So I thought I'd do a reply for the center shock mount build.
It is December 17th, 2011. Tomorrow will mark the four year anniversary of the beginning of this build. At the time I thought I was looking at a six month job. A lot of water under the bridge since then, but I really hope to have it ready in primer for driving this summer. If the muscles hold out I have a shot, but only time will tell.
So here are a few pictures of the front mocked up with the beam installed. Msparker once commented how it was cool I'd buy a new beam and then start cutting on it. Truth be told, it was a total waste of money, but that is a conseqence of designing as you go. If I could have seen where this was going I definitely could have used the beam I had. Like I said, "water under the bridge."
With the hood removed...
And with the initial cut.
As you can see from the previous picture with the steering box attached it is going to be close quarters, but I think I can make it all fit. Also, you'll notice that I left a portion of the upper tube in tack. Here is a shot of the beam with the bushings notched and inserted.
Here is a shot of the trailing arm and the one crackmonkey got me. Next step is to cut this piece in half.
Well, thats going to be it for 2011, lots to do to get ready for Christmas. So Merry Christmas to my followers and I'll see you in 2012!
Kids went back to South Carolina early in the week, so I had a little time to work on the project. The big news is I finished the exterior fiberglassing. There is still a lot of glass work to do, but the big stuff is done. Also worked on the front suspension a little more. Here is a picture of the lower trailing arms after I removed one of the shock mounts. I won't need these since I'm moving the shocks to the center.
Well, that definitely finishes it for the year. Happy New Year everyone!
January 14, 2012
Well, earlier this week I decided to make an air filtration system for the garage so that I could do the sanding and keep the garage warm. I used an attic ventilation fan and built the box with some left over wood I had. Seems to work fairly well, but I haven't started the sanding yet.
Today I worked out a cardboard mockup of the windshield. This isn't the final, but I think close enough.
Started working on the front beam, but the cutoff wheel exploded and cut my hand pretty bad. I guess it could have been worse, but will probably keep me from any serious work for a while.
Jan. 24, 2012
Got the gauge pod glassed in and the recesses I had to cut to get the body aligned on the frame. Filled a few low spots on the hood with glass as well. Got a chance to try out the air filtration system while I did a rough sand on the passengers side. It worked pretty good. Took advantage of the warm weather and blew the dust out of the garage. Slowly, slowly coming together.
Jan. 28th, the last weekend in the month
Set the body up on saw horses and did an initial rough sanding to remove the wax from the fiberglassing process and knock down the high spots. Looks pretty good, some obvious areas that will need work to smooth out. I will be able to tell much more once it gets a coat of sealer and some high build primer. That probably won't happen until March when it warms up a little. The plan right now it to work on the remaining metal work in February. That includes, the front end, the windshield posts and frame and maybe the door frames and posts to mount the hinges.
From the rear quarter
Going to work on sanding the interior today.
February 3, 2012
Purchased the steel I need for the front end and windshield frame work. I also finished cutting down the torsion tube supports. Plan is to work on the headlight mounts this weekend and maybe cut the parts out of steel. Wife doesn't want me heating the garage for long periods of time ($$$$$) so I'm hoping to do the metal work (front end center shock mounts and windshield frame) in February. If time permits, will also try to cut the door openings.
Had some trouble with the welding helmet. Turned out it needed to sit outside so the solar cells could recharge the battery.
Got the metal cut and welded in for the new front end connectors with headlight mounts.
One of my better welds.
One of the new braces welded up.
The front end as it sits. Making progress.
Started work on the solid steel bars that will connect the upper trailing arms to the center shocks. I couldn't find 1 1/16" stock, so I had to settle for 1 1/8". After cutting the bar to length (19" for now) I ground down 8 3/4" on one end to the 1 1/16" diameter that fit inside the trailing arm. Next step is to cut the end down to simulate the shape of the torsion pack. Also stripped and painted the headlight buckets.
February 10, 2012
A lot of trial and error went into this, but I got the end of the first connecting rod completed. After I made the notches in the end, I still couldn't get it to fit, so I kept grinding. It made no sense since the notched end would fit through an adjuster. I finally ran a paper towel down inside the upper trailing arm and discovered there was a lip inside. It makes sense, explains why it is so easy to lineup the spring packs with the trailing arm. After I ground down the steel rod some more, it went in with no problem. I wound up welding some material onto the teeth so I could fatten them back up and get a snugger fit. I won't have to do that on the next one.
