Its been a productive couple days....
Head arrived yesterday and I promptly there work to the wayside and got to work. Heres a few pictures (cause we all like pictures) and some commentary...
Jugs are on. TPUSA High Compression pistons are in.
Lesson learned here... make sure your rods are in the highest possible position. :banghead:
Head is on.
Cam chain is on, crank and cam drive gear are aligned, everything rotates freely with no interference from pesky valves this time :respect2:
Carbs (FCR 39mm) are on, filters are on, engine mounts on, oil lines are connected, and everything is toured to spec.
These carbs are not easy to get on. The OEM cables needed to be bent for clearance as they are much higher now. Its not shaping back like it should so Ill investigate more later and maybe need to order new cables.
Tip for getting them on....
Mount the intake manifolds to the head first.
Get the carbs in place and everything connected.
Then get the rubber boots on starting with the interior bolts (snug), rotating the rubber boot and get those bolts in tight, then go back and tighten the other bolt. I use low clearance bits and 1/4 open end for this.
The motor spins freely and its time to do valve calculations so I can get down to the shop tomorrow morning and get some shims.
I used the shims I had previously calculated (except for the bent valve locations) and they are now too tight. Im going to need to go back, pull the cams and use the thinnest shims I have on hand in hopes of getting some clearance. If not its going to be a back and forth kind of day tomorrow between home and the Triumph shop.
A coupe final pics... everything went together well and with minimal issue. I cleaned as I went along so it took a little longer that expected.
My Nology wires broke again so I had to borrow Karens OEM wires.
A few details still need to be done. Need to fit the cheese garters and side cover. Ill do that after the first 50 mile run.
Here she is minus seat...
I wish my back could handle one of those low profile seats... it looks so wicked low slung like that.
This was moments before I fired her up. Maybe if Friar is nice hell embed the video so everyone can see and hear the beast awaken!
WOW! Just WOW!
She had a bit of a struggle to start but when she did it was like a pissed off best. The sound is so different than what it was. Its deeper, stronger and those clacking carbs (I forgot FCRs clack at idle) make for some interesting noises coming form my baby.
I had the throttle a bit tight and it took me a minute to get the idle down.
The kid in the video is my neighbor. He was pointing out a few small spots that were smoking. Probably drops of oil or whatever I missed during the wipe down.
I can't give you any feedback on performance yet cause the first 50 miles was to be held at low rpm (3000-3500 with short burst up to about 5k. I only did 20 miles today and Ill do the other 30 tomorrow. To keep my rpms that low I had to keep it in lower gears (or do I mean higher gears... I was cruising at 3000 in 3rd or fourth and keeping to the speed limit) so the burst weren't that memorable.
I think its time for new throttle cables. Mine have been a bit sticky and after bending the ends at the carbs they tend to be a bit stickier now.
Heres a little video to give you an idea.
First start