About time for two wheelers!
 

NOW available by pages, ten pics per page at: 1972 Norton Rebuild

Just check the last page listed for updates.


Those of you that saw my post about the cam lobes on my Norton going bad due to not being hardened properly can now see the result of this problem. I sent the engine off for a new cam, main bearings, etc, total bottom end rebuild.

It was a long slow winter and as time passed more and more parts came off the bike. Finally I had a bare frame. It would be a shame to put new and rebuilt parts in a frame like that so.........

Frame was powder coated along with all parts that would come off. Wheels are being relaced with new polished stainless steel spokes. Cylinder barrels were powder coated. New lifters will be installed to run on the new cam. The transmission got new seals and a final drive cog change from 19 to 21 teeth.

The reassembly adventure has begun. If you are at all interested in this type of thing here are some pics. I know that there are some bike fans here so I hope you enjoy some of this.

This is the frame with its new powder coat. The frame has pieces of pipe insulation on it to help protect it from clumsy mechanics.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/bare_frame.jpg

These are some of the parts laid out for re-assembly.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/parts.jpg

These are the parts that make up the front rubber mount for the engine/transmission sub-assembly. This assembly gets shimmed to .010 or less using the large washer looking rings on the upper left. The black engine mount already has four special rubber doughnuts pressed into it.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/front_mount.jpg

This is the new drive cog for the trannny. For those of you that don't know, this is called a pre-unit bike because the tranny and primary drive are seperate from the engine case just like old Harleys. This is a four speed box.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/new_cog.jpg

If any of you find this procedure interesting I will post pictures on here as it progresses.

If any of you think that those guys on television can build a chopper in just a few hours or days, you need to get a reality check. :D

Beautiful Norton your fixing up. I have a 1967 Triumph TR6R all I need to get it ready is fix my taillight and get a universal air filter for it. Looks like it's taking you awhile but your doing it the right way! It took me 2 years to restore my triumph.

Nortons are nice, my dad used to have an old one till he wrecked it. Sigh. Looking forward to more pictures of your bike coming together. :)

Keep us posted love to see it come together. Another year or so I I can start seriously looking for a new bike. Sigh.

And to think I had a BSA Rocket 750 for a while and practically gave it away... damn. :-/

Continuing on
 

I have the engine mounted in a vise to get the pistons installed and to get the cylinders on the beast.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/vise_mount.jpg

Using a fine honing stone and my trusty parts washer I cleaned everything and got the top of the cylinders ready for the head gasket.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/cylinder_hone.jpg

I installed the pistons using new circlips.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/pistons_on.jpg

Installed the new lifters. It's not brain surgery but cleanliness and attention to detail matter.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/lifter_install.jpg

I got all the needed hardware together needed to install the cylinders and the head and checked all the threaded fasteners. Two studs and three nuts seemed to have some bad threads and will need to be chased or replaced.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/hardware.jpg

Hopefully I will get the engine together by the weekend and can start on the frame sub assembly and get the transmission installed.

That looks great! Those old Brit bikes are so sweet. I hope to be able to find some time to do similar work to my 74 CB-750. She's a basket-case, but someday she'll ride again =)

Hey Moonduck, that would be yet another great classic on the road. I hope you get around to it soon.

As the cost of gas keeps going up it's getting to be a cost efficent option to restore an old bike and use it.

Looking great rockogre, thanks for the update. Looks like you might make it for the really nice weather.

Nice!! I just finished building a chopper. I purchased a full kit from custom chrome its the nemisis model. Took about 100 hours to build. Very fun project & I will post some pic's soon. The hard part is getting it registered & street legal, I have to make some adjustments to the lights & get some different mufflers as you might imigine the revtec 100 motor is about 10,000db. The neighbors are going to love me.

thanks for sharing, looks like you could write a book!

Please keep us posted that looks like a wonderful project, I'm glad to see someone putting the time into restoring and old bike like that. I love the new and old; they all have such interesting personalities, and looks.

