Daves 73 Z1 Project

[Strebe]

Dave, thanks for the reply. I'll give the Simoniz paint a try on the cases of my RD350B.

[DaveZ1]

Thanks for your comments guys Unfortunately I'm still looking for a footboard restoration specialist in the UK,
not much luck tho... funny that might have to just go back to the original foot peg mounts

Anyway got the head re-assembled ready for the engine rebuild now that the zinc plating has come back.



I used Hastings Metal Finishers as reccomended by my fellow Z restorer and member Steve Tate for my electroplating this time just
because they are only 10mins drive from my house and it turns out the boss there Allen Hastings is also a bike nut and was
more than happy to do such a small batch of oddments for me and says he has done quite a lot of bike restoration stuff in the past for people.
And a very nice chap he is too!








All this re-plating for £45! Not bad at all. Also I was very pleased with the way the spokes turned out, they were in pretty good
shape so I decided to have them replated.
The yellow passivation on the nipples looks really good too. I think the preparation work before they go off to the platers is the
most important thing here, making sure to remove any marks or pitting due to rust and have them quite well polished before plating.
Now on to the engine rebuild

[ollie]

looking great Dave,hope the build goes well

[BykerBoy]

Dave this looks like it's going to be a stunner
I'll second your view on Alan Hastings, he's done the zincing
On all my restorations Top. Man

[wilsonsjw11]

Dave
All is coming along well.
What work has been done to restore the head?
On your rear wheel hub are you going to get it checked for 'shape' with a clock gauge as there is nothing worse than rebuilding the wheel then getting a judder when the brake is applied.The liner is easily skimmed if necessary.
Regards
Steve

[DaveZ1]

Good point Steve, once the new bearings are fitted to the wheel hubs I can turn it on its spindle and check for concentricity with a clock.
I have checked at various points around the liner with a vernier and each point measures the same suggesting roundness is ok but its
probably best to double check with the clock gauge.
As for the head I would normally replace the valve guides, springs and possibly the valves but this engine must have been
well looked after because the valve guides wear is very minimal and well within tolerances so after everything was cleaned
up just lapped them in to the seats and new valve springs and stem seals fitted and checked for leaks by fitting the plugs
and filling each combustion chamber with solvent to see if anything gets past the valve seats.
Then once the engine build is near complete the valve clearances checked and re-shimmed.

[DaveZ1]

Dropped a real clanger with my re-chroming work The company I used last time which I was more than happy with
Prestige electroplating have quoted FOUR MONTHS WAITING
Dont know why I have left it so late to send it off. I knew from experience that there was a back log everywhere for chrome.
A quick chat with Mikey eased the situation a lot (two months) but it means I have to trust Mr Postman with my precious bits l
as its not exactly round the corner to Mikey's place from Sunderland (600 miles round trip) This is what is to be re-chromed by Mikey.
Not as much to re-plate on this one because more stuff had to be replaced on this one rather than restored.






Good old Mikey to the rescue (again) Just about ready to start the rebuild so got on with the polishing.
I wished I had took a "before" pic of the points cover, it was pretty badly marked and scratched and was expecting to
have to buy a replacement but I was amazed at how well it turned out Propably weighs a few grams less now as well
Getting the hang of this polishing malarky but LORDY Mikey definitely earns his crust doing this stuff every day
it's labourious dirty work but very rewarding when you see the finished article



Rear wheel hub before and after







Just the fork legs and the sprocket cover left to polish then once the dirty work is out of the way.....Engine Rebuild

[mikey]

Must say dave nice job on the polishing

[Ginger Bear]

Dave, use a decent courier like UPS, rather than trust the post office. If you book it through www.interparcel.com you'll probably find it's cheaper too.

[DaveZ1]

Ok slowly progressing, the engine rebuild well underway but waiting for some bits in order to complete the motor
and get it in the frame so I got on with the carb rebuild. Its a bit daunting because of the shear number of components
but it is part of the restoration that I quite enjoy.
After stripping down taking lots of reference photos on the way all the bits that had to be prepared for re-plating and those
that could be cleaned up were sorted.







Floatbowls were as expected coated with the syrupy petrol residue which you get after 10 years of storage.



Solvent and a small brass wire brush deals with that then the carb bodies had a good hot aqueous solution clean to remove the general grime



Next with all the internal jets and slider and linkages removed from the cab bodies, the float bowl and cap was replaced with the old gaskets in place and every orifice plugged with silicone bungs and these perspex covers over the carb venturi.




Off to be lightly vapour blasted then glass peened to leave a great finish.



After all the plating has come back and all new screws and a carb repair kit at the ready its time for the rebuild
Anyone good at 1000 piece jigsaws?



The throttle shaft had to be replaced with a polished stainless item I made everything else was good enough to re-plate.
Just the outer two bowls and caps polished and here is the result.




Slide hieghts all set up ready for the float hieghts to be checked and adjusted before they go on to the bike.

[Steve Tate]

A work of art in progress, who was this Van Gough then?.
TATIE

[wilsonsjw11]

Well done Dave they look fantastic.
A very worthwhile part of any good resto and a service provided by our very own Mike Hunnisett and Gez
Regards
Steve

[G]

First class Dave !!

[Padders]

Excellent work

[DaveZ1]

Engine rebuild all but complete and some of my chromework on the way back from Mikey, things finally starting to move along.
Printed off the excellent drawing of the Kawaaki style shim tool and "knocked one up" and it worked a treat!


Valve clearances done using the clubs shim exchange scheme, After reshuffling the shims I had only needed to replace four shims for another size.
Heres the almost complete motor ready for the frame over engine technique method of fitting (the only way when theres only you and the missus).



I have to say I'm not too impressed with some of these pattern gaskets, some of them seem "oversized" and will need trimming back a bit
While I have been waiting for the chrome to arrive been sorting some of the other bits and pieces out.
The brake disc comes up "as new" after a tickle on the ring grinder and fresh paint.




All the engine mounting bolts and brackets are now ready so the engine will be in the frame this week
I have also been concentrating on restoring my clocks over the weekend and I will post some photos on how thats going shortly.