Indeed the fuel tap is different from my other sandcast. I have a Japanese sandcast book that details sandcast #8. It has the same fuel tap, so I am pretty sure it is correct. When I get home, I'll take a few more pictures of it. It is definitely shorter!

The bike was purchased originally in Louisiana. The original owner died a year or two later and the family kept the bike in their garage (barn?) until it was found by a fellow forum member. I bought it from him.

Ha! 4pots1969, you are right. Also, I think the tires are not original. The front is a continental and the back is a brand that I am not familiar with. Originals were dunlop right?

I am tempted to get the bike running great and only remove the rust....in other words, keep it original. What do you guys think? More valuable original (cleaned up as much as possible without crossing the line) or as a fully-restored bike?

Excellent find.  I congratulate you.  I would definitely just clean it up and leave as is.  Original and unrestored will always be worth more and is more attractive in the market.  It's surprising how well things can clean up with the right products and elbow grease. Having said you may want to restore it for your own personal pleasure.  

What about looking at the gusset near the shocks?  The sandcast frames had shorter ones vs. diecast frames. I'm having a hard time seeing it though. 

Anyone have a picture of the correct zero font DW60K0 is talking about.  I would love to see a comparison.  Maybe we should start a font gallery to show bogus vs. real numbers. 

I have gone through this with my harleys and I always consult the font database online.  It's shocking how many fake vin numbers there are in the Harley world.

Found a motor. See general posts section for details. 

Hey Guys.

I found this motor through a SOHC member who contacted me. I had been looking for a vin 350 or lower motor for a very long time as my sandcast 256 came with unstamped diecast cases.  I was very pleased with the condition of the motor.  It had changed hands over the last decades and the current owner has had it for close to 10 years where it sat in a professional shop.  The bottom and top end have been rebuilt (well) and everything looks in great shape. I doubt it had ever been apart before. It's in many pieces but looks complete.  The PO had done considerable research to find the original frame and other parts but came up with nothing.  It was in a relatively small town where many people know each other so it was a little easier to do the research.  There were no other sandcast parts. 

Obviously the motor had been painted so I'll take it to a machine shop for cleaning and paint removal.  From what I've read the sandcast cases were not painted so I'll leave them bare.  I've collected a lot of sandcast parts over the last couple of years and recently bought a double cut fender and carbs.  I have the original smooth oil filter cover. I think the only items I need are side covers, seat, gauges and exhaust. I won't start the restoration till I have all the parts.  I try to find original when possible.  I don't have the smooth oil lines and I doubt I'll ever find them.   





thats not rust but grease

bump

Here's a couple pics of my 19L tank.  The wrinkles don't seem do be as pronounced as the later wrinkle tanks.


Here's a shot from the underside.  Appears to be just two wrinkles.


Here's an overall shot showing that there are no dimples for the carb tops.

I have a wrinkle tank as well from my #256 and the wrinkles seem less pronounced as you've mentioned.  Maybe the earlier ones have that characteristic?

Welcome

Vesra is one of the best around. I tried to get s set for my k1 but they were on back order (this was last summer).  Athena is ok but their quality has slightly deteriorated over the years.  I had to go with Athena as it was the only brand available.