1962 Model 88; previously 1957 basket case value?

[Kiwi]

Hi John

Thanks very much this is valuable information for me, yesterday I made contact with a person I was directed to from a custom motor cycle shop and he has said many things to me that are consistent with what I have been told here. He mentioned the valve seats are cast into the head and should not be replaced if at all possible and he did say the guides can be very tricky if not dealt with very carefully. he went on to describe correct cam follower fitting etc and explained the risks of letting a modern machinist at the head and barrel.

I have some comfort in talking to him and he was not that keen to take on the job until we got talking about the bike, I think that speaks volumes sometimes!

This guy told me has has owned a few Dominators and they were among his favorite bikes, he is not able to look at my stuff for a couple of weeks but he does live not too far away so I intend to wait until I can see him and assess his background for my self.

It does sound like he is retiring from doing bikes or at least slowing down his work load so here's hoping he is well experienced!

Can you tell me what size the nuts are on the crank shaft flanges? I don't have any whit-worth spanners any longer, I am ashamed to say I discarded a significant amount of them years ago! I went to undo the bolts last night and discovered nothing imperial or metric will come close!

Cheers

Kiwi

[chaterlea25]

Hi Kiwi,
Before you proceed any further go and get some Whit ring and open spanners + sockets
Its a long time since I built an 88 engine, but I think that the crank holding together studs have either 1/8th or 3/16 whit nut sizes,
Its recommended that the studs and nuts are replaced after each use,
Beware of crap pattern ones , I had to send several sets back to a well known supplier as they were pure sh*t
HTH
John

[Kiwi]

Thanks John

Going tool shopping today

Cheers

Eryn

[Kiwi]

WOW Talk about sludge! Thanks to this forums tips I found this! Looks like a regrind and no clean out of the journals! The stuff I found in the crankshaft looks like grinding grit, so this engine was doomed if it had been put back together as is.

Goes to show there are no short cuts.

[Kiwi]

Hi all,

I am back on the resto track with what I now think is a 61 model 88-SS.

I have attached a few photos of progress and especially the crank as I now see after cleaning it has 88-SS stamped on it, does anyone know if this means the whole bike is an SS or did Norton sometimes have a stamped for one model shaft put in other models?

The photos show all of the bike frame components blasted and then in the primed state.

Note the Indian with the Vincent engine fitted, I am sure this will get some reaction from the purists among you! (Colonials eh!)

Cheers to all

Regards

Kiwi

[R]

The thing that really makes an 88SS is the twin carb downdraft cylinder head.
And the cam to go with it...

Who belongeth the Vindian ?

Nice looking work, look forward to seeing more.

[Kiwi]

Thanks R

I will post progress photos.

Looks like I am back to a model 88 then, thanks for the ever reliable advice.

The article in the magazine only refers to the owner by his first name "Peter" he is an active member of the Indian motorcycle club of Australia that is all I know. I thought you may be able to zoom to read the article, it pretty much covers the history in brief of the Vindian from when Phillip Vincent met up with Ralph Rogers and they decided to combine the two bikes just pre 1949.

Cheers

Kiwi

[Kiwi]

Hi R and everyone

I am having a really tough time removing the front fork stauncheon from the lower fork tube, I have followed the instructions in the Haynes manual to the letter but when I try to pull the two pieces apart it feels like its hitting an immoveable object inside.

By the book it appears I have the later model forks with the chrome coated collar that screws down into the lower fork tube on top of the seal.

Is there any applicable fork model that could have a collar or circlip that needs to be removed before disassembley and would be obscured by the dust seal?

Any idea's?

Kind Regards

Kiwi

[wetdog]

can be tight , have you undone the dampner rod ?
see document below

[R]

Once you have removed the threaded chrome bits that retain the fork seals, it should all come apart.
The fork seals can corrode themselves attached to the top of the alloy sliders, and can take a good heave or 6 to separate them out of their housing.

The fork dampers may interfere with this, depending on what they are, but should not prevent things coming apart - assuming you have undone and removed the large chrome nuts on the top of the forks, and removed/freed the damper rods threaded into them.

[Kiwi]

Thanks Wetdog

great info, it seems I am on the right track but it is Bldy tight! what about putting subtle heat on the lower fork tube at the top?

I did undo the dampener even though the book says, do it last. I have done modern American shocks and they are about the same setup basically.

By the way I have been going over all the duplicate bike parts and I now "choose" to believe that this bike was probably an SS before it was !"£%^%ised in Malaysia and there is a possibility it orbited the moon a couple of times while John Glenn was waiting for Buzz and Neil to get back in the Luna capsule.  Norton could not have imagined how many parts could be so worn out!

I just removed the wheel bearings from the rear hub (something that looked well repaired on the face of it) only to find the outside of the ball bearing was spaced with a shim made from a beer can!

Have to say it will be pretty comprehensively re-built by the time I finish!!

Any one recognise the beer can?

One of you guys warned me about the Asian region bikes.......mmmmm

[wetdog]

"the Asian region bikes" ............ they do tend to get things going one way or another , same as Bulgaria, ive bought two VW vans split screen late 50s early 60s , but they've been standing for some years , they must be bad if they've given up with them , will post pics when they arrive just for a laugh

[Kiwi]

Looking forward to those photos, I once passed up a split screen combi as a piece of rubbish, who's the mug now!

Finally got the fork apart, I had to lightly heat up the lower and set it up in a jig so I could repeatedly flog the sanction for ten minutes solid before it came out. I got all set up to do the same with the second one and it popped out first pull!

[murdo]

Looks like it could be a bit from a 'Tiger Beer' can.

[Kiwi]

Hi All

I am getting there, all parts are painted now just put some examples up for interest sake. The parts have their clear coat but not polished yet.

I took a photo of the Triumph I saw at the bike show here last Sunday, there were five Vincents lined up as well, pretty nice.

Kind Regards

Kiwi