Resurrecting Gator

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  1. Hello, I am starting a resurrection of a '74 Roadster that has been dubbed “The Gator” (thank you, Northton) for obvious reasons. It will take quite a while as I am a relaxed person and not in a hurry. It will not be a restoration but I do not plan to stray too far from originality but if you are a rivet counter you will no doubt be offended. (I really don't like the term “restomod” you can restore a bike, you can modify a bike but you can't do both). I have been on this forum for about 4 months looking for information and offering the occasional opinion. I have found a virtual cornucopia of information here but other times I regret digging too deep. i.e. do I have a RH4 head or RH10 head? Is the cam too soft? Is that an early MKII swing arm or a late MK11A swing arm? Will I die if I have the wrong one? “You want to convert to neg ground, then you will need a retro encabulator.” Be sure to get a breather or it will leak oil. (I didn't know they couldn't breath!) And so on. I will be asking a ton of questions in the future and posting an occasional update.
    Jim
    Resurrecting Gator
 
Ever wonder what failed tank liner looks like:
Resurrecting Gator
I was going to de-rustify my tank, after sloshing around some acetone this came out. Oh oh didn't realized it had been treated. Cleaned out all of the sealer and then proceded to get rid of the rust, during the process I found the tank did not leak! No idea why the PO treated it.
 
Just did that with an old Yamaha tank. No leaks there, either. Back before rust killer/converter was widely available, I think some folks coated their tanks out of paranoia because they saw some rust when they looked down the filler neck. When I did the tank on
<---that, I just used rust converter to freeze the old corrosion, no liner necessary.
 
I just used rust converter to freeze the old corrosion, no liner necessary.
Danno can you tell me more about this rust converter? What is it? Does it prevent further rust? Is it ethanol resistant? Thanks.
 
I used Evaporust which is available in most auto parts and hardware stores around here. I've used it on a cast iron V8 manifold also. Leaves a paintable surface, but immersed in fuel, why bother? Works on rusty British hardware, also.


Resurrecting Gator
 
If you have heavy rust in the tank, you can add a fistful of coarse-thread drywall screws and shake it like a polaroid picture. I left it in the tank 2 nights, one on each end.
 
Thanks, I have very little rust in the tank. I use diluted phosphoric acid to remove it. doesn't harm the steel or the paint. It is the same stuff as in soft drinks. Put a couple of gallons of coke in the tank and let it set for several weeks. I found a source of about 80% acid and then dilute it quite a bit. If you leave it to strong it will eat aluminum.
 
Gator has been skinned. Would it be correct for me to assume that Norton built a motorcycle around a horn?
 

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... shake it like a polaroid picture...
hee hee You are dating yourself.
Some of these lads have no clue what that is
(and shaking the picture didn't make it develop any faster, just gave you something to do)
 
hee hee You are dating yourself.
Some of these lads have no clue what that is
(and shaking the picture didn't make it develop any faster, just gave you something to do)

Since the emulsion on a Polaroid surface was wet, shaking helped it dry faster, though the development time was the same.
 
With the exception of the timing cover this is about as "stripped" as it is going to get.
It will soon be going in the other direction and parts will be installed.
Resurrecting Gator
 
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