Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Buellingvincent said:
Bought my 1953 Black Shadow back in 2003 in fully assembled state. It hadn't been used for some years. Acquired a new BTH electronic magneto and mounted it. The bike started at first try! Attended the Scandinavian Vincent Club rally in Sweden 2004 and used it the whole season. Second gear was a problem and the old carbs were quite worn. Decided to fix these problems for 2005 but more problems were of course discovered. E.g. the primary drive chain rollers of the middle row had been destroyed by the dynamo sprocket. Also the oil filter chamber and the "bolt ears" at the lower front of the crankcase drive side had been smashed at some point. The man who sold me the bike said he was told that the first owner crashed back in the mid 50's.
Was asking around in 2005/2006 trying to find someone in Stockholm area that would do the weld job fixing the crankcase but without much success. We bought a house in 2007 that needed quite some restoration and we got a third child so not much Vincent time for a few years. About two years ago I decided to finally fix the engine. Now working for a new company I got a tip from one of the colleagues who knew who could do the welding job. Took him about 6 months to get it done but I believe the result is quite OK. I'm not an weld expert though. Attached you find some pictures.
The oil filter chamber thread was very bad so I asked the man to weld up material so I could make a new thread. A Scandinavian Vincent Club member recommended me to buy a Whitworth 2 1/8" and 20 tpi tap from Tracy Tools in UK which I did. They were good to deal with and quick to deliver this one-off tap.
Today I finally found a company that is willing to do the machining. Hopefully in a few weeks time I can start the assembly work!

/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Got the crank case back from the machine shop. The new thread for the oil filter cap was looking fine. However now after machining it is clear that the welder did not recreate the mounting ear on the drive side in the exact position (where the bolt goes through the motor at position "C" according to MO41). Not enough material on the lower side. It had to go back to the welder to add some more material. Now finally I have the crank case welded up and machined. Some sanding and polishing still to be done before painting.
/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
The crankcase actually went back once agion to the welder. Now the timning side. I had forgotten that the chain had chewed some material and there was a small crack as well. Now some more material. Will order new bearings and now time to prepare and finish up the crank case. Is wet blasting a good process to remove the old black surface treatment and prepare for the new black paint? And what kind of paint process is best for the new black?

/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Old and new crankcase side by side. The new will be machined to fit the 92mm cylinders. But first I will assemble the Black Shadow engine. The target is to ride the bike to the Scandinavian Rally June 17th. It will be tough but I will give it a try!

/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Thanks for asking Eddie.
Yes time flies :?

Well I'm been busy investigating what parts I need order and also what remaining work has to be done on the crankcase.

I examined the original Vincent flywheel/crank assembly more in detail a few weeks ago and it was clear that it was not in the condition I assumed (of course). The inner bearings ET92 are not a tight enough fit to the main shafts anymore and these bearings have worn on the side of the flywheels. So I would need to replace the main shafts and fix the flywheels so that means much more work of course that I cannot fix myself (I have no machinery). And having it made for me would take too long time as I really want to ride the bike the upcoming Swedish summer. Preferably to the Rally June 17th !

So I contacted Terry Prince and luckily he had all the parts available to assemble a new 90mm stroke crank.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Terry is off soon for an eye operation but the op was delayed a couple of weeks so he managed to assemble the crank for me before going to hospital. It will be air freighted from Australia tomorrow! Together with two special tapered roller bearings I need to fit instead of the standard E91 and ET92 as the primary sprocket has chewed a bit on the case so there is not much material left for the outer circlip to rest on. Terry and I agreed this is a good solution. The 100mm bob weight crank I bought from him for the Holder crankcase is fitted with 30mm main shaft and to eliminate boring the case to fit 72mm bearings he recommended fitting tapered roller bearings. By fitting these only the inner circlip is needed. So I'm doing the same on the Shadow engine instead of trying to fix the case around the outer circlip as this probably would mean a lot more work (and time). A plus is that more space is provided for an oil seal carrier. However I need to have two spacers made to sit between the taper bearings.

Std setup (ET91 in the picture should be E91):

My new setup using ET-15101/15250X from NTN:

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Well you always have to pay VAT wherever you source from. If buying within EU I pay VAT directly to the seller. If buying from outside of EU I do not pay VAT to the seller but I pay the VAT when entering to goods into EU.

