the first Harley's

[c.o.]

moving forward , i found very little resistence from the top motor mount ,and the intake manifold. no heat required .threads are perfect.and i still haven't found any rust or corrosion to speak of.i'm thinking of trying the cylinder.this is always where it gets tricky. its like ,'WHAT AM I GOING TO DESTROY FIRST".lots of marvel down the barrel ,and hope for the best.

That thing is in remarkable shape! I can't wait to see what's inside!!!

[jurassic]

at this point ,all hope was lost ,i had to see what was inside. its only 7 p.m. and 23 below wind chill,so after 4:20 passed i tried to pop the top off this thing. i stuck a wooden dowel down the cylinder hole ,and gave it a few taps.i think it moved.no way.a few more taps ,and ,dang ,it was moving.amazing. i got it towards the bottom of its stroke ,then pulled off the cylinder bolts.at this point the flywheels started to roll over ,and the cam even moved.i now realize that my job has become much easier,as well as alot less stressful.this engine is in excellent condition.

[c.o.]

I see the numbers are lining up. It's bloody amazing that this thing is coming apart as well as it is! Great stuff!

[jurassic]

first thing i noticed is this brass? connecting rod,with nice matching numbers, was really twisted,as you can see in the picture.later proved to be bent as well.but all the cylinder wall { that i can see } is shiny and rust free.still no rust at all,anywhere.the top of the cylinder wall will be the worst for sure.

[jurassic]

i kinda dig the idea that these early powerplants were all hand built. herb ,where do you think this engine was assembled?woodshed?

[silentgreyfello]

Wow, that motor is turning out to be a jewel. I figured the inside would be more toasty than the outside. As it turns out, the photos on the auction were too bad to really see much detail. The outside is pretty nice, and the inside better yet! Congrats to the buyer! This project is worthy of going all out to get it right.

[c.o.]

[QUOTE=jurassic;89288]i kinda dig the idea that these early powerplants were all hand built. herb ,where do you think this engine was assembled?woodshed? [QUOTE]



Twisted rod or not that motor is in awesome shape! Thanks for sharing the autopsy results! I could be wrong but could this motor have been assembled on Juneau Ave.????

[Chris Haynes]

I think this photo may show all but, possibly one, of the original factories.

[jurassic]

the piston in this thing isn't siezed up ,but its really tight{guess thats good}. too tight to pull off,and i cant pound it out without 6 hands,so i decided to try and split the cases first. all the case studs came out easy ,except one.but the cases split open enough to cut the last stud in the center.as before ,no rust ,or corrosion. nice and oily. you know? i think these may be the largest flywheels harley ever made ,before or since.

[c.o.]

Not bad for a motor that's past the century mark! It's certainly not showing it's age! There's some beat parts but it must have had quite a few easy years.......

[23JDCA 808]

What causes a connecting rod to twist? I can understand bending. ...bill in oregon

[jurassic]

its hard to see in this pic ,but the rod has a definate twist to it.not sure what would have caused this ,i was very careful removing the cylinder from the piston.the piston did finally come out with just a little tapping.the spring in the rings is the best i've seen ,this thing would run,i'm sure. there is a small number 38 stamped on the top of the piston.the slop between the rod ,and crank pin was pretty good too.the edge of the wrist pin holes have been peened over,so the wrist pin couldn't escape.

[jurassic]

[c.o.]

I find that the twist is visible. I'd be curious to see the wear on the crank pin.

[flat-happy]

i remember when i was about 12 years old watching an old guy rebuilding an old briggs and stratton motor. the piston he was putting in it was a little too tall--i'd say maybe .005 and it touched the head occasionally so he put a slight twist in the connecting rod and the noise went away. it ran like that for 3 years----i'm thinking 100 years ago they might have tried something like that. looks like the end of the crankpin is peened over too??