1983 Cutlass

[Opie Knievel]

On my Olds? Not really. I still have it and haven't give up. I had some issues with my truck (clutch cables breaking, ignition problems, engine getting old) and it made me realize I need a second vehicle immediately. When I changed my plans on the Olds it extended the finish date by a few months and lots of money. I need a second vehicle sooner than that.

So, I decided to focus on finishing my motorcycle. I can finish this pretty quick and I'll ride it most of the week. As soon as I'm finished with it it takes the pressure off building my Olds.

I completely understand you wanting to have a second vehicle ready to go at a moment's notice. I have 3 vehicles now that I keep insurance on and try to keep roadworthy. The Monte Carlo is still down waiting on a transmission rebuild. I just had to replace a wheel bearing and rotors on the Geo and the truck almost always has at least a small issue or two. I don't see how I used to make it with only one vehicle.

I like your bike. I bet it'll look cool when you get done with it. What's the story on it?

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I completely understand you wanting to have a second vehicle ready to go at a moment's notice. I have 3 vehicles now that I keep insurance on and try to keep roadworthy. The Monte Carlo is still down waiting on a transmission rebuild. I just had to replace a wheel bearing and rotors on the Geo and the truck almost always has at least a small issue or two. I don't see how I used to make it with only one vehicle.

I like your bike. I bet it'll look cool when you get done with it. What's the story on it?

It's a 1976 CB750K. It's going to be one of the bikes I've always wanted. I bought it three years ago from my brother's stoner roommate for $750. He thought it was a lost cause. I had it on the road the next week. I rode it for 2.5 years and I had around $1500 in it at the time. Last October, I had two flats in two weeks. Next thing I know, I had the frame cut in half and was fitting a handtail. (Hmm, I'm starting to notice a pattern)

This one is going to be done 70's style. I'm lacing aluminum rims from an early GL1000 to the stock hubs. Narrow rear tire with a reshaped trailer fender. Narrowed and dished mustang tank. No front fender. Headlight and brake light only. Stainless exhaust. And a paint job from the 70's (gold leaf, candy root beer, and lace). I'm keeping the rake stock so it'll be easier to ride. It should be a lot of fun.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

A small update. A friend that owns an auto shop asked if I could fill in for his sick mechanic this week. I made sure to grab the direct drum from my shop before I drove in this morning.

I'm adding a fifth clutch and steel to the direct drum. To do this I have to machine the direct piston. I chucked it in the brake lathe and after some adjustment to ensure it was square, I started making aluminum shavings.



I had assembled it with four clutches and measured the clearance before I started. I wanted .010 per clutch so after some math, I figured I needed to machine the piston to .688. Since you can always remove metal easier than taking it away, I assembled it with five clutches partway through the machining so I could make sure I didn't overshoot it. I ended up with .049 clearance. Close enough.

 

[Opie Knievel]

A small update. A friend that owns an auto shop asked if I could fill in for his sick mechanic this week. I made sure to grab the direct drum from my shop before I drove in this morning.

I'm adding a fifth clutch and steel to the direct drum. To do this I have to machine the direct piston. I chucked it in the brake lathe and after some adjustment to ensure it was square, I started making aluminum shavings.



I had assembled it with four clutches and measured the clearance before I started. I wanted .010 per clutch so after some math, I figured I needed to machine the piston to .688. Since you can always remove metal easier than taking it away, I assembled it with five clutches partway through the machining so I could make sure I didn't overshoot it. I ended up with .049 clearance. Close enough.

I don't know if that'll work. You'd better machine that other .001.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I planned a bike trip Memorial day weekend so I've been working on getting the Honda finished. But, since I have all the parts for the TH350, I thought I'd assemble it today. Then I can wrap it in plastic, put it on the shelf, and get one of my work benches back.



I didn't get many pictures, but I'll explain any mods I did. I installed five clutches in the direct drum in the post above. The direct drum also got a wider bushing since it sees a lot of abuse (not shown in above post). I installed four bushings on the sun gear (I did drill the bushings for oil flow). I installed a hardened intermediate sprag. I also have a shift kit I'm installing along with a larger oil pan when I purchase one.

I had to order a "better than I had" input shaft since mine had some galling on the tip that rides on the output shaft bushing. I ordered a new bushing kit at the same time to get the larger direct drum bushing. Unfortunately when I installed it, I must have drove it in crooked. I went to install the pump and it wouldn't drop into the direct drum. When I pulled the pump out, the bushing had some damage. So I had to ordered two more bushings in case I damage one. Not a big deal but it is a major let down since I wanted this together before I go to work.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I didn't forget about my Olds.

Memorial day has come and gone. I was able to finish my scooter (sorta) and made the 450 mile round trip to Waco. I planned on leaving Sunday morning but I needed the bike finished by Friday since it had to be inspected and registered. It wasn't road worthy (no brakes or tuning), but I wired the bike for the minimum lights required, loaded it up in the truck and barely made it to the inspection station and tax office for the new plates. Saturday I tuned the carbs the best I could without new jets, took it on a 20 mile test ride (which convinced me it was ready for a 450 mile trip), and called it good enough. I made it to Waco in one piece (a little sore but nothing a few beers wouldn't fix).



My scooter broke my wallet so there won't be major progress on the Cutlass for a while. I do have paying work coming into the shop this month that will help but I'm not spending major money until I'm afloat. But I do plan on getting the cheap, labor intensive jobs finished. There are a few rust issues on the body that need to be addressed and since I already have primer, filler, and some steel for patch panels, I'll probably jump ahead and deal with those problems in between paying work.

 

[Opie Knievel]

That bike looks really nice man. Good job. Glad to hear your trip went well. We all know what it's like waiting on money to be able to continue with a project. Hopefully things will pick up soon and you'll get to work on the Cutlass. Thanks for the update!

 

[pagrunt]

I'm not much of a bike guy but I like the old school vibe it has.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I planned on getting back to work a couple weeks ago but I had a bad couple of weeks. After 11 years of supervising my work, I lost my shop dog/riding buddy to heart issues. I adopted a new, used dog but she broke free three hours after getting home. This led me to spend the next three days trying to catch/trap her. She's back now and is getting comfortable in her new home but it'll be a while before she can be promoted to shop dog.

I'm still on a budget so I thought I'd get started on the body work. Steel patches are cheap. I pulled the interior (again) and the side glass. I'll pull the rear glass in the morning if I can find a glass knife locally.

Here is the bad spot on the passenger side.



But there is is also this,



The rust is mostly on the flange but looks like it rusted into the inner panel as well. Should be easy pieces to make. I'm more worried about the metal just above the rear glass. I'm hoping it hasn't rusted through because I'm not looking forward to replacing the rear roof section. After I get the glass cut out I'll strip the rust and see exactly what I'm working with.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I had some free time today so rather than clean the shop, I cut the rear window out. Then I immediately broke my cold knife. So I used a long handled utility knife to cut it out from the inside. Whoever installed it (probably the factory) used way to much urethane. It'll be installed with much less.



My biggest concern when I bought the car was that there would be heavy rust behind the glass where the vinyl wraps around the molding. But I only found one major spot on the passenger side. The heavy looking rust on the roof where the vinyl was looks to be mostly on the surface.



The only other spot in above the drivers quarter window. Overall I'm pleasantry surprised that there is so little rust. What is there is easily repairable. I'm stopping by the wrecking yard tomorrow to find some damaged fenders I can pick up cheap to use for patches. If I can get some time off from paying jobs and can get motivated to be out in the shop in the heat, I should have the outside rust repaired this weekend.