ok so progress has been made, mechanic will be firing up the beast this weekend.
We had one more major setback and you just ain't gonna believe this.... The stock oil tank had a BUNCH of copper shit inside it from when it was originally chromed and had been leaching copper particles into the oil system. Whoever BDM used to chrome this tank did not know WTF they were doing (tank on brand new bike was chrome from factory).
When the motor oil was first drained before rebuild, my mech saw a lot of copper pieces in it - and during further tear down found copper particles everywhere, essentially fouling up oil ports etc- which to him was really bizarre at the time. couldn't find out where it was coming from. But this definitely contributed to the motor going south.
Mech did a final wash out of the oil tank on Monday before re-installing - used some denatured alcohol and shook it around, drained it, and large copper slabs started coming out along with copper sand-size granules. So all we could do is soak the inside with muriatic acid for a bit and rinse a few times to get most all of it out, then coat the inside with an epoxy liner.
Now.. what liner do you use. Well, it ain't that simple like a gas tank. You need an epoxy that will stand up to immersion in 200+ degree oil. There is only one type of epoxy that will work. It is called "Phenol Novolac Epoxy" and is used by the petrochemical companies to line their large tanks. So where do I get it?
After 4 hours of calling various chemical companies I discovered that Caswell uses this exact epoxy in their tank liner kits. It is 100% Phenol Novolac epoxy undiluted and comes with the correct corrosive resistant activator (the right activator is also very important).
This is the ONLY gas tank liner that will also work for high heat oil tanks / acid tanks / fuel tanks. Anything else will FAIL (POR15 Kreem etc) so don't even think about it. Anyway I bought a Caswell kit for $40 and we lined the oil tank yesterday. Hardens up in an hour but takes 2-3 days to fully cure. You can speed cure by placing in a 140 degree oven for 4 hours, but the concentrated vapors may harm your outside paint job.
If you want to read about the chemistry of this epoxy here is a pdf from an industrial chemical company. Very top of pdf. this is the same stuff as the Caswell kit.
http://www.dynesic.com/pdfs/Dynesic_SC-5400.pdf
What a pain in the ass!! My poor Dog was definitely a bastard child at the factory when built. I can't believe BDM allowed that oil tank to be used with the left over copper plating crap inside it. So where is that crap going to go? Hmm.
BTW, the high end place in So Cal that does gas tank lining for vintage bikes (
Fix Motorcycle Gas Tank, Rust Removal, Lining, Reconditioning, Fuel tank rust removal) also uses this special epoxy (they lined my gas tanks and now I know why their work is so highly regarded). My opinion, if you need to reline your tanks or the oil tank- only use the Caswell product. Think "Breaking Bad" - it is all about the chemistry
. You can get the Caswell gas tank liner kit on ebay for about $40. You can buy Caswell locally in Los Angeles at Sunrise Cycles in Silverlake area -
- Sunrise Cycles - Small custom shop / nice guy. Email him through his website he always responds. His name is Kosuke.
Here are some photos. sorry bike is a big smudgy. the RB Racing pipe was a tight ass fit, barely cleared the 6 speed tranny door by less than 1/8". Looks good though. I still have to change the handlebars and risers.
