1930 V engine disassembly

[sny]

Hello,
New member here. Glad to find this forum! I recently purchased a 1930 V engine (my first old harley engine) that's complete minus the front head and carb and I'm now in the process of disassembling it to see what I can reuse. It's in pretty rough shape externally so I've been slowly working through removing all the rusted, stripped and/or stuck bolts and nuts using every trick I know including soaking in Kroil, heat and welding nuts to the ends. I've made really good progress there but I notice for example the cam cover doesn't want to move much after removing all the bolts.

What's the trick to removing the cam cover? Do I need to use a puller?



_Eric

[painterdale]

Welcome, Eric! The most important thing to remember is everyone here loves to see pictures.
Lots of knowledgeable folks on here. I'm sure they will chime in soon.
Dale

[sny]

Thanks Dale!

Here's a photo

IMG_0882.jpg

[sny]

Update: just got the manifold off but still confused on this timing cover! More pics here on the Instagram I created dedicated to this motor... https://instagram.com/snychop

[wideglide38]

Eric,
Welcome to the forum and nice looking motor. Look up VLHeaven.com (in the UK) and order Steve's VL book. This is great investment and a huge wealth of knowledge. I attached a photo of my '35 cases. Note the three locating pins in the case. Yours should have the same pins and these are probably whats holding you cam cover. You might try using a putty knife between the cover/case working around the case. Be careful with the cast aluminum. It took we a while to get my cover off.
Best of luck,
William

[Chris Haynes]

A hammer handle thru the generator hole will help get it moving. I see lots of screws still in it?

[sny]

Thanks for the tips guys! The good news is I got the cover off and the gears and cams look pretty good! The other news is the cover broke but I'm not crying since it was in pretty sad shape with a few swiss cheese edges anyway.

Now the next step how do I get the valves out so I can take the cylinders off?

IMG_2313.jpgIMG_7173.jpg

[sny]

Eric,
Welcome to the forum and nice looking motor. Look up VLHeaven.com (in the UK) and order Steve's VL book. This is great investment and a huge wealth of knowledge. I attached a photo of my '35 cases. Note the three locating pins in the case. Yours should have the same pins and these are probably whats holding you cam cover. You might try using a putty knife between the cover/case working around the case. Be careful with the cast aluminum. It took we a while to get my cover off.
Best of luck,
William

Thanks I bought Steve's book before the engine even arrived! Its great and I'm learning a lot from it. For some reason a few of the pins were mushroomed into my cover like maybe a previous owner beat on them. I notice yours are in the case. Are they supposed to be press fit into the case and just act as guides for the cover?

[Chris Haynes]

Now the next step how do I get the valves out so I can take the cylinders off?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20031[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]20032[/ATTACH]

I think it is time for you to take it to someone who knows what they are doing before you destroy anything else.

[sny]

I think it is time for you to take it to someone who knows what they are doing before you destroy anything else.

You're right! I'm mourning the loss a little today but here's another pic of the cover showing why I was considering a replacement anyway. I bought the engine to learn and I'm still learning. fullsizeoutput_e75.jpg

[harleytoprock]

No big loss on that cover. But if you have learned something, it is to be gentle on things. If it's not moving then think about what's stopping it before getting too strong with it. Keep having fun and I think it's great that your not afraid to try.

[harleytoprock]

To get the cylinders off the next step is to remove the manifold by un-screwing the big nuts. Then the valve covers un-screw from the lifter bodies. With the cylinder base nuts off, the cylinders should lift up. Valves will stay in the cylinders.I bet those pistons and rings are stuck in the cylinders!

[sny]

To get the cylinders off the next step is to remove the manifold by un-screwing the big nuts. Then the valve covers un-screw from the lifter bodies. With the cylinder base nuts off, the cylinders should lift up. Valves will stay in the cylinders.I bet those pistons and rings are stuck in the cylinders!

Thanks harleytoprock! Unscrewing the valve covers first is definitely a major bit of knowledge that I was missing. I managed to get the manifold off which was no easy task, major rust and the nuts were hamburger before I even started. Getting the valve covers to unscrew is going to be a huge challenge! I've been soaking them for a week now and only one will actually unscrew the other three are rusted solid and so thin they are crumbling when I even attempt to put a wrench around them.

I have all the cylinder nuts off except the one on each side that is tucked behind the valve covers. On top of being hard to reach the nuts are pretty damaged. I'm going to need to be creative getting those out too.

I'll post some more detailed photos later when I get home.

[knucklehead 61]

don't forget: that motor uses a 3 piece valve cover.
the top section is held in place bu the valve guide.
the middle section slips over the top section & screws to the bottom section. there is a lip that prevents the middle section from sliding off the top section, with a gasket between them.
the bottom section screws to the under side of the middle section & the top of the lifter guide.
yours look roached, so don't worry about saving them. kroil & heat should get them loose.
once you get them loose & remove the cylinders you can take one of the bottom covers, weld a washer to the top of it, attach a slide hammer to the washer, & presto: jiffy little lifter block extraction tool.

[sny]

Thanks knucklehead 61, that helps. I'll see how it goes! Here's some close ups showing their current condition (and this is after a lot of brushing and scraping, lol).


IMG_0930.jpgIMG_0931.jpgfullsizeoutput_e7d.jpgfullsizeoutput_e7c.jpg