The basic process,
I started with 1 1/8" solid steel bar and cut it in half to make two 19 1/2" in length (half a spring pack) rods. Next I used my Makita grinder to grind down the part that goes inside the trailing arm, about 8 1/2". Next grind down about 5" of the end to a 7/8" square. Then cut into the edges (I used a cutoff wheel) and make two opposite sides 3/8" wide. The end should look like a plus sign + with two opposite sides larger than the other two sides. Use the spring pack as a reference. Make sure it fits, mark the location for the grub screw and drill.
Here are a couple of pictures...
Feb 18, 2012 update
I had a good week, and made some progress on the front beam. I got the second connecting rod's external spline cut. You would have thought, this being the second one, that would have been easy, but I got a little carried away and over cut so I had to go back and fill with the welder and then regrind. It all worked out in the end though. Here is a shot of the two rods.
Next step was to grind down about 5 3/16" of the inner portion of the rods to fit the halves of the trailing arms I cut to act as bushings. Remember I mentioned the trailing arms have a lip on the inside? I used a die grinder to open up the inside on the smaller one so both had identical inside diameters. Once I had the rods ground down, I slid on the bushings, welded them in place and primed the rods.
Here is a close up of the inner portion where the shocks will eventually be mounted. I ordered short shocks from SoCal. Decided to go with plain shocks, no springs, since the front of the car is so light. The center 2" of the exposed bar will eventually have a sleeve fabricated to hold the shock mounting arms, but I'm going to wait for the shocks before I proceed.
And here is a shot of a mockup of the beam. The gray buttons are where the headlights will mount.
Did a little more grinding, welding, & more grinding to get the beam closer to final shape. Also removed the grease fittings from the front of the torsion tubes. They will be relocated to the back of the tubes later. Here are a few shots of the beam ready for primer and one of a completed connecting rod.
Remounted the beam and trial mounted the headlights.
I'll probably need to take a break tomorrow, but I'm making progress. Shocks should arrive in a few days so I'll be able to work on that once they're here.
March 3, 2012
Wow, March already... is it done yet?
Worked on fabricating the center shock mount arms. I don't have all the pieces complete yet, but I've made the lower shock mounts and the center collars that the upper shock mounts will be welded to. Also made the flat on the center shaft to key the collar to the connecting rod. Next step is to make the upper shock arms out of cardboard and test for any clearance issues with the steering. I've kind of done this without the collars, just more or less eyeballing it, but need the collars to determine the final location of the lower shock mounts. Here is a couple of pics of the collars.
March 11, 2012
Did some more work on the center sock mounts. Here is a picture of the upper shock arms after I welded them to the center connecting collars.
I then drilled and tapped the collars for the grub screws that will hold it all in place. Here is a shot with the shocks mounted.
Next I measured for the lower shock arms using the center of the shock travel as a guide. Here are the lower arms with the shocks in place.
Still have some work to do, but it is starting to look like I envisioned. Now lets just hope it works. I have some binding in the trailing arm bearings I think from welding over the needle bearing areas. Probably some penetration or distortion. Not exactly sure how I am going to resolve this, maybe replace the bearings with urethane bushings, but we'll have to wait and see. I'll get a picture up when I get the whole beam assembled to a final trial fit.
A little off topic, but I got the shifter cut down and painted with the new que ball shift knob.
March 31, 2012
Last weekend in March and I'm finally getting close to having the front beam modifications complete. Yea, the plan was to have this finished in February. Did something different with the bump stops. The nose on this car will be very light, so hopefully this will work.
I welded three pieces of 1/4" thick steel and then welded this sandwich to the bottom of the lower torsion tube. I then cut 1/4" steel to make the stops and welded them to the trailing arm. I placed them far enough apart to allow for 2 1/2" of travel up and 2 1/2" of travel down. Hopefully that will be sufficient, again the front is very light.
I also got everything primed, so next step is a trial fit and make the necessary adjustments. Once it is as good as I can get it, paint time, although I may leave it in primer until I get the body finished up.
Here are two shots of the new bump stops.
April 5, 2012
Finished making final adjustments on the front beam. After I installed the urethane bushings, I was still having binding issues. I ended up grinding down some of the connecting rod and that resolved the problem. I think if anyone decides to do this, having the connecting rods turned on a lathe would be the best idea. Not sure how much that would cost, but still, a better solution. At any rate, I have a working beam now with center steering and center shocks. Here are a few pics of the test assembly. Probably won't paint it until I'm ready for final assembly of the car.
