Messages

Thanks for posting the pics!

VERY nice turnout for being so early in the week. The weather sure is cooperating.
Keep those pictures coming. I know I'm not the only one living vicariously through them. ;)

Great pics and thanks for posting them. I gave serious thought to driving down to check out the show but couldn't find any info online regarding location and time. My loss. :(

I might cruise through early in the week but, in light of my Buffalo still not being complete, I'll be in my Miata.

I was going to describe a couple of the crashes I've had but not after reading what others have experienced. Mine pale in comparison. You guys are some mighty lucky dudes.

What a score!
Congratulations!

Every year I've been planning and hoping to attend and every year something or other gets in the way. Apparently, this year will be no different. The meet is the same week as the Spring Feathercraft Meet that my wife and I attend and thoroughly enjoy each year. Fwiw, Feathercrafts are aluminum pleasure boats that were made in Atlanta from '46 to the late '60's. GREAT group of people on the FC forum that I'm proud to be associated with. I've no doubt that I'd feel the same way about the attendees of the Two Stroke meet if I were to attend it. Sorry, but I'm out. :(

I took another look at the relationship between the head gasket bores and the combustion chamber bores and have ruled out the milled head because of the vast difference between the 2 IDs. I appreciate Teazer's and Savor's comments which lead me to take a closer look. This leads me to choose the welded head with the squish bands. I've attached a pic showing the relationship between the gasket and combustion chamber OD on that one. Also, with regard to the head gasket. Its a Suzuki NOS item with an ID of 71.5.

It's not a matter of the thermostat working, its a matter of it being against the opening directly below it IF I went with that head. And, I'm aware that it'd take longer to warm up, at 1st. On a similar note, it's possible that the motor wouldn't really come up to the proper operating temp without the 'stat. Both valid concerns and, in a sense, an answer to the question I asked of savOr.

That's what I was thinking. As for measuring the volume of each head to see what's going on is concerned, I could do that too and report back with my findings. How close should they be?
What about the issue with the thermostat? Would you run without one?

Thanks for the heads up (pun intended), Richard. I was of the belief that the gasket I've got is OEM. I'll definitely look into one from Cometic.
A new issue has presented itself since I posted earlier today. It involves making a decision between which of 2 heads to use. Here's the deal.
The thermostat housing (cavity?) of the head shown above has been machined down to the point where the thermostat, if used, fits down into the bore and presses against the opening of the fitting directly below it. There is no recess to locate the thermostat and, as such, would essentially float in the bore, being pressed down by the thermostat cover/cap/housing. The other head has the OEM setup with regard to the thermostat. However, the combustion chambers have apparently been filled in (with weld) and reshaped to provide a traditional squish band.
I've attached 2 pics. One shows the underside of both heads for comparison. Please excuse the presence of the thermostat cover.
I would appreciate opinions regarding which head to go with.

Thought I'd post a pic of the head now that I've spent some time polishing the combustion chamber. I'm hoping to install it tomorrow.

Thanks for the responses, especially the compliments. lol  Kudos on spotting that it's a '72 block. ;)   I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to remove the block without a puller. Not easy by any means, but it did come apart.
Normally, I would have done this job with the engine out of the frame but I figured I'd make the most of having the forks off for rebuilding and installation of emulators and Progressive Suspension springs. I also wanted to lube the roller bearings in the steering head. Doing it solo was definitely a pita, and required me to use some positions normally associated with Yoga. I knew that supporting the block while making sure the rings were properly located was the hard part. The tie downs made it all possible.
Fwiw, the reason I had to pull the top end was that it had rusted together from setting too long without being turned over. This was the 1st time I'd ever had this happen and came as a real surprise since the bike was in a normally closed garage. Also, it happened in less than 2 months time. I figure condensation from warm and cold cycles was to blame. Still, 2 months?! Wtf!
Also, to make the most of this post and for anyone interested, since I had to clean up the bores anyway, I decided to get the block Nicasil plated, my 1st experience with having this done.
Finally, and excuse me if I've posted a pic of my bike before but I thought I'd attach one for anyone who hasn't seen it. Amazing that I've owned it since '78.

Finally got back to working on my Buffalo after a 10 month delay. Last night I reinstalled the pistons and block. Not an easy task without help. I was proud of myself for devising a plan that involved suspending the block using tie down straps hooked to an overhead beam. :) Next up is to determine which of the 3 heads I have available to use and bolt it in place. My goal is to have it running by the end of the month. We'll see.

Thanks for answering my question.
I wish I'd seen it.