Honda CB750 Sandcast

Beginning to End - Member Restorations => Restoration of 5369/E5479 => Topic started by: UK Pete on June 25, 2014, 05:43:23 pm

Title: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 25, 2014, 05:43:23 pm
Here goes for another restoration thread, i have another thread going for diecast 9574, which i will carry on with but at an even slower pace than it has been going at, for now the Sandcast takes priority and it will also take some of the diecast parts i had stashed

Here is the bike as i bought it, the head and barrels are off a later bike, there are no brackets or fixings whatsoever, just an incomplete bottom end of engine, frame, swingarm, wrinkle tank, oil tank, wheels, and a couple of beat up guards

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/__57.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/2.JPG)

As you my well see there is a hell of a lot missing but hey beggars cant be choosers,
The parts i most need are carbs, head and barrels, 9 hole clutch cover, double cut front guard, complete front brake set up

First of all i was itching to get the engine apart, fully expecting to find all sorts of nasty surprises, firstly i removed the studs, never an easy job especially on a 45 year beat up old engine

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_001.JPG)

Then the moment of truth, open up the cases

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_004.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_008.JPG)

Well all i can say is thank you god, the inside is in perfect unworn condition, the only mess in there was a small mouse nest, all the bearings were oiled and smooth running, the crank and its shells look as good as a bike thats only done 100 miles 0% wear, all gear cogs intact, and best of all no nasty chain break damage to the casings,
I have to say i have never been so excited about a bike restoration like i am about this one, guys its official i have SANCAST FEVER , and i have got it real bad,
bye for now
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on June 25, 2014, 07:01:14 pm
Sandcast fever.  You poor thing!  Do you have forks?  Do you need engine mount brackets?
 
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 26, 2014, 12:56:35 am
Steve lucky enough i scored a set of forks about a year back, i only bought them as they were cheap and i thought of them as spares for the k0
as for engine brackets, battery box and all that sort of harware yes i will be on the lookout, i think i have later model brackets but then i am not sure of any differences, , my next question will be is the battery box from k0 or k1 the same , according to the parts manual it is,i will be asking so many questions as time goes on as i want to keep this bike as correct as i can afford to, lucky for me late sandcasts are a bit easier to do
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: benjixt on June 26, 2014, 01:16:30 am
Hi PETE,

sandcast fever for sure!!!!

the second step is the low vin sandcast FEVER

the last step is the 2 digits vin sandcast fever....

welcome............................

cool bike

congratulation

Benjamin
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: 4pots1969 on June 26, 2014, 06:43:30 am
Hi Pete,
Satisfied for you that the engine is "clean"..
The East what about the frame? Is he healthy?
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 26, 2014, 07:49:23 am
I have yet to inspect the frame closely , but at first glance it appears virtually rust free ,the only bummer is the side stand mount is ripped off, Will ( Freddy the fat frog ) who I bought the bike from promised me that he would cut the side stand mount off a written off frame he has in his shop, I hope he comes good with this as I am a good customer of his, and spent nearly 8k with him
Let's see what his customer after care is like ,
I Will post up pictures of the frame in due coarse
Pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: ashimotok0 on June 26, 2014, 11:11:29 am
I have yet to inspect the frame closely , but at first glance it appears virtually rust free ,the only bummer is the side stand mount is ripped off, Will ( Freddy the fat frog ) who I bought the bike from promised me that he would cut the side stand mount off a written off frame he has in his shop, I hope he comes good with this as I am a good customer of his, and spent nearly 8k with him
Let's see what his customer after care is like ,
I Will post up pictures of the frame in due coarse
Pete
What's he like to deal with Pete? I bought some parts from him via Ebay earlier this year,  off a really low mileage engine and although a bit pricey, they were in excellent condition,  shipped fast and free and well packed. But if I ever email and ask a question I never seem to get a reply (and No I did not call him 'Freddy'  ::)). Great news on that bottom end though you must be really pleased. BTW I scrapped a K7 frame but kept part of it to make an engine stand. Not sure if that would fit or if the side stand mount is still on the bit I kept but if so you can have it for free.