April 22, 2012
Worked on fabricating the windshield frame this week. Turned out to be a lot of work welding, grinding and welding and grinding again. I finally got it decent. Still have to work out joining the two halves. Original plan was to use the joint in the lower corners, but I'm thinking I might weld that and then slice the sides for the joint. Here are a few pics.
Wow, the 30th of April.
I got the windshield frame mostly finished on Saturday. I ended up welding the lower corners together because I thought it would be difficult to join the two halves at that location. I plan on cutting the side uprights about two inches from the bottom and join the halves there. Also welded on the side mounting bungs and started on the windshield posts. Sorry, no pictures yet.
I got an estimate from Laurel Glass & Mirror for the windshield. $180 seemed steep to me, but my son didn't think it sounded too bad. The good news I guess is they can make the shape I want.
Headed out to pick up my daughter from college later this week, so no progress for a while. Hope to finish up the windshield in May.
Got a rear fender from a Honda Shadow Aero coming that may distract me for a bit, but hopefully that will be an easy conversion.
May 22, 2012
Well, the Honda Shadow rear fender conversion turned out to be not so easy, so I set it aside for a winter project.
I did manage to do some more on
Evolyn. Yesterday I cut out all the rubber bushings I need for the body mounts. Today I relocated the oil filler neck on the oil tank from the left to the right side. Seems like a little thing, but the way the rear deck lid worked out made it a necessity. Anyway, it turned out it wasn't all that difficult to do, so that is now crossed off the list. My wife and daughter helped me set the body back down on the frame so the next step is to drill for the body bolts. Hope to do that this week also. Once that is all worked out, it will be back to the windshield posts. Progress, even a little, feels really good.
May 28, 2012
I got the body bolted onto the frame without the bushings, but it is good enough for a test fit. Got the oil tank repainted and started working on the windshield posts. Main objective is just to get something to hold the windshield frame so I can get the holes drilled and the inner body foam removed and then the fiberglass thickened.
Here is a shot of a roughed in windshield post. The two philip head screws are there just to hold it in place for the picture. Once I get the interior of the fiberglass cut out and thickened then I will finish up the windshield posts with fillets in the front and a larger fillet behind the post. The main thing here was to get the posts properly located and I'm happy with how it turned out.
Working on the setup for the hood hinge now.
June 2012
Finished up cutting the reliefs in the body for the windshield posts and got everything fiberglassed. The openings are kind of small, so it will be interesting to see if I can actually get my hand in there to thread the bolts. Only time will tell.
Also finished up the rib/mounting surface in the nose for the hood hinge mechanism. Next step is to remount the body on the frame and check for clearances with the front end parts. Once I get all that worked out, then I'll pull the body again and fabricate the hood hinge mechanism.
At times it seems like this will never end, but this week I accomplished a lot, so I'm feeling good about the progress.
June 18, 2012
Worked on tweaking the hood fit. I had to trim some of the interior fiberglass, but I think I finally got the fit I wanted.
Next, I started on what I refer to as the sliders. My intention is to make the hood tilt forward and in order for it to clear the torsion tubes, it needs to slide forward before it can pivot. Used some 1/4" plate, 3/4" box tubing and 1" angle to fabricate the sliders. Here is two pictures so you can see what I came up with. This is not the final hardware, or finish, but just a rough to determine fitment. So far, so good. Next step will be to add the hinge points to the bottom.
July 22, 2012
Well, next to the last weekend in July already. While I've made some progress, the project still seems to drag, to test my determination. Oh well, I am still committed or maybe that should read should be committed. I got the hod hinge mechanism to work although it was clumsy, but the basic idea seems to work and I fell like I already know what to tweak to get it to work. Here is a picture with the hood propped open with a piece of wood just to test the hinge mechanism.
With summer flying by, I've decided I need to concentrate on the fiberglass work. I have almost finished dewaxing the body inside and out and am getting ready to start the body filler stage of the project. According to everything I've read THIS is the killer part of the project, the place where so many moldless composite pieces die. I'm determined not to let that happen, but at the same time, I don't want to take shortcuts that will taint the overall appearance of the car. So, roll up your sleeves, here comes the body work and sanding... sanding... sanding...
August 28, 2012
Well, like they say this is the killer part of the project. I've been working on the dash, door sill's and behind the seat portions of the cockpit. The sanding really takes it's toll on my muscles, but I am making progress. Shot some rattle can primer on those areas and I'm really pleased with the results. At first look, other than a few pin holes it looks great. Hope to get some pics up this weekend. Still shooting for sealer & primer this fall before the cold weather sets in. Right now... it looks possible.
