Brakes 3 & Engine Prep

Today was very a very good day, with lots of work accomplished.

We first took on the final steps on the brakes.  We took the bolts from the old Hornet brakes.  We also took another castle nut from a front spindle to replace the one I ruined that goes on the Red Devil's right rear.

HEY...look at that.  Another castle nut!  The joys of a "parts kart"

Adding wire to the bolts to insure they don't come apart.

Next, on to correcting the bottom of the steering column.  After it was rebuilt, it just did not look right.  So after finding photos for the kart before we started tearing it down, we put it back correctly.  The metal cup should be BELOW the flange it is bolted to.

 ACTION SHOT!  Almost like NHRA!

This is correct.

But still had to put lots of "thick washers" to take up space.  Then we found the throttle linkage rod rubs on the tie-rod.  No binding... just a rib.  We will be looking at that more.

Added the hanging engine mount.  Here is a close up of the bearing.  Notice the thick/thin difference in the wall that the locking collar locks onto.

 I did have to use a hammer since the big wrench did not have the ummph.  Use gentle taps.

 Oh yes, the clutch.  Here is the starter pulley being cleaned (again) in gasoline.  The end of the cam shaft will fit in the cylinder sticking up, the pulley start clutch nut. The bearing is around that.

 There is a bolt that needs to be removed from the outboard side.  It was stuck so we needed some leverage.

 Here is that same bearing in its proper place: in the clutch plate which we purchased from Rick Chapman.

The pulley in place.

 Opposite side with the the pulley start clutch nut showing.  The rest of the clutch was placed back in the box for final assembly.

Now to the engine.  As Dad says, "The fun stuff!"   And it is.

The chain guard that protects the engine had a few good nicks in it.  Being soft aluminum, they easily filed smooth.

Bottom end seal.  We talked quite a bit about what to do with the gasket areas:  Clean or leave; paint or no paint.  It was decided to go ahead and file the surfaces flat and not to use paint.

 Be very gentle and keep the pressure in the middle.

 After getting the high points off, then to the brush on the grinder.

 Action!

 Used small Dramel tool for the hard to reach places.  There was white crud dried on a lot of the surface.  Dad suspected it was the left over alcohol from the last race.

Cleaning up the reed housing with the Dramel.  Remember... the reeds need to be flipped.

Final wash of the coil.  Had to go over the principles of making electricity.  Thank you, Mr. Franklin!

Final wash of the crank case cover.

 Box of cleaned and ready to go parts, except for the carb.

The head.

 We did spend a little time gently filing the surface where the had gasket sits.  Just to get the build-up knocked down.

This bearing, which heads out to the clutch and starter pulley, looked like it was fine.  After a closer look, the still wet "grease" was actually a varnish.  When the top surface was scratched away, it revealed a dry substance that looked like rough leather.  It was frozen solid.  If we had not noticed, there would have been a huge problem.

 We pondered for a while on possibilities, the best was to pop the bearing out and work on it.  We let a bit of Blaster work on it while we talked.  I put a finger in to see if the Blaster had moved all around, BANG, a couple of the bearings moved.  So more Blaster - work it in.  More Blaster - work it in.  After 5-10 minutes of working, it was rotating a bit.    So more Blaster - work it in.  More Blaster - work it in.  After another 5-10 minutes of working, it was rotating freely.

Then we needed to get the grime out, so I used bits of paper towel to absorb it.

It started out very grimy, but after about 10 wipes, it was pretty clean.   

We finished up by going over how the points work.  Pulled out the points group and filed the points a bit to make sure they make good contact.  That is a points file from Dad's points kit that is probably old than me.