Cheers ..AshD
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 26, 2014, 01:50:19 pm
Thanks Ash thats good of you, however i got an email from will  ( freddy the fat frog ), saying he will cut the piece of frame for me and send it to me
so that speaks volumes to me, he is definetely one of the good guys, a pleasure to deal with and talk to, i think he gets so many emails some of them slip through the net, i was emailing him and he was replying from the IOM TT, so i was lucky, i would definetely recommend him he sells some really good rare stuff, as for his prices they are in line with market value , he is running a business and like all of us wants to maximise profits so prices correctly, what did you buy from him?
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: ashimotok0 on June 27, 2014, 02:04:28 am
Thanks Ash thats good of you, however i got an email from will  ( freddy the fat frog ), saying he will cut the piece of frame for me and send it to me
so that speaks volumes to me, he is definetely one of the good guys, a pleasure to deal with and talk to, i think he gets so many emails some of them slip through the net, i was emailing him and he was replying from the IOM TT, so i was lucky, i would definetely recommend him he sells some really good rare stuff, as for his prices they are in line with market value , he is running a business and like all of us wants to maximise profits so prices correctly, what did you buy from him?
pete

I got some top end parts from him from a 1600 mile only K2 motor he parted out. I suppose you are correct, he has a business to run and sounds like he doesn't suffer fools gladly. My question to him was to look out for some early diecast crankcases for me as mine are replacement cases with no VIN stamping, replaced under warranty, I believe, due to chain breakage. I emailed him twice but never got a reply. Perhaps I should have phoned him instead.

Cheers ..AshD   BTW I still have plenty of the hard to get O rings for the Oil pump if you need a couple. they are in Viton (75 ish Shore A hardness)

Cheers  ... AshD
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 27, 2014, 01:22:45 pm
Ash i will take you up on the pump 0 rings, i could do with two sets, k0 and sandcast will need them,  pm me what you have and cost please
BTW how is your k0 resto going? and a set of unstamped cases will not detract from the value, everyone knows the early problems honda had with chain breaks, you could stamp up a strip of ally cut to size with your case numbers and glue it on the number pad then its reversable, and if you sell you can remove or explain its nothing sinister
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: ashimotok0 on June 27, 2014, 06:08:35 pm
No problem Pete you can have them for free. I also have somewhere the ones ChrisR uses on the cylinder head to give additional sealing, I think he used them on your K1.
Sounds like you other half is a very understanding lady like mine  ;D

Hope to get mine done this year Pete, I was 'out of sorts' for a lot of the last two years but I am back on the case now and I also want to get my '69 K0 CB250 finished this year  too. Not sure about the wheels on the 750K0 though. I have a pair of NOS rims with the 'verbage' on them and new DSS spoke
 kits  and also a really nice genuine K0 wheel which the rim will definitely re-chrome OK. Problem is the rare rolled rear rim though or even a decent K1 style. People on ebay just ask silly money for them and I did buy one once from the US but the guy never shipped it and I had to get my money back from Paypal.

BTW the wheel you got from 'Freddy' looks like a later wheel, as it has the sprocket guard  disk thingy on it.

Cheers .. AshD
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 01, 2014, 01:53:52 pm
Ok guys a bit more progress, i washed the crankcases in my parts washer, then pressure washed them, dried them in the oven , blasted them clean getting rid of all that thick black paint, then pressure washed them again, oven dried them blew them through with an air line, washed them in thinners and masked them ready for spraying
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_003.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_017.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_016.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_021.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_023.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_024.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/setember_10th_till_22__2012_Alanya_holiday_photos_032.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: kmb69 on July 01, 2014, 10:00:14 pm
Cases looking nice Pete.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: 4pots1969 on July 02, 2014, 03:27:10 am
Good job Pete!!
I see that there is an enormous motivation...
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: kp on July 02, 2014, 03:33:42 am
Those cases have cleaned up really nice
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 02, 2014, 05:09:58 am
Thanks for the comments, yes i have loads of motivation at the moment, and i spent a huge amount of man hours just to get the cases like that ready for spraying, now speaking of spraying as i type the cases are still wet after spraying, my god they have come up nice, i am really proud of my work here, take a look now they are all sprayed up, i will oven cure them later

