Norton head removal

marshg246 said:
Weird, I've installed many on Triumphs that came annealed, and I've never had one leak. Where did you hear that recommendation?
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Well......I thought it was on this forum! :oops:

Been doing it immediately before installation for a couple of years. And using a smear of Wellseal. I seem to have fewer leaks. But it's a race engine and pulled down regularly.
 
Last time I had my head off I replace the copper head gasket but in the process I forgot to anneal the new copper gasket but I did use copper spray seal, I remembered about doing the annealing after the head was all tensioned down so I left it alone, well that was 15 years ago now and many miles (30k+ miles) put on and the head gasket hasn't leaked at all, I have always annealed copper gaskets on all the Norton rebuilds I have done as well my old Triumph, but missing doing so last time and so far no problems at all and I have only retention the head once in that 15 years it been on.
So whether I been lucky or maybe the gasket was soft enough from the manufacture of the copper, it never leaked so I left it well alone or as I have always said, maybe I have a freak Norton and patting it on the tank to thank it for a great day out and getting me home safe has worked, who knows.

Ashley
 
Back in my for-hire wrenching days we had a 650SS cafe-racer project in the shop. As I recall it had spigoted bores and at that time there were no head gaskets available from any source. So I made one from sheet copper. By the time I was finished it was a very expensive gasket.

After it was built and run in, the rings hadn't seated and the top end had to come apart again. The expensive gasket was annealed and reused. I believe it's still in place today. I don't remember what if anything I used for sealant.

On a 261 Chev 6 I built a couple of years ago, I used aluminum rattle-can paint on a composition gasket. Aside from specialty gasket houses comp is all that's now available for old Stove Bolt sixes. Hasn't leaked so far. Maybe the paint will make it easier to scrape the comp off the surfaces next time it has to come apart, though I may not live to see that day. The engine that preceded it ran 50 years in daily service before it burnt a piston and had to come apart.
 
concours said:
"burnt a piston "


Pictures?

Detailed description?
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Number 5 piston had the edge burned down nearly to the compression ring in the quench area adjacent the intake valve. I believe this was caused by a combination of very low elevation near the Salton Sea and a stuck thermostat. Water temperature sat at around 205 rather than 175. It was also tuned for about 2500 ft. elevation not minus 200 and it was the first 80 degree day. 2,000 miles later it was using a qt. oil a day by the time I got it home.

Interestingly, the '62, 261 truck engine I bought to replace it from a wrecker in Wisconsin also had a burnt #5 piston. I bought it for the block which has a std. bore, found one NOS std. piston, re-ringed it, put in a set of rod bearings and went on down the road.

These engines were the base engine in 2-Ton Chevrolets from '54 to '62, and were rated at 150 Hp @ 4,000 RPM. I think that was optimistic. They had valve rotators, bigger wristpins and thicker rods than the 235 previously supplied in 2 Tons. The trucks also often had 2-speed axles and 5-speed transmissions and probably were run WOT most of the time. You can still see them sitting around grain elevators at harvest time. Mine has a 4-speed main, a 3-speed auxiliary trans, and hauls a 3700 lb camper over hill and dale. It's in a 1-ton pickup.
 
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