I have my grandfathers old 1974 Yamaha 650 in my garage, my father had a bad experience with a box truck that wrongly pulled out in front of him. He was broken up pretty bad, but lived + lots of therapy & metal plates, and screws in his arm. The bike is in bad shape. It's been 3 years, but the bike will come back to life in the next couple of years.

Well keep up the nice work, and keep us posted!!

Nice work, please post pics when complete too!

Pistons and Cylinders installed
 

Life occured for a while but I found some more time to work. Before the cylinders get installed the keepers for the new lifters get safety wired. Sometimes Locktight just isn't enough.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-688F.JPG

Sometimes you take two steps forward and go one step back. I dropped a piece of brass shim stock into the crankcase when I was trying to compress the piston rings without a proper ring compressor. I finally had to turn the crankcase upside down to remove it.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-700F.JPG

Here is a shot of the new cam. Sure looks a lot better than the old one.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-701F.JPG

This is just a shot of the crank and con rod assembly. The crank has been dis-assembled, cleaned, the journals polished, and re-assembled.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-703F.JPG

The new cam gets covered with a special oil so that on startup it will not gall and ruin the finish. One of the last things that will be done before startup is to dump the rest of the oil down the pushrod tunnels so that the cam will be oiled again.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-704F.JPG

I finally have the cylinders on. Unlike a car, both pistons had to go in from the bottom at the same time.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-705F.JPG

I cranked it over a few times with a wrench to check for noises or rough spots, there were none. Smooth as a babys butt. The pistons are at TDC, top dead center, in this shot.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-706F.JPG

The engine is assembled and just needs to have the head installed. I'm working on that. Stay tuned.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-708F.JPG

Mike, are you going to make us all a wave file to access to listen to the brute once you have it running? Looks really good! :)

What a great post. This is what makes up of a quality post, my friend. I love old nortons... a local dealership around me has a 72 Commando 750S with the highmount pipes. The machine is unbelievable. It looks like you are well on your way to creating an awe-striking bike... the cases and frame look awesome!

Thanks, I appreciate that. My only other Norton was a 71 S. I beat myself regularly for ever selling it. I got new head studs over the weekend, hopefully my next post will be soon as I get the head installed and start getting the frame ready for the engine.

By the way, Tropicdiver had the first Kawasaki 900 Z1 I was ever on and it's too bad that old monster isn't still around.

Mike, I haven't talked with Collings in years, but the last time I saw him, he still had the Z1 sitting in his garage waiting for me to come and get it. What memories. Those were the daze... 135 mph and knowing you would live forever. ;)

Hey, thanks for the great posts and the detail in your pictures. I am more of a car man (though I have a bike license), but I appreciate any pictures and stories of restorations and proper care of a vehicle. Plus, I like the look of the older bikes.

Wow it's coming together..... It's soon riding season.


Keep us posted!!!

Ive recently decided to tear down my 77 cb750K and do a ground up refurbish. Since i have to pull the engine to replace the crankcase after a chain break took some of it away with the chain(at least it wasn't my leg!)

Back at it
 

Took a little time to help my brother put a lift kit, big wheels, and a torque inprovement kit on his golf cart. As you may guess, we don't play golf in it. We run around his place and on the South Canadian river bottom on it. If you are going to mechanic it's good to diversify now and again.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-727F.jpg

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-731F.jpg

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-738F.jpg


I had to install some new head studs on the cylinders and, in preperation for the head gasket, some Coppercoat gasket sealer. This isn't normal for head gaskets but a little goes around the pushrod tunnels as the gasket tends to blow out here first.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-711F.jpg

The head gasket goes on and the pushrods are put into the tops of the lifters.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-713F.jpg

A last check is made as the head goes down to see that everything is aligned and ready to go.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-714F.jpg

As the cylinders go down the tops of the pushrods have to be matched up to the rocker arms.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-715F.jpg