September 17, 2012
Working on the interior body filler and some of the rear exterior surfaces. So far, this has not been as bad as I thought. I think it might be because I used a lot of large sheets of matt for the fiberglass work and it just isn't all that rough. Still time consuming, but not bad so far.
Here's a few shots when I took the body out to pressure wash it.
Unfortunately, when I purchased the final sealer/primer from House of Kolor, I found out their paint system doesn't like to be put on over another product so I had to sand it all off, back to virgin fiberglass. Hoping to get the interior surfaces primed this week, but I'm still waiting on a larger nozzle for my spray gun.
October 7, 2012
Visited my kids in South Carolina and found out my first grandkid is going to be a boy! Really cool. Eddie and Sasha had what is called a reveal party where everyone finds out the sex of the baby at the same time. Football on the TV, beer pong and of course the big reveal. A great time was had by all.
While we were in South Carolina we found a house we really like, so the paperwork is in process to see if we qualify. A move means the hotrod will have to stop for awhile, but the new place has a great shop area... really great.
As far as the hotrod goes, I got the first coat of exterior body filler onto the rear, up to about the door hinge area, and sanded down. Looks pretty good, needs some low areas filled, but not bad. If the move happens soon, then I'll shoot the primer sealer and reassemble to move. It will probably be a while after that while we get settled in. Working on our house now, getting it ready to sell.
End of October 2012
Looks like I'm going to be moving sooner than later so I'm wrapping up the project and packing everything away for the move.
December 3, 2012
I thought I'd put up a few pics of the roadster after assembly for transport to South Carolina. This is the first time it has all been together since I redid the front suspension and got the body close to finish. I really like the way it came out, can't wait till I can really assemble it for test driving. Anyway, here are the pics.
Hope to get back to it in the Spring. Good luck to everyone on their winter projects. See you again in the Spring.
March 14, 2013
Hello again everyone. I am officially a South Carolina resident. The move went well and while I intended to move the hotrod myself, the weather never cooperated. I wrapped the entire car with that plastic wrap they use for pallets and it worked great. We used JK Moving for the move and the hotrod went with all our other belongings. Bottom line, inclosed transport for around $500 based on an estimate that the hotrod weighed 1200 pounds. It probably weighs less, but the cost was based on the total load a 11,000 pounds. Almost half the price of an enclosed auto carrier.
Not quite started back on the hotrod yet, having to setup the garage, but it is a great space with tons of room. My wife and I live on a lake now, so I plan on getting in a little fishing this spring too. Pictures soon as I should get back to it in a few weeks.
April 29, 2013
Shop is about 90% complete at this point, good enough to begin working on cars again. I plan on just a little work on the shift linkage of my new ride, a 1962 Chevy C10 and then get back to
Evolyn. First task on the list... pull the body off the frame. Will follow that up with more body work on the fiberglass and readjusting the rear torsion bars.
May 26, 2103
So ever buy a "daily driver" and it turn out to be not such a driver. Well, that's what's happened to
Evolyn's progress. The 1962 C10 I bought has been consuming all my shop time. I have the oil pan pulled so I can replace the rear main seal on the stovebolt engine that was leaking like a stuck pig. Also, have the rear trailing arms pulled and replacements to prep and install. Then, there is the transmission popping out of 3rd gear to tackle. Once again I will not make "this year's" June get it on the road deadline. Oh well, best intentions just didn't go as planned. I'm going to be realistic this time and not set a projected date for on the road until I actually start working on it again. More as progress comes.
Here is a picture of my girls.
Evolyn in her new home
June 6, 2013
Not quite progress, but I've almost completed work on the truck which will free up my time to get reacquainted with
Evolyn. Bought another gallon of body filler and I'm real hopeful to begin work again before the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
June 17,2013
Got the first coat of body filler laid down on the hood and sanded. I really like the stuff NAPA sells. Did a few touchups and blew a seal on my air compressor. Ordered new part, but will be a week before it arrives. In the meantime, I'm redoing the upholstery on the truck.
June 24, 2013
Compressor is fixed, plan on getting back into the bodywork this week. Hopefully I can post some pics this time.
June 30, 2013
Nothing spectacular to report, but I thought I'd throw up a few pics to prove, "yes, I am working on her, thank you very much." Crazy how slow this goes and the toll the palm sander takes on my body, but I am making slow progress.
