Annealing copper head gasket

Annealing copper softens the copper up so that it won't break or crack. Any bending or movement of the gasket will stiffen the copper and make it brittle, so annealing is necessary every time the gasket is changed.

This video is a bit shaky because I was recklessly recording with my iPhone in one hand and a torch in the othe. It is also cut short. What you don't see is the copper reaching a dull red glow before I doused it in a bucket of water.

Lots of bondo under paint

Seems that the "dent free" tank I just purchased from ebay was once full of dents. All I can do is strip eveything, try to push out what I can, and refill the deep dents and see how it looks.

Paint stripper applied

Now for some serious elbow grease! I think the lines on this tank make the bike look so much tougher. The finish has still yet to be determined.

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New 4 gal. tank has arrived

I decided to upgrade the standard 2.5 gal. tank to the bigger size. This is actually a triumph tr7 tank but they're the same with exception to the petcocks location. The tank has a little rust but no dents. Time to strip the paint and clean the interior...

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Lots of black carbon on plugs

I adjusted the timing, the top points gap was not opening enough and I had to adjust the contact breaker back a bit so that the points open and close at the right time. I took the bike for a quick spin and the engine seems quieter and no more red hot pipe. The smokey engine seems to be from some oil leaking out of the rocker cover and vaporizing on the heated engine. I saw no smoke coming from the head gasket which is a relief. The plugs have a lot of carbon build up for such a short ride. Looks like it's running too rich. Next step will be to adjust the mixture and make sure all the seals are oil tight. I think I'm getting close!

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Cracking open the engine... AGAIN

Well I had her all buttoned up, but with a serious timing issue to be sorted out, I removed the rocker cover to line up the pistons, and pulled the timing cover off to adjust the points. Wish me luck!

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Here's a beautiful treatment of a 71 A65L in New Zealand

I Came across these beautiful photos on flicker by a vintage bike enthusiast in New Zealand. This is a lightning rather than a Thunderbolt (main difference is it's two carbs vs. the A65T's one). The tank appears to be a from a triumph T140/Tr7, based on the location of the petcocks (BSA made a tank this size for the a65, but the petcocks were located further back otherwise the tanks are identical). Anyway, kudos to this fine gents beautiful work.