Vintage Brit Bike Repair Channel Asking for Norton Help....

Tornado

Tornado

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Been following this channel for a while. The owner Frank has delat with loads of Brit bikes, many Commandos (owns one as well).
This 750 FastBack came in with a never started since previously restored engine. See his earlier videos of many, many attempts to sort out why it wasn't starting. Low compression seems to be the only obvious problem. So now he's stripped it down and did find some stuch piston rings and missing head studs/stud nuts, likely accounting for low compression.

Anyway, he asks for advice on if the pistons are a suitable choice....appear to have the oil drain "slots" that I think I've heard were problematic and maybe cases of top crowns blowing off?
I can provide any sage advice gathered here back to Frank if you'd prefer not to make comments direct on his channel....

 
No they're not the slotted or drilled pistons.
Slotted.
Vintage Brit Bike Repair Channel Asking for Norton Help....


Drilled.
Vintage Brit Bike Repair Channel Asking for Norton Help....


The ID mark means they're original Hepolite.
 
Tornado said:
Been following this channel for a while. The owner Frank has delat with loads of Brit bikes, many Commandos (owns one as well).
This 750 FastBack came in with a never started since previously restored engine. See his earlier videos of many, many attempts to sort out why it wasn't starting. Low compression seems to be the only obvious problem. So now he's stripped it down and did find some stuch piston rings and missing head studs/stud nuts, likely accounting for low compression.

Anyway, he asks for advice on if the pistons are a suitable choice....appear to have the oil drain "slots" that I think I've heard were problematic and maybe cases of top crowns blowing off?
I can provide any sage advice gathered here back to Frank if you'd prefer not to make comments direct on his channel....

Click to expand...

I was one of the people warning him about the slotted type pistons from the early model
It was difficult to to see in his first video exactly what type of pistons he had
I've not seen the type without a slot and without holes behind the oil control ring's before
It's painful to watch a lot of what he does
Making up rocker oil feed hoses out of ordinary plastic pipe with jubilee clips
And tightening up timing cover screws with an impact driver
Did you see the debacle trying to start the b50 ?
 
baz said:
I was one of the people warning him about the slotted type pistons from the early model
It was difficult to to see in his first video exactly what type of pistons he had
I've not seen the type without a slot and without holes behind the oil control ring's before
It's painful to watch a lot of what he does
Making up rocker oil feed hoses out of ordinary plastic pipe with jubilee clips
And tightening up timing cover screws with an impact driver
Did you see the debacle trying to start the b50 ?
Click to expand...
Have not seen the B50 stuff, but will look for it.
As to his work, I see him as a guy nearing the end of his wrenching days, getting a little long in the tooth and making errors due to memory issues. I want to help him oput when I can as its obvious he likes keeping busy at what he loves. We, hopefully, may all be there one day....
 
Tornado said:
Have not seen the B50 stuff, but will look for it.
As to his work, I see him as a guy nearing the end of his wrenching days, getting a little long in the tooth and making errors due to memory issues. I want to help him oput when I can as its obvious he likes keeping busy at what he loves. We, hopefully, may all be there one day....
Click to expand...
Yep I get what you mean
He's doing well for his age and it'll help keep him going
The only thing that worries me a bit is people may be watching thinking it's some sort of tutorial
The other week he claimed to have invented the saying " most electrical problems are carburation and most carburation problems are electrical "
I'm not saying he didn't invent it but I've heard in the UK for decades
 
I enjoy Frank's videos and learn a lot from them.

While there are some methods he uses that I wouldn't, I've picked up tips on tackling certain jobs that I wouldn't have thought of, but also appreciate that he unashamedly posts his mistakes so that I don't make them.

He's one of the good guys 👍
 
Wow, the latest edition on this FB....still no life after refitting jugs/head. Compression only slightly higher (95psi L, 100psi R...cold and new rebuild/non-bedded rings) than prior when they had missing head nuts and stuck rings.
I suggested confirming if timing scale on primary was accurate using timing disk/piston stop procedure.
 
Glad they got it running in the end
It's often something silly
I've watched quite a few of their videos and I find a lot of it quite odd
Especially using an impact driver to tighten screws in a timing cover !
And smothering the gasket in sealant instead of grease
Frank claims that paddock starters don't work!
 
Ron L said:
Frank DelMonte is USNOA (now INOA) member #1. Been around Nortons a long time.
Click to expand...
A lot of members in a short time at the USNOA. I am member 4703 joined in 1984. The organization started in 1975 just four years after the 1971 start of my Northern California Norton Owners Club.
 
It’s been a while since I looked at my 750 pistons, but I recall they look the same as those in the YouTube video. I bought mine from Phil Radford in 1998. As far as OK to use…mine have 40,000 miles use now in a ‘72 combat engine.
 
ILLF8ED said:
It’s been a while since I looked at my 750 pistons, but I recall they look the same as those in the YouTube video. I bought mine from Phil Radford in 1998. As far as OK to use…mine have 40,000 miles use now in a ‘72 combat engine.
Click to expand...
The pistons in the video look like the ones that the top falls off
The only way to tell is to either look inside the piston
Or take the oil control ring out and see if it's slotted or drilled
Or like the one in video that has neither
 
baz said:
The pistons in the video look like the ones that the top falls off
The only way to tell is to either look inside the piston
Or take the oil control ring out and see if it's slotted or drilled
Or like the one in video that has neither
Click to expand...
No, the one that the top comes off have slots under (inside) the oil control ring that goes half way around the piston. These shown do not. That said only the combat engines suffered failure with the slotted pistons all Altas and pre combat 750 Commandos came with slotted pistons with no issue.
 


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