Merry Christmas, 2009

Have you been naughty or nice?

I bought a new vehicle!

Unfortunately it was not a Red Corvette :(
...but is was a van like this. If your in the market for a new car you owe it to yourself to go to Three Way Automotive Group and talk with Ted. His staff makes the automotive buying experience a breeze.
Three Way Chevrolet has been the #1 Chevrolet dealer in the State of California for over seven years!

This Day in History, December 12,1986

Happy Birthday, Honey.
You have given me many happy memories.
I Love You.

December 7, 1941---Never Forget

Aircraft and midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy began a surprise attack on the U.S. under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Despite long-standing assertions that this attack could have been predicted and prevented by the United States Military, the U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor appeared to be utterly unprepared, and the attack effectively drew the United States into World War II. At 6:09 a.m. on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 183 planes composed mainly of dive-bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military installations at 7:55 a.m. The first wave attacked military airfields of Ford Island. At 8:30 a.m. a second wave of 180 Japanese planes, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb, which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and twenty-one ships were severely damaged. Three of the twenty-one would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from the USS Ward on a midget submarine that had surfaced outside of Pearl Harbor, the USS Ward did successfully sink the midget sub at approximately 6:55, about an hour before the assault on Pearl Harbor.

Top-end Rebuild, The Assembly

After the gaskets on back order were received, the parts were all cleaned and ready for the install, I got started with the assembly. I realized that the assembly was just the reverse of the disassemble so I didn't take any pictures and just concentrated on the job at hand.

Getting the pistons into the cylinders with the proper orientation was about the only stumble I had. The pistons are marked "Front" or "Rear" with an arrow that needs to point to the front of the engine. After I got the rear piston/cylinder mounted to the connecting rod I looked into the cylinder and noticed I had mounted the arrow pointing rearward instead of forward! When transferring the assembly to the engine, I hadn't taken into effect of working backward on the bench and then transferring the assembly to the bike. One picture I did take is of me putting oil on a head bolt just before installation. The torquing of the head bolts is a series of four sequences in a cross pattern ultimately getting all head bolts torqued to 42 ft. lbs.

This is one of four push rod tubes that was assembled and ready for installation. They are two piece with "O"-rings on each end and one in the middle.

New spark plugs, this one is getting a coat of anti-seize. Anytime you put steel spark plugs in aluminum heads you should apply anti-seize.

Top-end Rebuild, Part 12

While waiting for the base gaskets to arrive I repainted the cylinder heads.
So, I taped off all the pertinent areas.
The EPA will not allow the MoCo to ship acrylic paint to the great Kommunist state of Kalifornia.
Therefore I was unable to use the paint that may have been the best.
So, I purchased a can of high temperature barbecue paint.
The finish of the paint is suppose to "texture". I tested a small area and
then helped it along with a heat gun.

The head on the left is done and the head on the right is ready for the tape to be removed and the edges to be cleaned.
I was happy with the results that I was getting. I gave the heads three heavy coats of paint.

After 15 minutes I got a rag and some denatured alcohol, rubbing the
machined edges to expose the shiny. I allowed the heads to sunbathe
in the California sun (75 degrees) for three full days to cure.

Thanksgiving 2009

Though many competing claims exist, the most familiar story of the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, with a planned production total of 49 million in 2008. Just six states—Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and Indiana—will probably produce two-thirds of the estimated 271 million birds that will be raised in the U.S. this year.

In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, which means some 690 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S. during Thanksgiving in 2007.

Just think - if the natives had given the Pilgrim fathers a donkey instead of a turkey, we all would be having a piece of ass for Thanksgiving.


The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when they hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country--the first national Thanksgiving football broadcast. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944); in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time.

Update on Gaskets

Gaskets did not come in...Surprise, surprise...

Top-end Rebuild, Part 11

Well, I ran into my first snag on this job.

I originally ordered gaskets, waited 14 days for their delivery, picking them up on Saturday. I got home, opened up the gasket package, damn, no base gaskets.