All trussed up ready for spraying
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/003%7E9.JPG)


All sprayed up
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/004%7E7.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/006%7E5.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/009%7E6.JPG)

lots of rough casting snots
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_009.JPG)


The paint was almost perfect match for the original engine finish i found in the starter cover
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_007.JPG)



Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: ashimotok0 on July 02, 2014, 06:20:38 am
Nice job Pete .. you are obviously steaming ahead.
Which paint did you use?
Hope that was not the missus's oven you used ! ;D

Cheers .. AshD
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 02, 2014, 08:18:47 am
Masking tape off, just pop it in the oven for 1.5 hr at 220c
The wife has gone out for a couple of hours when she comes back she will go ballistic, oh well shit happens (http://yoursmiles.org/bsmile/fun/b0201.gif) (http://yoursmiles.org/b-fun.php)(http://yoursmiles.org/bsmile/fun/b0201.gif) (http://yoursmiles.org/b-fun.php)(http://yoursmiles.org/bsmile/fun/b0201.gif) (http://yoursmiles.org/b-fun.php)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_016.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_017.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_018.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 02, 2014, 03:05:54 pm
Nice job Pete .. you are obviously steaming ahead.
Which paint did you use?
Hope that was not the missus's oven you used ! ;D

Cheers .. AshD

Ash yes it was her oven, and the paint used is simoniz engine enamel heat resistant to 800 and petrol resistant i think, best paint i have come across for our engines
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 13, 2014, 02:50:31 pm
I had a few hours spare today so i got the frame out for inspection, well i have to say the frame is very solid, it is hard to believe that its 45 years old, frames dont stay in that conditition here in the UK

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_012.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_011.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_010.JPG)



Anyway the only repair needed to the frame is the side stand bracket, it seems quite common for these brackets to get ripped off, usually by kickstarting the bike while standing on the footpegs with it on side stand

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_003%7E1.JPG)


Out with the chisel and angle grinder and off with the remains of the old bracket

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_004%7E2.JPG)

My new side stand bracket arrived , i have to say fair play to will from classic bike imports  (the guy i bought this bike from) he kindly sent me a piece of frame with the bracket on , so i ground off the welds and got the bracket off and cleaned it up  ready to weld on

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_008%7E0.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_009%7E0.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 17, 2014, 03:42:17 pm
Thought i would do a bit of work on my rear wheel, looks to be an original untouched sandcast wheel, however i dont see a perfectly rounded rim, it certainly is more rounded than k1 onwards, anyway i dissasembled the spokes and have chemically stripped the rust and zinc from them and they are not bad condition  , has  anyone bothered to restore their original spokes and nipples , i am certainly thinking of re plating mine , i might give it a go and see how they turn out

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_013.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_016%7E0.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_014.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_001%7E2.JPG)

Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on July 17, 2014, 06:53:44 pm
if the bead is not perfectly round, but sorta round, it's  the rim seen on later ko and early k1.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 18, 2014, 11:39:46 am
Some of my spokes, acid stripped them lightly buffed with scotchbrite

Has anyone restored spokes before?? or do people not bother

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_001%7E3.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on July 18, 2014, 01:17:10 pm
i have my originals bright zinc plated.  if you go that route, be certain the plater 'bakes' them after plating, the plating 'hardens' them.  baking relieves the stress.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 18, 2014, 01:44:34 pm
Yes Steve i have considered that Hydrogen embrittlement may be a factor, i would be doing the plating myself, and same as previous items with a high tensile strength, i have had to oven bake them for hour and a half +, i suppose spokes would be the same
i might just do the nipples and gold/yellow passivate them as that is the hardest part to find now, the repop spokes are cheap and easy to get hold of, but they all have bright zink nipples which do not look the same as the original Daido's
I was just putting it out there to see if the die hard restorers go down this route or not
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on July 18, 2014, 09:21:55 pm
yes, i use original spokes whenever they are good enough to reuse.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on July 19, 2014, 03:16:15 am
Each day i come home from work or have some spare time i try to do a bit of work on some of my retoration bikes, at the moment my sancast is obsessing me so that gets all the attention, so more pictures of what i have been up to this week

