1933 VL Build

[panhead_jim]

I'll be updating this thread throughout the build, so check back here often. This next article covers the repairs I made to my #4 camshaft.



Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Cam Repair

[BigLakeBob]

OH NO Jim, not another trip to the blast cabinet with more parts, haven't you learned! Just stirrin the pot, couldn't resist. Enjoy your posts, keep it coming. Bob #6738

[panhead_jim]

This next article covers prepping the cylinders and heads.



Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Head and Cylinder Prep

[panhead_jim]

It's been a while since I've posted, so let me get everyone back up to speed on my project. With the engine mostly ready for rebuilding, I began working on the three-speed transmission. As with the engine, I started with an empty case and a pile of dirty parts.



I spent the better part of a day cleaning things up, starting with running everything through the blasting cabinet, then moving on to wire brushes, compressed air and lacquer thinner.



If your interested in more detailed account, I put together an article on the cleaning process here:

Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Transmission Prep

Once everything was cleaned up, then the real work began. New sealed bearings were installed first. Next the main shaft and it's gears were installed. This was followed by the installation of the counter shaft and cluster gear. Lastly, the slider gear fork and shaft were installed.



Then it was on to putting together the top cover and the kicker assembly. Once those were completed, all that was left to do was to slide the gaskets over the studs and bolt everything back together.



That covers the main points, but if you want to read a more thorough explanation of how to rebuild a three-speed transmission, you can check out the following article:

Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Transmission Rebuilld

Next I'll be on to the frame and frontend...

[panhead_jim]

Over the last month, I've been hunting parts and repairing my cases. It turned out that I had a hole in my front right engine baffle which needed to be repaired. What looked like a simple job turned into a multi-day project. In order to fill the hole, I used a piece of copper to cover it from the top while I TIG welded it from the bottom. Then I welded all the cracks which radiated out from the hole. When I was finished, I had a lot of excess weld to cut down on both sides of the baffle. The bottom side was easy to grind, but I had to build a custom router bit to rework the top. Using my new tool and a hand held router, I was able to cut the top of the baffle back to it's original profile.



If your interested in more detailed account, I put together an article on the entire welding repair here:

Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Baffle Repair

Now I was left with a repaired set of cases that were filled with aluminum chips from all the welding and grinding. First I went through and chased the threads on all the tapped holes on both case halves. Then using a cordless drill and wire brushes, I cleaned out every hole, tapped and smooth. After blowing out all the passages with compressed air, the cases went into a warm soapy bath and were scrubbed with bristle brushes, followed by more compressed air and then another soak/scrub.

Once the cases were completely cleaned out, I prepped them for a coat of Glyptal sealant. Each hole was plugged and every surface that needed to remain clean was covered in tape. Then the Glyptal was brushed on before being put in an oven to cure for 2 hours.



For more info on the final clean up and Glyptal application, you can check out the following article:

Building a 1933 Harley-Davidson VL: Final Steps to Prep the Cases for Rebuilding

At long last, everything has been sent to the machine shop for rebuilding and I can move on to building a rolling chassis. I have all the parts on hand, but need a couple days of warm weather to repaint the frame, front end and rims. I plan to have the chassis ready by the end of the month and hope to be installing the drive train in April.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Jim, nice work. On the gearbox I note you're using the later 2274-36 mainshaft nut on the kicker side. This can catch on the clutch release fork, so you need to grind off the corners to make it more like the 2274-15 nut originally used.

[panhead_jim]

Dear Jim, nice work. On the gearbox I note you're using the later 2274-36 mainshaft nut on the kicker side. This can catch on the clutch release fork, so you need to grind off the corners to make it more like the 2274-15 nut originally used.

Thanks for spotting that. Maybe I'll just spin it on the lathe to take off the corners.