Broken oil fitting 1932 Fuel Tank

[loch]

Hey guys,

This is the story of 2 steps forward, 1 step back. But in the interest of conservation of words I'll spare you the details.

Is this repairable or should I just invest in a new reproduction set of tanks? I'm leaning toward the latter because the tanks appear to have been repaired with some kind of Bondo fiberglass combination (I can see the mesh when peering through the fill holes). I've know about the repair since I first inspected the bike last year. But have reluctantly soldier on with it as is - the thought that if it isn't broken why fix it.

Now it's broken.

The oil fitting (feed to the oil pump) broke clean off the bottom of the tank (see pics). With very little force applied, I attempted to remove the fitting because oil was leaking, running down the tube and dropping on top of the generator, rolling down the generator and onto the front of the engine. In an effort to eliminate these preventable leaks I wanted to remove the fitting, clean off the plumbers tape and apply the EZ Turn lubricant and sealant that had been suggested earlier for the manifold nuts.

Best regards,
Loch

BrokenTankVL.jpg


tanktopumbfitting.jpg

[knucklehead 61]

you can silver solder the fitting back on with no problem. the screen you see inside is factory to filter out debris. get a jar of hot block putty to ring around the fitting when you solder it back on & you will save almost all of the paint.

[loch]

Thanks Tim!

So I took the tank to Tom at Replicant Metals yesterday. Fascinating guy. He took one look at it and said, I can fix it but I think you'd be throwing good money after bad. I believe him. The tanks look good on the outside but they're just too far gone, too many BandAid fixes done over the years. And none intended to last more than a riding season.

Anyway, Tom let me have a set of early VL tanks. Not the correct year. But I told him I didn't care, I just want to make it California on this bike in September, and not on a trailer!

Best regards,
Loch

[loch]

Just an update to the tanks ordeal.

After getting the tanks home I went to a local bike shop to see about getting the tanks painted. Big mistake! Or maybe I went to the wrong place. The song and dance I got as to why they couldn't do single color spray on these new tanks was amazing. As I left with tanks, fenders, and rack in hand I thought business must be really good here if they can pick and choose the jobs they do. He quoted me $4K and couldn't guarantee completion in 2 weeks. He even recommended a I just spray them with a rattle can. I had thought about that before I went to his shop.

So here it is, for 100 times less than the quoted price. My wife painted them in our backyard. She's a no-kidding artist. So I definitely picked the right person. With the right tools I'm sure they would look much better. But for the cost and necessary expedience, they look pretty darn good.

Now just looking for ideas to cover the two holes in the front fender. My guess, is that they were for a license plate. But they kind of too close together for that so I'm not sure. Either way, I'm thinking just an oval blanking plate bolted in place should do the trick. Any ideas?

Best, Loch

newpaintfrontfender.jpg


newpaintlefttank.jpg

newpaintrighttank.jpg

[Shovelhead68]

Tom’s definitely one of the good guys, there is a 2 part clear coat that comes in cans also I think it is worth doing YouTube it.

[loch]

Thanks Shovelhead! I will definitely make a note of that for after the Cannonball. The tanks are mounted up now, as well as the fenders. I'm working on the little problems that aren't so little. Like getting the shift linkage to work around the carburetor body. I don't have a DX carburetor so the body sticks out from the manifold a little bit more. The reproduction shift bar doesn't go around the carburetor bowl so I little modification is in order.

Almost ready for road tests - cutting too close for the September 4 arrival date in Va. Beach.

NewPaintAlmost.jpg

[loch]

Thanks Shovelhead! I will definitely make a note of that for after the Cannonball.

1932 VL

Had it running yesterday. High Speed needle set to 3 turns, low speed needle set to 2 turns

1. Idles too fast smokes a lot and is very hot.
2. But it is a rebuild top end.
3. Carburetor drools gas after only two priming kicks with choke closed.
4. Fuel line petcocks still leak after lapping valves.

Today I readjusted the timing (might have been too retarded) and reset the breaker gap. checked the lifter clearance. Dialed in the needles to factory suggested in owners manual.

1. Won't start.
2. Spill gas through carburetor throat with only two priming kicks - choke closed
3. Carburetor coughs when kicking over to start.

Suggestion welcome. In the meantime I'm checking the valve seat, and float. The valve seat should be fine, the float might be too high.

Thanks,
Loch