Hi guys, as some may know, I’m doing a ´67 Bonneville project. Every thing will be in show condition, new paint on every thing, and a lot of new parts. But I don’t know what to do with the engine. The guy I bought the bike from, had the engine rebuild, and it is in perfect mechanical condition. Not event a drop of leak Normally if i do a rebuild like that, i would vapor blast every thing, but he didn’t. I really don’t feel like taking the engine a part for that now, so what is my options? How do you guys get the engine to shine without taking it apart?
Thank you so much. It’s only the alloy parts I’m doing. The chrome parts are already in good shape, just a quick polish
Getting it there is one thing, keeping it there is the real bugger. I slowly worked over my '74 given a month of Sundays and got it looking pretty show. However, I was then chained to maintaining it in the face of frequent rides, rain, and road smeg. As you probably well know, the wonder metal cases will oxidize and keep turning gray. A relentless dash in circles. I wonder if there is any sprayable coating that would slow it down, without making it harder to clean in the end? Good luck.
I know, the keeping up is the hard work But, this bike will be a show bike, and only to be driven on the sunny days, however, still need to keep it looking sharp I have been wondering the same, maybe there is some coating that can be applied to keep it easier to maintain
Just remember that Triumphs already run hot and any polishing of alloy engine parts other than the three main outer covers will cause detonation and destroy its resale value unless its a weird chopper bobber thing then carry on and enjoy
I have seen a laquer made by e-tech called XHT extremely high temperature. Says it can be used on engine blocks. I didn't end up buying it so don't know if it is worth it. It's the risk of a coating making a right gunky mess that put me off.
Just spay the parts with GT50 with PTFE after polishing yes it will burn off in time but does help protect from oxidation and makes them easier to clean after a run out. I have just finished a full nut and bolt rebuild of my 1967 T120R and yes polishing if much easier with the engine in bits. I can recommend scotchbrite polishing wheels they come in various grades.
Sorry that should have been GT80 or ACF 50 which is also great for wether proofing bikes for winter use.
Have to say i have had plenty of Triumphs and others with polished engines and never had any problems with detonation due to heat. However chroming top end engine parts does affect heat transfer due to the different metal coatings ability to insulate rather than dissipate heat but this can be got around with fueling/timing setup.
