Hi all, been a while since I had any questions for you, been busy this year but..... This afternoon I dragged the engine out of its hibernation cave and got me spanners in hand, one plug stuck solid, might go with a bit of heat later, got the head and barrel off, all looked reasonable first piston quite free second appears to be welded to the crank. Now the question is, I'm not an engineer ( I'm a builder and we work to the nearest couple of mil) but I'm not totally inept with a spanner, by the time I've stripped this down sent loads of bits away for grinding, reboring, polishing ect then reassembling all with no guarantee, would I be better off getting the whole thing done by a specialist and if that's the case ... Any recommendations would be appreciated. Then there's the tank,I'd like to send it to somewhere that could do all of the work in house, it's not in bad nick but will need lining painting and chrome plating, again any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. For both it would be nice to deal with a local firm/ individual. I live just South of birmingham, cheers all, keep smillin, regards Dave.
Hi Dave,
There are many individuals who rebuild an engine quite successfully but if you really want to get it all done professionally then the only place I can really recommend is SRM. They have a good website but are always happy to receive a 'phone call. It will not be cheap but it will be good. I think SRM will even do your tank. They are based in Aberystwyth, not exactly local to you but not that far.
Some others may come forward with other suggestions.
Dave.
I've pretty much finished my A65L engine - I'm reasonably well-versed with the spanners, built it myself but had to farm out bits of engineering to Trident Motorcycles in Dudley and E and D Engineering in Bilston, mostly because I had a pair of crankcases stamped with the same numbers which were not a matched pair! You will need some special tools, notably a couple of pullers and the correct piston ring compressors. Don't expect everything to go smoothly. Then of course you'll need imperial sized tools. I did enquire with one or two professional builders but they had huge lead-times, which was a factor. Some parts can be hard to find. SRM are probably the best so worth a chat.
Hi,
Just had a quick look on line and T&L Engineering (Bedford) LTD. I have no personal experience of this company but it gets some good comments on the A7/A10 Forum.
Dave.
Both of these are relatively close to you:
Marque Restore Chrome Plating has a good reputation, but their lead times are significant.
Finish Line in Coventry.
I currently have work being done by both.
Hope this helps.
Hi all, thanks for your suggestions, lead time isn't important to me I'm in no rush I always think if someone can do it tomorrow why are they not busy, I'll have a look at the websites, cheers, Dave.
Try and get a date for the completion although they say they are not busy sometimes it takes
a lot longer than they say
I always get my machining done by Piston Broke in Bristol, been doing mine and others since early eighties, never had a problem. spoke to someone the other week and they said good luck he is slow, but in all fairness, he has a workshop full to be done and mine, not on a time limit has only been there a fortnight and nearly completed which is going to tie in hopefully with my powder coating so hopefully , as we have a fortnight shutdown , might start rebuild during christmas.
my 4th A50/65 total rebuild.
the problem nowadays is the shortage of good NOS parts, modern made tend to be artistic licence or expensive. recent quotes for a couple of cam bushes have doubled in price and if going for a rebore let the guy reboring get the pistons or tell you which to get as Ive known bores not clean up and then owner has to go through the time process of sending back and waiting for refunds or replacements.
In 1983 I started off with a basic tool kit , bought a few spanners to modify , a socket set then proceded to strip and rebuild the first thunderbolt.
Hi chaz, have to say I like the thought of a a one man band/ small business linked to the old British bike community to do the work and as I said I'm in no rush, been on this project about a year already. Dave.
Hi all, I've been recommended W.S Bates near to me, in Nottingham. Haven't tried them just yet ( will do early next year.) Apparently old school, knows his bike stuff inside out.