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I've mocked up and checked everything I can think of at this point. There were problems at the rocker boxes and in the lifter blocks below the lifters. One area wasn't machined properly and the roller had low clearance. Glad I caught that, because it would have surely hit and caused a huge mess.
Then again, I'm totally new to this and I can't know what I don't know.. So, the hope is by posting this, if I screw up someone with more experience can set me straight..
Everything that has been done so far.
I fitted the pistons with a micrometer hone to the specification suggested by JB on my 2x6 jig.. Which seemed to work pretty well.
Checked valvetrain clearance for .060 all around. Built one lifter cap from aluminum to keep the spring from collapsing while checking. It just rides in the groove above the snap ring and on top. I then noticed a nickle fit perfectly and drilled and countersunk one of those for the other lifter.
Made a mandrel and turned the rockers down. One cool thing about EVO parts is, they're cheap. So I bought several sets of rockers, both new and used, and looked at them. The concern here was the ratio difference. This means the lever is longer and besides creating clearance problems, it should screw up your valve tip to rocker tip alignment. The stock rockers are pretty flat and that would probably happen to some extent. However, the Dixie repops have a nice thick pad and curve to them. They align perfectly. I tuned one with a dremel roll a little, but it really wasn't necessary. Also, the pushrod angles are good but not perfect and they get a little close to the top of the tube and the side of the pushrod hole in the box. Adjustment shims behind the large spacer permit movement of the whole assembly in and out, and there's a degree of fine tuning avaliable there. Rockers are set to about .007 end play. (I'd rather they be a little bit loose.)
Balancing was done with a ball bearing wheel balancer and the tapered cones it came with. I had to trim one of them down a little. The axle they supplied was poor, so I replaced it with a piece of precision rod from McMaster Carr. As cheap of a rig as it is, the results are very repeatable. It really works well and I have confidence in it.
If you ever decide to do something like this on a precision shaft with allen screws, I found that placing a little copper or aluminum wire and a dab of silicone below the set screws keeps them from digging into the shaft and saves it from burrs so you can make adjustments without slowly eating it up.
I bought a rod, pin and bearing set and assumed they were pre-fitted. I learned that they aren't. At all. They are intended to be power honed and finished. I don't have a power hone, but I really want to do this myself, so I bought one of the "lapping kits" like you see at Ted's.
It is an Eastern part and it really isn't a "lap" at all. It is a nut mandrel with grooves cut in it. But it works perfectly. It knocked two tenths out of round from my races and is just really nice. Leaves a nice finish. It's beautiful. The Harley service manuals show a lathe being used, but mine doesn't spin that slow. Nothing here does. So, I used it on a cordless hand drill, guiding it with one hand, and the results were perfect. If you ever saw those kits and wondered about them? They're great. Couldn't be any better.
The crankshaft absolutely, positively, will not true. I fooled with it forever and it just won't. Taking it all back apart, I see the pinion shaft is bent. So, that is next.
Then again, I'm totally new to this and I can't know what I don't know.. So, the hope is by posting this, if I screw up someone with more experience can set me straight..
Everything that has been done so far.
I fitted the pistons with a micrometer hone to the specification suggested by JB on my 2x6 jig.. Which seemed to work pretty well.
Checked valvetrain clearance for .060 all around. Built one lifter cap from aluminum to keep the spring from collapsing while checking. It just rides in the groove above the snap ring and on top. I then noticed a nickle fit perfectly and drilled and countersunk one of those for the other lifter.
Made a mandrel and turned the rockers down. One cool thing about EVO parts is, they're cheap. So I bought several sets of rockers, both new and used, and looked at them. The concern here was the ratio difference. This means the lever is longer and besides creating clearance problems, it should screw up your valve tip to rocker tip alignment. The stock rockers are pretty flat and that would probably happen to some extent. However, the Dixie repops have a nice thick pad and curve to them. They align perfectly. I tuned one with a dremel roll a little, but it really wasn't necessary. Also, the pushrod angles are good but not perfect and they get a little close to the top of the tube and the side of the pushrod hole in the box. Adjustment shims behind the large spacer permit movement of the whole assembly in and out, and there's a degree of fine tuning avaliable there. Rockers are set to about .007 end play. (I'd rather they be a little bit loose.)
Balancing was done with a ball bearing wheel balancer and the tapered cones it came with. I had to trim one of them down a little. The axle they supplied was poor, so I replaced it with a piece of precision rod from McMaster Carr. As cheap of a rig as it is, the results are very repeatable. It really works well and I have confidence in it.
If you ever decide to do something like this on a precision shaft with allen screws, I found that placing a little copper or aluminum wire and a dab of silicone below the set screws keeps them from digging into the shaft and saves it from burrs so you can make adjustments without slowly eating it up.
I bought a rod, pin and bearing set and assumed they were pre-fitted. I learned that they aren't. At all. They are intended to be power honed and finished. I don't have a power hone, but I really want to do this myself, so I bought one of the "lapping kits" like you see at Ted's.
It is an Eastern part and it really isn't a "lap" at all. It is a nut mandrel with grooves cut in it. But it works perfectly. It knocked two tenths out of round from my races and is just really nice. Leaves a nice finish. It's beautiful. The Harley service manuals show a lathe being used, but mine doesn't spin that slow. Nothing here does. So, I used it on a cordless hand drill, guiding it with one hand, and the results were perfect. If you ever saw those kits and wondered about them? They're great. Couldn't be any better.
The crankshaft absolutely, positively, will not true. I fooled with it forever and it just won't. Taking it all back apart, I see the pinion shaft is bent. So, that is next.
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