Gaskets, Points, Buffing Wheels... "Learning Experiences" He Said
As I walk into the garage, all those shiny black parts are on display. The painting is finally complete and it is with a great sigh of relief that it is over.
The buffing wheel has now become my constant evening companion. Armed with several different tubes of buffing compound (depending on the type metal and how badly it's in need of cleaning), I stand for hours cleaning and shining all those parts. It's amazing to see a dull surface suddenly come to life again. The engine itself passed the scrutiny of John, so it won't have to be totally dismantled and re-bored or anything. Despite its long rest, it appears to be in working order 'as is'. That's good news. New gaskets are needed for the rocker box covers. I began looking through the British Only catalog, but John had other ideas for me. He handed me a sheet of what looked like thin cardboard and a pair of scissors. "You need to learn to make your own gaskets," he said. Slowly I closed the catalog and looked at the torn gaskets we had removed from the War Pony. "I can do this," I thought. Those years in high school home-ec class sewing shapeless garmets proved to be worthwhile as I traced the gaskets and slowly began cutting. With a little trimming, I achieved a perfect fit. Money saved to spend elsewhere! Onto the points. As I unscrewed the covered, I found nearly 1/8" of rust coating the entire works. What a mess. I guess the way the War Pony was leaning in the weeds, this was one of the places where water had gathered over the years. Back to the catalog as we were forced to order new points. I don't know about other motorcycles, but the space for the points located in the Triumph was an exact fit. No room for anything (especially big fingers trying to use those tiny screws). I asked John how I was supposed to put those things in that small area. With another of his smiles, he said, "You'll figure it out," and walked back to the livingroom. These 'learning experiences' were starting to get to me. Frustration was mounting. The weather was nice. I just wanted to ride, not be stuck in the garage trying to figure out how to fit ten pounds of stuff into a two-pound area. Regular screwdrivers were too big. The rachet wouldn't fit. My mind began the slow process of working out my problem. I ended up using a pair of forceps to get the tiny screws started, and from there it was pretty easy. The starting part was the hardest. I hooked up all those little connectors and proudly stood back and surveyed my work.
For the hundredth time since I had started work on the War Pony, I felt like quitting. Nothing seemed to go right. Everything was either stuck together with rust, needed additional parts, or was just plain hard to figure out. Maybe being a motorcycle mechanic was not going to be my line of work after all. If this is any indication, I'd probably be better off just sticking to housework. As if what we'd done so far wasn't bad enough, it was now time to run the electric and spark plug wires through the tiny holes in the frame. In earlier years, John had drilled these holes so all the wires went through the frame itself instead of dangling on the outside. I thought this was really a neat concept and was all geared up to begin. My non-mechanical aptitude quickly surfaced again as I stood trying to figure out how to get the wires through the holes, down the frame and out the holes in the back. John had a package of dental floss in one hand and the small shop vac in the other. Somehow I knew this was going to be another one of those "unfun" adventures. By taping off all the holes except the ones we wished to use, John stuck the vaccum hose on one end and had me dangle a length of dental floss at the other hole. Presto. It sucked through, he tied the floss to the wire and pulled it through. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. When we started on the spark plug wires, we ran into complications. Somewhere deep inside the frame was a dried mud dobbers nest. By using a lenth of hard wire, we managed to clean some of it, but the rest apparently will remain until the end of time. No amount of vaccuming, probing or banging would dislodge the nest which had now apparently turned into concrete consistency. Needless to say, my spark plug wires are now on the outside of the frame. So far, the War Pony is still on saw horses. The rear fender and wheel, the engine, and the front forks are on. The rest is located in various greasy boxes scattered along the garage floor beneath the motorcycle. This seemed like such an easy job when I started, and I could actually visualize myself riding throughout the summer. Well, all I can say is that I can really appreciate all those people who do this for a living. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
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All
those chrome and aluminum parts are now in need of some serious cleaning.
The exhaust pipes, the handlebars, the forks -- you name it -- are covered
with black gunk, rust and dirt. Remember, this thing has been sitting
for a long time, so I guess it's what you'd expect from several years
of neglect.
I
had a big smile on my face when I told John I was finished (after nearly
an hour of work) and he came to inspect. Giving me another of those smiling
looks, he said, "You need to take it out, it's backwards." I
could physically feel my ego deflating, as well as my patience. Not to
mention my pride.