The rear wheel is getting a bit of time for now, i cleaned up the rear hub and satin polished it, the hub looks great but i am  disappointed that there are so many casting flaws, it was definitely not corrosion or the cleaning process and looking at it magnified x30 you can clearly see it as a casting flaw, any one elses hub got these horrible pits, they are way to deep to sand or polish out, having said that you have to go up close to see them they dont really come out in pictures and i might be a bit fussy as looking at the pictures it looks nice

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_002%7E2.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_009%7E1.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on October 31, 2014, 12:32:34 pm
Started to blast my frame yesterday, i made up a blast booth and got stuck in, it is quite slow going so i have not finished it yet but hear are some pictures of me in action
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_001~4.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/normal_sandcast_005~2.JPG)
[imghttp://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_006~2.JPG]http://[/img]
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_009~2.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_006~2.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on November 01, 2014, 08:41:27 am
As you can see from my previous post i am tackling the blasting and painting of my frame myself,this is for two reasons, number 1 is i just dont trust anyone to do it with the same care and attention that i will, and reason 2 is i usually powdercoat but this de values the sandcast , it is a big no no when you speak to any sandcast owner restorer, oh yes there is a third reason , i do not have the money to pay someone else
Yesterday i thought this would be a doddle probably an hour or two's work, how wrong could i be, my blaster just was not getting through the two layers of paint very quickly if atal in places, so i whipped out and got some paint stripper, quick word of advise do not ever by nitromores stripper, its expensive and totally shit, it just would not lift the paint, so i was out side till 11 last night trying to scrape off soft paint with a stanley blade and then go over it with a scotchbrite wheel on the drill, this got a good deal of it off so this morning i did more scraping , more blasting and more scotchwheeling and ended up with a shiney bare metal frame, all i can say is thank goodness that is over
now i have the problem of finding a doner frame and getting the seat hinges cut off and welded on to my frame as some mother f--er ground them off, as well as the side stand bracket which i have just done
now with all this moisture in the air at this time of year it would be stupid to leave it bare metal, so i have sprayed it up with some rust preventing primer till i get the seat bracket  situation sorted, that way it wont start rusting in a hurry, i also wrapped it in a blanket then boxed it up and have stashed it
Take a look there is absolutely no rust on this frame, the very light surface rust that was there came clean off with the blaster, so them two layers of awkward paint done the job, other than the ground off brackets you could not wish for a better 45 year old frame
pete

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_002~3.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_001~5.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_004~4.JPG)
[imghttp://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_008~2.JPG]http://[/img]
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_007~2.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_009~3.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on November 26, 2014, 02:04:28 am
I stripped the front hub from the sandcast and my k0 today and i cant believe the quality of the original chrome bits from the hubs take a look they are  amazing for original 1969 parts, no need for re-chroming
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_005~4.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_004~5.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: chrisnoel on December 08, 2014, 08:15:27 pm
I notice the fender is separated from the bracket.  Have you sourced rivets?  I'll be looking for stainless over the next week.  Next is nicely asking a friend with experience in setting cold rivets for a favor so as not to ruin the new chrome. 
 
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on December 09, 2014, 03:01:21 pm
I think my Front guard is too far gone for me to repair, all i have is the blade, and it needs straightening then chroming , i will probably try to source a better one to restore, if you source rivets let me know as i could always buy as later front guard and rob the parts i need
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: chrisnoel on December 09, 2014, 08:41:44 pm
http://www.rivetsinstock.com/rivets/solid-rivets/small-solid-rivets/round-head-solid-rivets.html (http://www.rivetsinstock.com/rivets/solid-rivets/small-solid-rivets/round-head-solid-rivets.html)

Here's where I'm going to try to get some rivets.  I'll check the dimensions and compare them to the closest they have and see if I can get some in stainless from their sales office.  I may end up buying a hundred just to get the four I need. 