I returned to the dealership the next day, Sunday, talked to the parts manager that I had to rustle up from the back of his office, he originally told me that they would be closed tomorrow, Monday, and that he would re-order the parts on Tuesday, again having to wait the 14 days to be shipped and received.

I objected, he reconsidered his options, said he would order the parts from his home on his day off (Monday) and have them delivered on Tuesday by 3:00P.M.

I'm not going to hold my breath, but will keep my fingers crossed!

Top-end Rebuild, Part 10

I got up this morning and had a great breakfast that my wife made, after which I made my way down to the Harley shop to pick up some of the parts that were on back order.
Taking into account that the bike is 13 model years old, (some people would say it's a classic) I ordered some silicone spark plug wires to replace the original ones.
These are the new pistons that I ordered.
Note the designation to the orientation that is stamped on the top of the pistons.
F= front cylinder, R= rear cylinder, arrows need to be installed pointing to the front of the engine.
I will get these down to the machinist on Monday so they can be fitted to the cylinders.

Top-end Rebuild, Part 9

While waiting on parts, I'm checking some of the other items on the motorcycle, here's the carburetor.I disassembled the carburetor checking the internal parts for any wear. Also, I checked the jet sizing and needle shims to insure that the proper sizes were installed for the increase in compression.

I used compressed air to blow out all the passages. After it all was reassembled I cleaned up the outside. It's all ready for the install. Where are the part's?

Top-end Rebuild, Part 8

While I'm waiting on parts I am doing some deep cleaning and other adjustments
that I have been wanting to do, specifically adjusting the handlebar. I didn't like
the position that I had them in, also, I couldn't get the clamps to tighten
enough to hold them in place.
So, here is my attempt to secure the handlebar. I drilled and tapped the top
saddle clamp for a set screw. I positioned the handlebar where I wanted, tightened
the clamps down almost tight, then ran the set screw down as far as possible,
then gave the clamps a final tightening. I think it's going to work great.

Top-end Rebuild, Part 7

Another specialty tool that is needed is a device that holds the lifter/roller inside the lifter block while assembly.
There are several ways that are suggested in the factory manual to accomplish this, one being a magnetic tool, well here is my attempt...
I went to the hobby shop and bought some ferrite ceramic magnets, each having
a pulling/lifting capability of 7 lbs. I used hot glue to assist in holding the
magnet to the orange u-shape holder. I tried it and it worked beautifully.

IHACI

Today, three fellow employee's and myself attended a trade show that was held in Pasadena, California.
The Institute of Heating and Air Conditioning Industries, Inc., is a non-profit trade association of contractors, manufacturers, distributors, utility firms, and related businesses actively engaged in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and sheet metal industries.
Formally incorporated in 1948, IHACI remains a progressive association dedicated to the education, promotion, and growth of our industry.
Sign in booths, register, receive name tag and goody bag.
Through membership involvement and participation, and adherence to the IHACI Code of Ethics, the association is able to render a myriad of services and benefits to its participating members.

Top-end Rebuild, Part 6

Some of the procedures I'm doing requires specialty tools specific to the job. The above picture depicts a lifter block tool that is used to align the blocks when installing said blocks. This insures that the oil galley/holes line up correctly to ensure proper lubrication to the lifters. I didn't want to purchase these tools for just one time use, so...I fabricated them.

I took some 1/4-20 bolts 2" long and wrapped the thread to protect them.
I then took some two part epoxy putty, kneaded it together and applied to the bolts in a pyramid shape.
After epoxy hardened I chucked the bolt up in the drill press and using a file I "lathed" the part into shape.

These are close to the finished product. Just a little more fine filing and I was there.This tool pictured and the lifter block alignment tool pictured above I made after getting the idea from Todd8080 at Todd's Harley Pix. The clearances are so tight between the rocker boxes and frame that you need this allen wrench tool for 4 of the fasteners.