Anyhow I have now some result of the paint removal exercise. I bought a gel type of paint removal available here in Scandinavia. Contains 15-30% Dimethyl Sulfoxide and 1% Cocoalkylaminetoxilat. Applied it with a brush on a cover to test. After 24 hrs no visible change. So I thought this was a dead end. But after about three days laying in open air on the floor of the garage the kick start cover looked like below. The paint is like a soft skin that I now can just peel off. I didn't expect it to be that easy. Maybe on the cylinders and heads where the surface is more rough it will be more difficult.
/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Yes I didn't mention that option. In this case not easily applicable. I think.

Finally the crank has arrived in Sweden! :D
Will need to go to the customs shortly to pay VAT and other costs before I can lay my hands on it.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Today the Terry Prince 90mm crank arrived at my door step! :) :D :lol:

Some pictures of the orignal Black Shadow 90mm , the new Terry Prince 90mm and the 100mm Terry Prince crank I purchased 1 1/2 years ago.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
The Scandinavian Rally only 2 weeks away. :?

The engine still in pieces. I have stripped all paint except on the head and cylinder fins. Will make a final try this evening with the POR15. I have given up the idea of painting the engine now and will leave that for the winter. I'm still waiting for one part: the oil seal carrier ET236. But according to the parcel tracking it arrived to Sweden this afternoon so hopefully I will get it tomorrow. Also tomorrow a work colleague of mine will help me machine the surface where the ET236 will sit on the drive side of the crankcase as it is not flat enough. Plus we will extend the thread in the same crank case half for the modified camplate spindle I got from Neville Higgins.

During the last week I have not done much as I've been waiting for the last parts to arrive. In a moment of hubris I contacted Bob Newby asking about his 30mm primary belt drive and clutch kit. He happend to have one ready for another customer who was not in a hurry so I was able to purchase that one. Arrived yesterday! Looks nice I think.

The coming week will tell whether I will go by bike or car to the Rally.

/ Patrik

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Been tiding up the crank case halves before paint. Used various files, abrasive papers and a small grinder (Dremmel). I finally think the welded up mounting ear looks more or less as it should.

I don't think the smalls pores in the material now visible matters much from a strength point of view and as I will paint the engine black again it will be covered up.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
I will be mounting a Bob Newby belt primary drive so the primary cover need machining. I didn't want to machine and waste the original primary drive with matching mating number so I bought a new one. I do not have a milling machine so went for the DIY way; drilling 86 holes and used a chisel and hammer. Took me 20-25 minutes. Of course not the niceest look but I will grind the roughness down. It will not even been seen once the clutch cover is on.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
While preparing the drilling and tapping of the welded up boss in the primary case half for the cover screw just in front of the chain tensioner blade adjuster I discovered the new hole would be too close to the edge. When the crank cases where damaged way back this section of the drive side was slightly deformed. Had to go back to the welder once again. I've lost count of how many times I've been there. While going there I also brought the timing side half as the timing cover and the crank case half were not fully mating each other on the front side just above the oil filter chamber. Then some more filing and sanding. Now it is good enough.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Got the cylinder heads back from Germany a week ago. Now with new valve seat inserts, valve guides and valves.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
About two weeks ago I heated the timing side crank case in the new barbecue and assembled the oil pump sleeve, ... and forgot to put the outer roller bearing race in first. :evil: What the #$@&%*!
Had to pull it out again. Did it the right way now during the weekend.

Now finally correct!

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
As I wanted to replace the standard camplate spindle with the Neville Higgins' version I had to bore and tap the crank case a bit deeper. Took a while to get it set up properly in my pillar drill. As the lower section of the original hole is wider I made a sleeve out of one of the old brass valve guides.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
During the second last visit to the welder he added some material around the edge of the camplate spindle thread and on one of the cylinder heads.

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
Re: Crankcase repair

Buellingvincent said:
Using a sheet of glass with glued on emery paper (180 grit) to plane the partitions (or is it called facing? English is not my first language...):

Before:

After:

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Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)

Crankcase repair (53 Vincent restoration)
 
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