I have a dozen new screws for the stay brackets.  They have a tiny x in them as compared to the original dot and are slightly long though.  This is what is available from the dealer these days.   
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on December 10, 2014, 04:36:14 am
This seems like a useful kit for the stays chris    http://r.ebay.com/k8j5Vf
i would be interested in some rivets if you buy a job lot
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: vnz00 on December 12, 2014, 05:10:39 am
Guys try Jaycee rivets in the USA - you might need to contact them and ask for a shipping price to the UK as the site prices are crazy. Might mot be an issue though if Chris N can buy. 

Re-riveting is possibly a two person job, using a setting tool and a long punch to peen it.  Not a pleasant job whacking away with a hammer, knowing what's at stake if you miss!  Take your time and you'll be surprised.

The length is fiddly - the rivet will compress and spread to fill the hole then peen over on top. So a once long rivet might end up short. That spread is important though - the last thing you want is a poor job and movement between the blade and bracket.

Good luck, Steven.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: chrisnoel on December 21, 2014, 02:53:33 pm
The link above is for Jay Cee Rivets.   Went with the 3/8 long 3/16 dia. stainless rivets.  Had to use a 3/8 round end mill to make a hole in the back up plate steel.  Made a driver out of 1/2" drill stock rod with an offset and adapted it to an air hammer.  Had to anneal and temper it several times to get it harder than the 18-8 grade rivets.  Luckily making the offset required several re-heats anyways. Definitely was a two person job that required a metal lathe and the knowledge of my friend.  Was absolutely worth having the chrome around the rivets come out nice.  Would have had blemishes in the chrome in this area otherwise. 
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on September 23, 2015, 11:10:32 am
Hi all i have got moving on the sandcast project again, i had a fellow sohc enthusiast (richard) kindly heiped me out and made me up some hinges which i welded on the other day, the welds are deliberately rough to match the rest of the 1969 welds on the frame which tbh are shocking
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/002~7.JPG)


Once lined up using a jig richard made me from his frame i welded up and primed

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/008~7.JPG)

Then i hung the frame up and sprayed the bugger myself, i just dont trust other peoples work and have had to many disappointments in the past, it has come out great and the gloss level is a perfect match for an original NOS footpeg which i used for reference, a couple of bloody fly's landed on the drying paint so i have that to deal with but that is easily done,

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_005~5.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_008~3.JPG)

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_006~3.JPG)

So i have the battery box, tool tray, footpegs, and swing arm to do next, then i can crack on with other bits, it would be nice to get the engine done , so i will report back with the progress on that when i get stuck in
pete

(http://)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on October 21, 2015, 01:46:38 pm
I removed my vin tag carefully before spraying, but it got creased up and did not look like it could be salvaged, so i bought a repro vin tag although close its not the same but you would have to put them side by side to notice, however today i managed to clean all the glue off the back, and then rolled a spoon over the back of the tag with the front face down on a perfectly smooth hard surface, and i managed to iron out most of the creasing, just leaving a few age related wear marks and very minor creasing marks
Here is my dilema do put the original on or do i use the repro, what do you guys recon
original
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/005~8.JPG)
original
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/003~10.JPG)

Repro still with protective film on
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/006~6.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Sgt.Pinback on October 21, 2015, 03:07:59 pm
The original one of course! The other one is only repro.

You know it.

 We know it.....
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: markb on October 21, 2015, 03:34:13 pm
That looks like a pretty decent repro.  Where did you get it?
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on October 21, 2015, 04:19:34 pm
Hear you go this is where i got it
HEADTUBE TAG  / REPRO DECAL http://r.ebay.com/s9Wqfg (http://r.ebay.com/s9Wqfg)

pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on October 21, 2015, 04:53:00 pm
even though the tag has no vin info on it, i try to leave them on frame, i mask them off including edges with a layer of electrical tape and then cover with masking tape.  i've been lucky none of the tags have been so rough they need replaced.  myself, i'd go with original. 
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on February 13, 2016, 01:14:58 pm
I had a go at restoring my sandcast caliper today, i stripped it degreased it sanded out any scratches then sprayed it up , the caliper and the arm are silver the pivot bracket is polished and clear coated as per original, i have to say i feel really satisfied with the results, i shall dig out my new parts and rebuild it all tomorrow

