John Player Special restoration project

cyclegeezer · Dec 23, 2015

grandpaul said:
cyclegeezer said:

I don't see it on the parts pages of Old Britts, is there a more complete schematic online?

Click to expand...

Right, Old Britt's doesn't have the JPS supplemental Parts List.

Just call Ella and give her the part number 06-4111, she can get it. (It's not an "in-stock" item).

Thanks, I'll do that.

grandpaul · Dec 26, 2015

Preliminary cleaning on the head; I need to take a soft wire brush to it and get it looking a bit better than this.

Head surface is in great shape, Valves need to be pulled and cleaned, then lapped.

My oldest son did me a big favor and brought all the powdercoated stuff back for me. Saved me a 360+ mile round-trip.

grandpaul · Dec 26, 2015

Half of the powdercoated stuff

The other half of the powdercoated stuff

Oil tank came out real nice, just need to thoroughly clean the inside

grandpaul · Dec 28, 2015

Got in the new tires a few days ago...

They are original spec, but made with modern compounds and production methods

Too bad they are no longer made in Great Britain

grandpaul · Dec 28, 2015

Frame & swingarm very nicely powdercoated

I need to go over all the parts today and spot-paint all the masked areas with Rust-O-Leum gloss black.

Work area and bike jack ready to go, just need to secure the frame to the jack platform.

Looks like the detailing prep work will all be done right about the time the cad plated parts get back, and I can start bolting stuff together. Probably next week.

swooshdave · Dec 28, 2015

Why does the oil tank need cleaned on the inside? Why wouldn't that have been done first?

grandpaul · Dec 28, 2015

swooshdave said:
Why does the oil tank need cleaned on the inside? Why wouldn't that have been done first?

Because I neglected to clean it first. It's not a big deal. I did rinse it out and let it dry so it wasn't dribbling old oil, I just didn't detail it with coathangar and bits of rag dipped in simple green. 5 minute job.

grandpaul · Dec 28, 2015

Original air filter media's crumbled remains. I don't know of anyone that ever removed one of these intact, much less CLEAN!

Washed and cleaned the airbox and installed the top tab removed from my MkIII box.

Airbox now nice and clean inside.

Ready for the new sidecover mount

grandpaul · Dec 28, 2015

Nice clean FAG original spec steering bearings

Fork yokes and tubes loosely fit (waiting on chrome & cad plated hardware). Airbox in position.

grandpaul · Dec 29, 2015

Tranny cam, quadrant & gear/shaft cluster installed using plenty of gear lube and a new inner cover gasket

Inner cover in place, need to nip everything up and install the clutch lifter cam.

Also did some spot painting of the tranny cradle in anticipation of installing it and the swingarm tomorrow.

grandpaul · Dec 29, 2015

Swingarm bushing seals were totally dry and hard, new seal on the right.

Super smooth installation with a wipe of gear lube inside the swingarm sleeve.

Allthread tool needs to be longer than the entire swingarm width plus a couple of inches, for when it's being used for bushing EXTRACTION.

Keith1069 · Dec 30, 2015

Inner cover in place, need to nip everything up and install the clutch lifter cam.

It would not be a bad idea to align the clutch lever with the cable entry! Yr pic shows it a mile off, every little helps with smooth and easy clutch operation.

grandpaul · Dec 30, 2015

Keith1069 said:
Inner cover in place, need to nip everything up and install the clutch lifter cam.

Click to expand...

It would not be a bad idea to align the clutch lever with the cable entry! Yr pic shows it a mile off, every little helps with smooth and easy clutch operation.

Right, I still need to install the ramp parts, then I'll align it.

grandpaul · Dec 30, 2015

Busy with Triumph pre-unit transmissions, but I did receive the disc back from DBR; perfect, as usual.

Received the inner tubes and rim strips this evening; tires should be installed tomorrow.

As far as the actual project, I did sort and put away all the new parts in the project toolbox drawers.

Just need to do a few tasks and/or chores on the project every day ...

grandpaul · Dec 30, 2015

Just realized I never posted any photos of an original John Player Special.

Here are a couple...

lazyeye6 · Dec 31, 2015

grandpaul said:
Busy with Triumph pre-unit transmissions, but I did receive the disc back from DBR; perfect, as usual.

Is this a refurbished disc? Please describe what was done and who is DBR? Beautiful disc!

htown16 · Dec 31, 2015

Looking good, you are making faster progress than I am on my 850 restore. Just keep plugging away at a few items every day for a couple of hours.

grandpaul · Dec 31, 2015

lazyeye6 said:
Is this a refurbished disc? Please describe what was done, and who is DBR? Beautiful disc!

The disc was Blachard ground and painted by Disc Brake Reconditioners (DBR) in Illinois.

They also drill to standard or custom patterns; I typically have mine drilled, but the JPN wasn't.

The old hard chromed Britbike discs almost never had a consistent plating thickness, so they look horrible with uneven wear over time. This disc has a precision grind that ensures consistent thickness and perfectly even wear.

grandpaul · Dec 31, 2015

htown16 said:
Looking good, you are making faster progress than I am on my 850 restore. Just keep plugging away at a few items every day for a couple of hours.

I darn well BETTER be making good time on it, it is the only major project in the shop at the moment (even though I do have the Green 880, a client make-run for sale and rolling Triton getting some attention every once in a while). Right now it's a pure money (credit card) DRAIN, when I really need a FAUCET!

htown16 · Dec 31, 2015

Yep, I hear you there. I just finished stripping down a bunch of sub assemblies, forks, wheels, bottom end, gear box, brakes, so I could inspect them and order parts. Probably the least enjoyable part of the restoration process. Typical parts not wanting to come apart, then bunches of parts cleaning. Then finding out more parts need replaced than you thought. Was pushing to get the parts ordered so I could take advantage of Waldridges year end sale, also Canadian/US dollar exchange rate is really good right now. Anyway, the parts are all shiney clean right now and new bits are making their way here through the postal system. Looking forward to the assembly process which is much more enjoyable in the new year. Will probably break off work on this one around March. I have a Trident I've finished a major rehab on. It's sitting there waiting for its first startup. I've owned it 3 years and haven't heard it run yet.