July 28, 2013
July is coming to a rapid conclusion and I haven't made the kind of progress I'd hoped. The hood is in decent shape, ready for a coat of epoxy primer before beginning the block sanding process. I got the windshield frame cut so you can install glass, and most of the reconnecting parts made. Just have to trim down the screws so they won't contact the glass. Thinking I might go with Lexan for the test driving phase, seems only right since the rest of the car is plastic, right? Also got the lip on the body that the windshield sits on roughed in. I'm really pleased with how it came out. A little more sanding and it will be finished. Hoping to get the final body filler & sanding done on the side panels this week. That would get me real close to epoxy primer for the body. Not sure if I will be able to paint though, the humidity here by the lake in South Carolina is really high. I might have to wait until fall, or may buy a dehumidifier and see if that will get it down to reasonable levels.
August 22, 2013
Wow, August is all but over. Where does the time go? I haven't posted many photos lately, so I thought I'd put up a few of the windshield frame build. The detail is killing me.
This is the basic steel work for the windshield posts.
After some body filler.
Body filler work on the windshield frame. It was made from 1/2" box tubing and the corners were rounded with indentations running lengthwise on every side.
After primer. Still a work in progress.
Trial fit for application of fillet on body, under windshield frame.
November 17, 2013
It has been a long, long time since I've posted anything here, so I thought I'd just make a quick post. As far as
Evolyn goes, no progress except I bought one of those nicer front suspension adjusters. I think it will enable me to adjust the suspension within the bump stop range.
Health remains an issue, but doctors are trying new drugs on me so hopefully they will hit on something that will work. My hope is they can find something that will at least get me through the
Evolyn build. I think it will be my last. So hope everyone here is in good health and enjoying their projects.
Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!
December 8, 2013
Well, I got the new adjuster welded in and it solves the problem of not being able to adjust the spring torsion with the fixed bump stops. Not a huge accomplishment, but something.
As you all are aware, health holds me back and truthfully I've lost a lot of the excitement and enjoyment in this project because it has taken so long. December marks the 6th year of what was started as a 6 month project. Still hope to complete it though.
March 3, 2014
Just thought I'd let everyone/anyone who is following my project that it has officially been put on the back burner.
Since moving south, the new house has just been keeping me too busy and every time I work on the car, I feel like I should be working on the house/lot/boat/etc... So, I decided to stop what little work I've been doing on
Evolyn until at least the end of 2014 and then hopefully get back to it in 2015.
I know, if you're a car guy, you're shaking your head because you know, car under a tarp means death to a project. Hopefully I'll be able to disprove that later this year.
Good luck on everyone's projects!
Larry
April 19, 2014
Making great progress on the "other projects" I have on my plate.
Fishing boat is ready for the water and gave me a much needed feeling of accomplishment. Seriously, I completed a project!
There is still a lot to do, but I am thinking more and more about the hotrod, so who knows, maybe I will get to work on it a little this year.
July 22, 2014
It worked! Putting
Evolyn on the back burner did exactly what I hoped it would do. I was able to concentrate on all the other things that w ere getting in the way. I also sold the 1962 C10 and my motorcycle to get projects down to just
Evolyn and things around the house and the boats. So, as I said it worked.
I've been able to work on
Evolyn a little partly due to the things I described above, but also because my health has improved a little, helped by the fact I lost 15 pounds so far this year.
So here are some pictures of the final windshield assembly.
Progress feels great!
November 2014
For those of you who don't know, I suffer from a rare muscle disease referred to as TAM. It causes muscle weakness and pain, lots of pain from using your muscles. In truth, from the people I've come to know with TAM, I am very fortunate to be able to do what I do. With that said, I have made some progress.
I decided that by the time I have
Evolyn road ready I will not physically be able to climb over the side, so I needed to put a door on her.
I've been doing a car mural for my grandson's Christmas since he loves car, but when I have the strength, I've done a little on the door. So here are three pictures of the door & hardware so far.
I'm welcoming in 2015 with renewed hope for getting
Evolyn on the road. For Christmas, my two sons & my brother gave me their time as a present to help me get
Evolyn ready. As of January 16, 2015 we've finished the mockup of the door hinges (it took four tries to get a hinge that worked well in the 1 1/2" confines I had to work with), completed most of a new hood slider mechanism to open the hood, finished the windshield and started on the steering console cover. There are so many little things to do it's crazy, but with help, we should be able to knock these things out and dare I say, get her on the road.
Right now there really isn't any point in pictures because you can't really see any difference, but when I get the sealer sprayed I will post pictures for sure. Work is progressing nicely at this point.
