71 engine rebuild

Finally got to the engine rebuild after 4 years. The motor had a knock. Didnt seem bad. I dont have the time, tools, place or skill to do the rebuild.
Wish I could do it myself but reality says it wont happen.
Stopped by the shop yesterday after he called and told me he had it torn down. Much worse that I had hoped.
Too much clearance on one piston. Main crank roller bearing had let go and fell apart. Only about 5 rollers left inside it.
Worn cam followers, worn bushings in the trans. Believe it or not, one rod journal was ground .010 under and one was standard size.
Its hurt but can be saved. Budget went out the window. I guess the good part is that it should be back on the road this summer,
but I have to save up for some tires. Cant really put it back on the road with 30 year old tires.
Its coming along, slow but sure. At least some progress is happening. Still a long way to go.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

Interesting that the bearings were different...never heard of a cheap fix like that.

dennisgb said:

Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

Interesting that the bearings were different...never heard of a cheap fix like that.

Click to expand...

Commonly done (in all plain bearing applications) in the days before lavish cash outlays for hobbies. If one was scored, the other not, grind one, one set undersize shells and it's a lasting, proper repair. It sounds like the roller bearing failure was bad, you stopped running it in the knick of time... maybe.

concours said:

dennisgb said:

Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

Interesting that the bearings were different...never heard of a cheap fix like that.

Click to expand...

Commonly done (in all plain bearing applications) in the days before lavish cash outlays for hobbies. If one was scored, the other not, grind one, one set undersize shells and it's a lasting, proper repair. It sounds like the roller bearing failure was bad, you stopped running it in the knick of time... maybe.

Click to expand...

Does this upset the crank balance due to less material on the one side?
The builder says it should be fine. I guess as long as the clearances are within tolerance it should be OK.
My goal is reliability and longevity. Full throttle is great and it will be hit on occasion however max HP is not #1.

MikeM said:

concours said:

dennisgb said:

Interesting that the bearings were different...never heard of a cheap fix like that.

Click to expand...

Does this upset the crank balance due to less material on the one side?
The builder says it should be fine. I guess as long as the clearances are within tolerance it should be OK.
My goal is reliability and longevity. Full throttle is great and it will be hit on occasion however max HP is not #1.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

No real worries about crank imbalance, as anything that's removed from the crank is added to by thicker bearing shells. The shells are close in weight to the crank steel, so all that happens is that the bearing-to-crank interface shifts inward slightly. That's not to say that the crank wouldn't benefit from a balance job, but, since the budget is already strained...

Every day gets me closer to a bike i have never ridden.
I am all in now. Past the point of no return.

Every day gets me closer to a bike i have never ridden.
I am all in now. Past the point of no return.

Click to expand...

Yep that sums up for me too on restore and recovery phases wondering if I'll last long enough. Past point of no return as in saying I do or past half way crossing flooded river? At least you got a pretty complete knowledge of engine details so no more mystery in that component. Wonder what other make do's you'll have to undo before road worthy. Put a fire under it and go into debt as life times wasting away w/o one the best highs going. New tires are sweetest thing ya can do for a C'do, too bad good new engine throttle means another new rear too soon.