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1978 Triumph Bonneville project

12K views 71 replies 11 participants last post by  steveo 
#1 ·
Quite looking forward to this one.
 

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#42 ·
The angle grinder's been working overtime this weekend.
Spent yesterday morning drilling/grinding off the front mudguard mounting bolts, then giving it a bit of a clean up.
Finally got the swinging arm out today, thanks to the next door neighbour and a serious amount of cutting. It wasn't pretty but eventually done the job.
 

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#44 ·
Another 10 hours spent in the shed this weekend.
Finally got the sump drain plug out with a hammer and chisel.
Picked up more parts from the powder coater.
The rest of the time was spent cleaning up a few bis and bobs.
 

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#46 ·
Wheels ready to go off to Anglia Wheels for fitting new chrome rims. Not 100% sure about the finish on the hubs, maybe a bit to blingy.
Cylinder head cleaned up okay, it would have been a lot quicker and easier to send it away for vapour blasting tho.
 

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#48 · (Edited)
Well if something had to go sideways, at least it’s probably the cheapest bit of casting on there and they are plentiful.

I’ve probably mentioned this in the past, but.....For things like the cylinder head, someday you should try some proper (if you can find it) industrial strength aircraft paint stripper. The stuff they sell at auto parts stores doesn’t do that great of a job. Just do it outside and avoid the fumes. It a pita, but the results are amazing if you find the right stuff. Did some disgusting Commando cases one time and afterwards you’d swear they were NOS. Doesn’t alter the surface finish in any way, so great for restoration work. I hate any blasting that alters the finish.
 
#50 ·
One step forward two steps back.
I suggested to the owner that I'd take the frame to a reputable local powder coater, but he said his mate could stove enamel it for half the cost.
The frame was finished a couple of days ago and got to say the finish looks great. For some reason the guy who done the shot blasting thought it was a good idea to blast inside the frame.
I'd fitted the oil filter cover, dip stick and sealed up the oil line fittings to hopefully stop any media getting in but he decided to remove them before blasting. It'll be a pig of a job to sort out.
Picked up the wheels this morning, at least they turned out okay.
 

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#55 ·
Certainly looks that way Cyorg, seems to be easier said than done to confirm which brand of chain has soild rollers.
The Reynolds one is the most expensive, so that might be the one to go for.
Really not looking forward to removing the alternator and clutch.
 
#59 ·
I made a start replacing the primary chain yesterday, looks like a new stator will also be needed.
Fitting new fork seals turned out to be a bit of a mission, weird thing was that the the oil in one fork came out fairly clean the other like yogurt.
 

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#60 ·
After a few attempts the new primary chain and stator are on.
The rotor/stator don't line up as you'd expect and just doen't look right, but appartently it's normal.
Also a bit of damage to the lower edge of the crankcase.
 

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#61 ·
Well that was an interesting few days. After work on Thursday thought I'd get a couple of small jobs done.
On fitting the rear brake lever realised the linkage was going to foul the swinging arm pivot nut, so started removing the pivot and fit it from the other side of the frame.
Should have been an easy enough job but the drift got stuck under the pivot at the mid way point.
Eventually got the drift out but by then iI'd totally fucked up the end of the pivot, Couldn't move it either way.
Fortunately a mate dug me out of a very deep hole. 2 hours of drilling got the job done with minimal damage. Just as well one of us knew what we were doing.
 

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#63 ·
Started fitting the new wiring loom, coils, and the new rectifier does away with the Zener Diode.
Many hours spent trying to route cables, and wiring.
 

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#64 ·
It's been a few months since I've been able to roll the T140 about.
Had a bit of a disaster with the electrics. Last week I had a spark but no indicators or headlight. This week the indicators and headlight are working but no spark.
Turns out I'd left the ignition on for to long and fried the black box.
 

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#66 ·
I've spent the best part of a month trying to get the bloody thing running.
Had a good spark and fuel in the carbs, checked and rechecked valve clearences and timing, couldn't even get it to fire.
Must have kicked it over more than a 100 times (which hasn't done my knees any favours) and had a couple of friends over to give it a try, but they gave up after 2 or 3 attempts.
The compression seems to be on the high side and it takes a fair ammount of effort to kick over.
Anyway the owner called round a few days ago wearing a large pair of MotoX boots, 1st kick it fired 2nd kick it started FFS.
 

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