I use this anti seize compound on just about everything that bolts together. It is especially important if you are using stainless fasteners, as I am, so that the mix of cast iron, and aluminum parts does not gall and stick together. It also helps get the same torque on all the fasteners.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-717F.jpg

The head gets pulled down against the valve springs using a central head bolt.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-718F.jpg

These barrell nuts go up through the bottom of the cylinder fins and connect to studs in the head. Older Norton engines have no bolts that go from the head to the crankcase.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-719F.jpg

The location of the barrel nuts.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-720F.jpg

A nut goes between the cylinders in the back on a third head stud. This one is a mother to tighten. The wrench gets only about an eighth of a turn each time.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-723F.jpg

The engine itself is now complete. Here I am buffing the timing case and re-painting the logo. I love the look of this old engine. The timing case has always looked almost organic when it is in the bike.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-725F.jpg

The last of my powder coated parts have arrived. My wheels are still being laced as the guy that does this went to Daytona for bike week. I guess I can forgive him.

Hopefully this weekend will see the installation of the engine and transmission in the frame.

Are you gonna run mostly stock lucas wiring? On my triumph I got rid of the zener diode and rectifier with a little elimantor box. Way more reliable :)

Looking good Rock can't wait to see the finished beast.

Well, it appears that folks still humor easily back in Oklahoma. How come you didn't put spinners on the wheels? ;)

I'm probably going to have to go back with the original stuff for now. I do have electronic ignition but my budget has taken a beating. I plan to upgrade from Lucas eventually but just think of the chances for adventure when you have wiring from the Prince of Darkness! It helps that I am an electrician so the wiring is in better shape than if I wasn't.

And Tropicdiver, what makes you think that we don't have a striped umbrella and spinners on backorder. Bet you didn't even notice the bulb horn on the steering column. And of course we only ride in striped overalls and straw hats.:D

Got a little more accomplished
 

Found a little more time and got a little more done. It's some slow going with holidays and family stuff going on. That and work seems to interfere a lot in my fun time.

I started on the frame by attaching the "Z" plates. Large slabs of aluminum that hold the rear pegs, the mufflers, and act as a heat sink for the primitive electric system.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-740F.jpg

Next was the rear rubber, isolastic, mount and the transmission cradel / rear engine mount.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-742F.jpg

The transmission gets installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-743F.jpg

Next we get the engine into the beast. It's good to see it back.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-745F.jpg

Off the milk crate and suspended safely and easy to get to.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-747F.jpg

Bronze bushings have to be pressed into the swingarm.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-750F.jpg

The rear, old time shoe brakes are installed to the backing plate.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-751F.jpg

My powder coater got a few shades off from black but since he didn't charge me as it was their mistake I decided to try it and see how it looks.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-752F.jpg

I should get my wheels back this weekend. It's starting to look like a bike again. Thanks for all the comments. It's been interesting to share this experience with you all.

hey mate looks like its really coming together, you should be proud. like everyone else i cant wait to see the finished project, but i enjoyed seeing the whole thing unfold basically from scratch. Have you got any pics of what it was like before you stripped it down?

This is what she looked like when I found her in Denver. Nice looking with 21,000 miles on the clock. Couldn't keep her tuned, didn't seem to make enough power, and oil leaked out just about every where.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/72norton3.jpg

The crankcase has been modified for better oil scavenging as this model was bad about wet sumping. The crankcase breather was also moved to another location and improved. Upon disassembly of the engine I found that the head gasket was leaking into the pushrod tunnels causing the crankcase to be pretty well pressurized all the time. It should run better than new when I get done.

by the sounds of what you found wrong with it,it should definatle go alot better when your finished with it. im getting excited for you. i dont get to see many old brit bikes down here in australia. though i do like the triumphs,would verymuch like to getmy self a speed triple.

Oh please say that you kept it that orange color!? That is freakin beautiful. Sound slike it will run like a champ when you get everything back together.

Strangely enough that is the stock color and it will stay that color. It's a little rough on me having an orange and black machine because I am an OU fan. I take a lot of flack.

