Vintage Indian Chief carnage and fix ...

[SFMCjohn]

my best moto pal, Mr Kalle, is resolving some issues with one of his various Indian Chief engines ... this one is a 1939 model year motor ... blown head gasket ridden 5 or six miles before shutting down while on the 2024 Rigid Ride on August 11, 2024.

in the trouble truck:



That's Mr Pete Young, organizer of the venerable 49 Mile Ride for vintage bikes here in SF. guess he organizes the venerable Rigid Ride, too.

and the damage ... the heads are aluminum. a pic of the iron cylinder at issue:



and the aluminum head damage:





and the offending gasket:

 

[SFMCjohn]

a patch of aluminum weld, laid down:

 

[SFMCjohn]

machining the aluminum patch down flat:





actually, guess this is a pic of cleaning up the damage before laying in the new aluminum-weld patch ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

new copper head gasket:

 

[SFMCjohn]

making sure everything is flat:

 

[SFMCjohn]

and, hey-presto ... ready to be bolted back onto the engine:



he did all the wrenching, welding and machining himself. how's that for being a real motorcycle guy?

 

[berth]

So is the implication that the gasket failed and hot something burned that hole in the head?

 

[budman]

Quite ingenious fix...!

Got to keep the old girl rolling!

 

[augustiron]

Tell me about the '69 Camaro on the lift in the background please

 

[BillSmith]

Granted you did have to fill it in but basically, you just rubbed it out.

 

[SFMCjohn]

So is the implication that the gasket failed and hot something burned that hole in the head?

yes, hot combustion from the compression stroke, I guess.

he said the bike began running on one cylinder with a squeak noise—or began running poorly, since it didn’t completely lose compression, apparently.

he kept going to the parking lot about five miles away, and presumably the damage happened along the way.

 

[blrmaker]

Awesome thread!

 

[kalle]

So is the implication that the gasket failed and hot something burned that hole in the head?

Exhaust gas was puffing out the failed head gasket. And the heat was enough to melt the head.

 

[kalle]

Tell me about the '69 Camaro on the lift in the background please

Original paint, and interior 1969 Camaro big block SS. Original owner changed the cam with an incorrect part which starved the rear main bearing. I guess he kept driving it too until it threw a rod. It's set in the garage for 50 years until the current owner bought it and rebuilt the engine.

 

[kalle]

Granted you did have to fill it in but basically, you just rubbed it out.

I milled out the molten aluminum and tigged in replacement aluminum. Then I milled it flat and then finished it off on a piece of glass with sandpaper. Aluminum was extremely dirty and difficult to fill in without contamination and pitting.

 

[kalle]

Quite ingenious fix...!

Thanks

 

[johnk]

Very nicely done.

 

[augustiron]

Kalle, I would "like" your detailed response and photos on the 69 Camaro, but there are equal parts to like and dislike. Thanks for sharing.

1969 Camaro was my first car, bought for $2,500 in 1984. It was on the road only for my senior year of high school where I crashed it numerous times, blew several engines, transmissions and stereos, and smoked a whole bunch of tires down to the belts. I spent the next 8 years "restoring" it (patching rust, fixing dents, buying expensive pieces bit by bit on a pauper's wage) And it never saw the road again under my ownership, I sold it and that was my money to move west to California.

I'm always on the hunt for that inside deal garage find.

 

[kalle]

Kalle, I would "like" your detailed response and photos on the 69 Camaro, but there are equal parts to like and dislike. Thanks for sharing.

1969 Camaro was my first car, bought for $2,500 in 1984. It was on the road only for my senior year of high school where I crashed it numerous times, blew several engines, transmissions and stereos, and smoked a whole bunch of tires down to the belts. I spent the next 8 years "restoring" it (patching rust, fixing dents, buying expensive pieces bit by bit on a pauper's wage) And it never saw the road again under my ownership, I sold it and that was my money to move west to California.

I'm always on the hunt for that inside deal garage find.

I bought a 68 Camaro in 1986 for $400. Flipped it for a b******* Mercury. Woulda shoulda coulda. Join the club.

 

[auntiebling]

I milled out the molten aluminum and tigged in replacement aluminum. Then I milled it flat and then finished it off on a piece of glass with sandpaper. Aluminum was extremely dirty and difficult to fill in without contamination and pitting.

did you make the new head gasket too?

I was watching a youtube video of a fabricator/jobshop/welder kind of guy explaining how he welds cast aluminum which is always dirty even if combustion gasses haven't torched their way through. his process is effectively just letting the TIG arc boil out all the garbage with as many passes as it takes to do so before even trying to add filler. that's all the unsolicited 3rd hand advice i have for the moment. thanks for sharing!