Now, back to work.
February 2015
Just wanted to let anyone following this build thread that I am making great progress so far this year. My muscle issues have flared up the last few days, but all-in-all great progress.
The door is all but finished. The body is now off the frame for a few modifications to the frame, a good scrape down & paint and to get the interior portion of the body ready for sealer/primer. Hoping to time that with the whether warming up although that will run into fishing season.
If any of you have kids that are Twilight fans I'd appreciate it if you'd point them to Lari Smythe (my pen name) for a great new series based on the Twilight books & movies. My books have gotten great reviews and there is even a Volksrod in the second book. Just Google Lari Smythe and you'll find me.
If you want to see more up-to-date pictures of my build, send me a friend request on Facebook Larry Smith in Greer, SC.
March 2015
So the end of March is closing in and unfortunately I have some bad news. On top of the muscle disease, which is bad enough, I contracted pneumonia on the 18th. Obviously, that means everything is on hold again, but that's not the bad news. I've basically been forced (by my body) to listen more to what my doctors have been telling me. That translates into all my projects and activities have been put away. Once again, at this point I am no longer sure if I will complete this build.
As I'm sure most of you can imagine, building, modifying or just plain tinkering is in my blood and it is a real gut kick to have it taken away. I truly don't know what I will be able or want to do with what is left of my life. I don't think I have the funds to pay to have
Evolyn finished, so it may get left to my son for when he retires. The final outcome will have to wait until I recover from the pneumonia and then I can see what's left of my muscles.
I know I haven't been on the site much, but I do appreciate all the effort, skill and determination you guys show on your projects. You've been an inspiration to me.
It may be awhile, but I will let you know what the final outcome is for
Evolyn.
November 2015
Finally some good news on the
Evolyn build front. This October, I got the body to the "good enough" stage and decided it is time to get her on the road in that condition. It sounds bad, but she will have to be driven in primer for awhile anyway to test out the body and find out if there are any stress areas that need attention. So, I shot her with Summit's epoxy primer/sealer and followed that with their urethane high build primer. The door & hood jambs are shot it single stage flat orange. The body will follow in the same color when the weather gets warm enough again. In the meantime, there is lots to do and probably fabricate as I shoot for the Spring or Summer 2016. So here are a few pics.
Wish me luck!
March 2016
Body is finally painted. A lot of assembly left to do, but it has been 9 years getting to this point.
I used Summit 2K Urethane satin orange for the temporary top coat and I really like the way it sprayed. I haven't painted in years, but I feel like I did an acceptable job. At least I won't be embarrassed by it. Sure, it still needs some work, but I want to drive it while I still can plus the body needs to be road tested. So here are a few pics...
June 8, 2017
So, you ask, what ever happened to
EVOlyn?
Well, I got her all assembled and ready for the big first test drive. It had gotten late in the evening, so I decided to wait until the following day, but I wanted to run the engine one more time since it had been sitting a few weeks.
It fired right up and came up to temperature just fine, even has that nice Harley sound the entire build was built around. I decided to run it up to 3000 RPM, nice and slow, you know, roll into the throttle nice and easy. At about 2500 RPM the car suddenly started shaking violently so I quickly let off the gas. With the engine at idle, I climbed out and went around back to have a look. Sure enough, the engine was shaking like crazy... that was the beginning.
Since that day, I've learned the Harley Davidson EVO Twin Cam B is basically a piece of junk! And while you can bandaid problems, you can never really fix a bad design. To make a very long story short, the most likely problem with my engine (only has a little over an hour of running time on it) is that the twin cam sprocket on the crankshaft slipped. Harley, in their wisdom decided to just press it onto the crank. There's a good idea, NOT! Not only that, but it's a two part crank held together with a pin that, you guessed it, is pressed in and can slip. If you take it to Harley to repair, they put the same junk back inside... mums the word... problem? There's no problem.
I thought long and hard about going back to a VW engine, but in the end, the build was about the Harley sound and, well, I guess I'm a stubborn 'ol coot. So, I found a place that will TIG weld the pressed parts and rebalance and true the crank and that will at least let me get it on the road. As for longevity, your guess is as good as mine. The place that's going to do the repair suggests an inspection teardown at 20,000 miles. I'll never drive it that much.
I've pulled the two cylinders down to the cam chest in preparation for sending it out to be repaired. After more than 10 years, I really wonder if this will ever happen in my lifetime.
more later...
EVOlyn
Linear Mode