Soldiering on
 

I got ready to install my rear swingarm and some custom parts I had made from a man in Arizona. The axle that holds the swigarm on this model is bad about egging out the tube the holds in on both ends and then letting the swigarm swing sideways. Not a good feeling. The rings I had made locate and lock the axle so this is no longer a problem.

This is what the custom rings look like.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-759F.jpg

Holes had to be drilled in the transmission cradle that hold the swingarm axle, unfortunately my machinist got them a little too high and now the swingarm cannot go past the bolts.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-761F.jpg

I decided to modify the bolts as that looked like the easiest thing to do. I cut off the heads and filed wrench flats on the sides and put the locator bolts in with blue Locktight.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-763F.jpg

Here's how they look on the bike.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-764F.jpg

Once that was complete I could install the shocks and springs.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-767F.jpg

It's finally starting to resemble my bike again.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-769F.jpg

I have another problem now. Evidently when the powder coat was baked on it loosened my oil line connections. They just fell out. My local NAPA dealer had some barbed ones so I tapped the holes and screwed these in. Hope they work.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-762F.jpg

I have the whole weekend to work on the bike. I hope to get the primary installed. Stay tuned.

The adventure continues
 

Slow but somewhat steady. This is starting to seem like the project that never ends. At least the clutch, alternator, and primary drive are all assembled.

I got the oil filter plate installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-772F.jpg

I installed the mounting stud for the primary inner chain case.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-773F.jpg

The chain case gets mounted to the engine with these three bolts and locks. It would probably be bad to have the clutch basket suck up a stray bolt.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-775F.jpg

This is the inner case for the primary transmission.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-776F.jpg

After 30 years the clutch basket will get a new bearing and upgraded to a sealed bearing. The old bearing was making a few noises and I don't want to take chances with old parts.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-778F.jpg

These are the parts that I have to figure out the exact spots they each belong to. I have a manual but it gets a little sketchy about what goes where.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-779F.jpg

The clutch basket and the alternator are mounted along with the primary chain. It is endless so everything has to go on at the same time as the chain cannot be added later.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-780F.jpg

The clutch basket nut gets locked with a special fitting as over the years it was discovered that the nut would back off and cause havoc. The rod sticking out of the center is the clutch operating rod.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-783F.jpg

The rear brake has to be installed along with the final drive chain so that I can lock the assembly with the brake in order to torque the bolts on the clutch and engine drive cog.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-784F.jpg

This is the lock on the clutch basket bolt.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-787F.jpg

The blue gadget is one of the few special tools I have had to buy. It compresses the clutch spring, it's a diaphram spring like on a car, so that it can be installed. Once you get some tension on it you can put it in and then the circular keeper ring spirals into a groove on the clutch basket.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-788F.jpg

That's it for the weekend. Lawns to mow, chores to do. It's coming together but it sure is slow. Stay tuned for more.





This shows both the primary and final drive chains.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-785F.jpg

I thought that this might happen. The new final drive cog was so much bigger that I am a link short on my final drive chain. I will have to get a new chain.

http://www.mc2home.com/Norton/MVC-786F.jpg

It's going slow but I am getting there. Stay tuned for more.

Mike, you going to get that scooter finished before the snows fall, again, in Oklahoma? Remember, you can trailer it down here and you can ride during our Winter. ;)

I'm slow but I'm getting there. Sorry this thread is getting so long. Hopefully it will be complete soon. I got a lot done but won't post a lot of pictures this time. It goes is fits and starts. My brother came down Saturday and helped me a while. We got a lot of it sorted out.

Since I didn't really make a re-assembly plan I've just been putting things together as I got around to them. Since I would like to eventually set it on the ground I decided to get the front end on.