(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_013~1.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_012~0.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_008~4.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_006~4.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/sandcast_003~4.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 23, 2016, 08:43:50 am
Hi All , getting my sandcast tank out and ready to be sprayed i thought i would check and see if there was a date code like my K0 had, and yes i found it, would it be the 15th of the 5th month ?, also what a strange cap arrangement, it has a secondary pressure relief cap, it looks like it may have come from another bikes petrol cap, the cap itself is sandcast style  antimony as yamiya calls it
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT2998.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT2997.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT3002.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT3004.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT3007.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT3005.JPG)
(http://cb750sandcastonly.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10004/PICT3006.JPG)
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Erling on June 24, 2016, 06:23:52 am
On my tank these numbers say: 4 6 2!
What to make out of that?
Oil tank say 5 2 7.
Erling.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: 4pots1969 on June 24, 2016, 03:59:34 pm
What's weird is that he has to use a different font for the 5 ?? ??? ???
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 24, 2016, 04:18:27 pm
Good observation
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 26, 2016, 03:21:01 am
Does any one understand the date code, or what the numbers mean, ????????
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on June 26, 2016, 09:56:38 am
i'd say KP can give you the best interpretation.  Or, Chris.  i would say may 15.....
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: Steve Swan on June 26, 2016, 09:59:19 am
On my tank these numbers say: 4 6 2!
What to make out of that?
Oil tank say 5 2 7.
Erling.

oil tank - may 27 ?

gas tank, 4 6 2.......  Wonder what thoughts KP or Chris may have ?  on casual observation, to try to come up with a date, the numbers don't add up.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: DW69K0 on June 26, 2016, 08:04:21 pm
The early production Sandcasts were fitted with a right switch which had a black kill switch without a pointer and no "off-on-off" wording embossed into the switch. Like Kawasaki; Honda switches have a date stamp on the throttle tube side of the switch end. In this case the number 4 represents 69 and the latter number represents the month so in the 2 examples we have 69 April and 69 October I'm not sure that these dates represent the production date of the motorcycle rather the date of switch manufacture.

Above quote was posted by KP in October 2015, but I found several references where the number 4 is used in an abbreviated form of 44 from the Year of the Emperor's reign. My opinion is the stamp on the tank of 4-6-2 = June 2, 1969. Others can weigh in.
Best,
Duane
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: UK Pete on June 27, 2016, 01:17:39 am
the question was really for my tank whichis in the earlier post, it shows date code      5.   1    5
that dont make sense to me
pete
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: kp on June 27, 2016, 02:23:13 am
Above quote was posted by KP in October 2015, but I found several references where the number 4 is used in an abbreviated form of 44 from the Year of the Emperor's reign. My opinion is the stamp on the tank of 4-6-2 = June 2, 1969. Others can weigh in.
Best,
Duane
I can live with that about the oil tank dates. Makes good sense. I think the Petrol (jumping jack flash) tank is 15 May. The tank is correct for mid/early and late Sandcasts so no biggie either way. I suspect it is the original tank nevertheless. My first exposure to numbering was with Kawasaki numbering and I just adopted this with the Honda numbering some years later. Certainly the 4 represents the year 1969. What seems to occur is that some parts have a year and month reference whereas other markings seem to have a month and day reference. Kawasaki have a mixture as well. For example they seem to have year and month as their dating but they also use the Showa system on some parts.
Really a bit of a dogs breakfast IMHO. If there is one thing that is consistent and that is numbering systems seem to be the same for part items ie: tanks, switches, engine parts etc. They use a similar format for each manufactured part
I would be interested in other thoughts. Chris may have thoughts.
Title: Re: Restoration of 5369
Post by: cb92wch on August 20, 2018, 10:20:44 pm
UK Pete your fuel tank cap looks like someone has taken it apart before. The small round piece on the bottom should be inside the bigger piece. Look at a parts book and you will see what I am talking about.
Regards,cb92wch