A long term MK3 rebuild

Bloody hell, didn't notice the banjos!!! thanks LAB this is what makes this site so good. Just been out to a freezing cold garage to check the old banjos .... couldn't find them... damn! I don't know if they needed the banjo to be specified at the ordering stage and it would be a shame to put on some shabby old tat, so I'll give Amal a call tomorrow and sort out some new ones or get a fuel line made up.

Good news on the banjos, Amal called me on Monday to say they will put a pair of double 180deg banjos in the post (I called them last Friday but their computers were down). I got them in the post today free of charge, excellent service and it was their mistake, they knew the MK3 needed double banjos and cocked up in the build stage.
Oh and an added bonus they are made in the UK

Some good news and bad news and good news:

Good news: Managed to get the forks rebuilt
This before photo shows a lot of wear on the chrome stanchion where its rubbed on the top bush and flaking chrome. And the rebuild kit from Norvil, and look, the stanchions are 'Genuine Commando' parts woohoo!! Springs weren't too bad but I thought I may as well replace them after 37 years!


Used a BSA oil seal holder tool as a slide drift to insert the oil seals. Bit of packing tape to protect the chrome and using the old top bush to bash them in, jobs a goodun!


My trusty and rusty strap wrench came in handy at last for screwing in the top collars


All done and looking good with the USA style dust covers. The new stanchions are much better quality than the ones which were originally on it. Final polish to the sliders when they are back on the bike and they will look like new.


Bad news!!!
Thought I'd whip off the head to have a look inside and found some score marks and scuffing on the bore don't think I can hone those out! Time for a rebore.


Good news
Even though the paint wasn't too bad I decided to treat the bike to a makeover, mainly due to a bad match with the side panels and yokes. So the tank, side panels and yokes are at the local paint shop. Went down yesterday to have look at the progress and all looks good, down to bare metal, little dings repaired and zinc primed, smooth as a smooth thing and ready for the top coat, pin striping, decals and lacquer. Will be done next week.....photos to follow

Cheshire bloke said:

And the rebuild kit from Norvil, and look, the stanchions are 'Genuine Commando' parts woohoo!!

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I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings-but "Genuine Commando Factory Parts" mean they are genuine Norvil knock-offs and not genuine Andover Norton parts which have "Genuine Norton Factory Parts" on the label.

Hi LAB I know all about the debate over 'Genuine' parts. I got these in good faith from Norvil and my comment was a bit tongue in cheek, and anyway Norvil say they are made in the UK so what could possibly go wrong?

Cheshire bloke said:

Hi LAB I know all about the debate over 'Genuine' parts. I got these in good faith from Norvil and my comment was a bit tongue in cheek, and anyway Norvil say they are made in the UK so what could possibly go wrong?

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Yes, I couldn't tell if you were being entirely serious or not!

At least you know the frame isn't likely to suffer any damage if you hit something head-on with those 'crumple zone' forks in place!

My view is that if the new stanchions are as bad as the old ones then they will last another 37 years! especially if I use the bike like I intend to, which is only on dry, sunny days, posing as a classic rider pootling down to 'ye olde worlde tea shoppe' in my barbour jacket, sea boot socks, jet helmet and biggles flying goggles Oh and trying to avoid anything that might crumple the forks like potholes or white lines!!!

Cool Bike!
I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.

So what colo(u)r did you decide to paint it?
Post some pictures when it's done.
LAB wrote

'crumple zone' forks

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:lol: :lol: :lol:

The final colour is BMW (car) Titan Silver! I looked at the colour swatches and compared Bentley and Rolls Royce silvers, but the BMW silver was best, bright, nice and blingy! I didn't know there were so many different shades :shock: And the tank was sent away to size up the black and red pin striping, when the striping and decals are put on, there will be three coats of lacquer so they don't peel off. There will be photos

I did debate whether to paint it black but I think a big Interstate tank looks good in Silver. If I had a Roadster I would do it JPN colours

Knowing how we all like pictures here are the promised photos:

All the bits laid out fresh from the paint shop. If you are wondering what the furry thing is it's the Westie inspector!


Tank showing the subtle pin striping in red and slate grey


Side panel


Top yoke


The photos don't really show the finish as in real life, it's a really bright silver and looks great with the three coats of lacquer. Steve the paint shop guy did a real nice job and couldn't be more helpful, I went down to pick them up this morning but he hadn't finished the yokes so when I picked up the parts tonight the yokes were still hot out of the oven :shock: excellent service

New Paint Day is always an exciting day.
It looks like nice work.

Thanks Mark it is a nice paint job ... a bit too nice! now I have to get the rest of the bike up to the same standard

Looks good. You must be pleased. Silver really suits the Interstate in my opinion.

When I get round to painting my Interstate tank (hopefully later this year) I will almost certainly go with silver, although candy apple red is a close second for me.

Ooooohh! Candy Apple! I was very tempted for this rebuild. Steve the paint guy said it's EXPENSIVE!! this paint job cost £250 and you could probably double that for a candy apple colour just in the cost of the basic paint mix and prep. Maybe if I win the lottery

Wow looks like you are really geting into it and the photos look great
I am doing the same thing and having the same type of "discoveries" (rebore ets) along the way with my rebuild
I have it in a million bits at the moment and am progressing slowly towards getting it back to its former glory
Mine has the SU carby fitted and if this proves troublesome (I have never started the bike) I will go for the amals
Mine is a 77 model, maroon in color as opposed to candy red. While I believe this to be the original color I was intent on having it painted black but must admit it has really grown on me and it will remain as is when finished. I think the color is pretty uncommon given there were only 1200 of these made in 77 (silver being one of the options)
More photos will be posted after this weekend but I am a bit apprehensive as the eagle eye of L.A.B picks out true but expensive faults from seemingly innocuous pics!
Good job and good luck with he rest of your build

Jed

Thanks for the good luck Jed, it worked! Just got my barrels back, thought I might have to have a rebore, but got away with a cheap 20 quid hone The scores weren't as deep as I originally thought.

Some of the marks are still just about visible but I can't see them causing much problem

You will need to put sealer on the front two stud lower threads, as they have (as is often the case) broken through into the pushrod tunnel. This will hopefully stop oil migrating up and spreading all across the front of your c/head.

Top tip Reggie thanks, anything that helps to keep the oil inside the engine is good news

CB

Could be the photo but is that a deep scratch or score from outer bolt to bore I can see. If its the way it looks you might have a head gasket issue. Hopefully its not that bad.