These are the steering yokes assembled in the head bearing. The shiny red thing is my new identification plate. The old one had to go when the frame went for powder coating.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-791F.jpg

A friend loaned me a professional buffing machine. I just starting to get a handle on how many shiny bits this thing has that needs to be polished. The gadget really takes the work out of it.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-793F.jpg

My brother and I wanted some idea of how she was going to look and I have never had the new seat on the frame so we gave it a shot. I have the wheels back but we didn't get that excited yet.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-797F.jpg

This is a shot of the oil tank and front end installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-800F.jpg

We finally got all the primary drive sorted out and the clutch cable installed and everything adjusted up to specs. I sure was glad to get this cover installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-803F.jpg\

This is a shot of what all is going on underneath. That's the new chain on the left. The yellow hose goes to a hollow bolt that feeds oil to the swingarm bushings. It's hell to get to for service and this is a fix I read about to make it easy and to make sure that there is always oil to the bushings. The rings I had made are installed and all the oil hoses are hooked up, the filter on, and the tank has oil. It's sitting a bit while I watch for leaks.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-804F.jpg

Things should go on pretty quick now. A lot of my time is spent polishing, measuring, checking, adjusting, and just generally backtracking and making sure everything gets done. I will spend some time cleaning up the wiring and getting it on. I'm getting close.

I hope some of you are enjoying this and I really appreciate all the comments.

Man that is looking great....It will look even better once it is on it's wheels again!!

A little farther along
 

After cleaning, buffing, and polishing I have the rear fender and chain guard installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-806F.JPG

The rear end is assembled and ready to go.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-808F.JPG

For some reason I decided that the kick stand needed to be installed. Hopefully I will be using it soon.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-809F.JPG

An illustration of why this project takes so long. Many of the parts are aluminum castings with no clear coat or other protective finish requiring hand polishing. This does, however, show the wonders of elbow grease and polish.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-810F.JPG

The front brake and fender are installed, buffed, and polished of course. I took one of the bearings out of the front wheel for new grease. Not all of the bearings are sealed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-811F.JPG

I need a wheel, wiring, and the carbs done and I am on the road again, hopefully.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-812F.JPG

Damn! I think I'm in the short rows now. If I don't brag on it too much it just might come alive. Oh, well, I might put the exhaust back on it also.

It has wheels!
 

I fooled around and got the front wheel and the exhaust installed. Forgot to take some of the pictures, but you get the idea.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-815F.JPG

I set the initial timing in preperation for installing the electronic ignition.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-819F.JPG

The rotor for the ignition gets installed into the end of the new camshaft.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-823F.JPG

This is the stator, or pickup plate, for the ignition.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-824F.JPG

The ignition wiring comes in through the cases.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-825F.JPG

This shot shows the stator plate installed. The ignition is now complete.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-826F.JPG

I sat down for a while and set all the valves. Turned the engine over a few times, and checked and adjusted them again.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-827F.JPG

This is my new billet custom head steady from Old Britts. It replaced the two rubber cushions that connect the head to the frame.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-828F.JPG

This is the baseplate mounted on the head.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-829F.JPG

The complete head steady installed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-832F.JPG

It took some time but I untaped my wiring harness. It had 30 years of oil and dirt in it. I zip tied it at every junction and cleaned the oil off of it. It is a lot nicer to work with after the oil was removed.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-834F.JPG

Lastly, I cleaned up the old Amal carbs. These things are some kind of primitive. The large chrome buttons sticking up on the sides allow you to flood the bowls on a cold start. They are finicky and wear out their innards easily, but I like running them cause I am kind of preverse. All thats left is to install the carbs and get the wiring back in place.

http://www.mc2home.com/norton/MVC-836F.JPG

For any of you that have followed along this far, I apologize for the length of this post. If you did this on a dial up, my hat is off to you. With any luck, there won't be a lot more pictures posted to this thread. Thanks for checking out my project.

Hey Rockogre, no need to apologize for using the old carbs!

I'm glad you've kept us up to date with this project. Really gives perspective into things, and might give people a better idea of the time involved.

Your norty looks to be coming along together nicely. If only I could get this kind of progress on my Suzuki TS400... :)