

And while im here, ive been looking through my pics of the resto and it suddenly dawned on me that i havent posted half the pics for this year    so ive uploaded them and added descriptions too   they can be found at the same site mentioned in my last post.

laters guys

v&p

[vestandpants]

update:

went to pick the heads up last friday from the engineering firm only to be told that he cant do them as he doesnt have the right plates to fit in the machine. Why he couldnt of told me that 3 weeks ago God knows!!  

So while im looking around for another firm to carry out the work I got on with it anyway and now all that is left is the engine+gearbox+frame. pics at the usual place  

v&p

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

That is too bad about the heads.
Most of the advice I have been given is to only let someone that is experienced with airheads do the work.  You might consider this.


You can also remind folks that they can see your photo site by clicking on the WWW at the bottom of your posts!