1967/1969 Bonnie Rebuild Desert Sled Project - Any Advice

Some more photos to go with my last post.

 

On to the timing side. Looking at the intake cam gear it looks like somewhere along the line someone beat on it a bit as there are some marks on the face. Also I had a bear getting the exhaust cam gear off because I couldn’t get my puller to engage the threads. I noticed the first couple of threads on the gear were messed up a bit. So I carefully filed the threads a bit with a jewelers file to try to remove the first thread a bit. I finally got the puller to engage by slowly threading it on and off with some oil. Perhaps this gear should be replaced when rebuilding or at least get the threads fixed? I couldn’t get the key out of the exhaust cam.

I seemed to get the gearbox out rather easily. I’m not sure how to evaluate the gears, but they all look pretty stout to me now.

I ended up with one part that I’m not sure where it came from - a thick washer or ? I’ve managed to keep everything else segregated.

Now to split the cases.

 

Thanks darkman. I remember now - I believe there are 2 rollers.

 

I got the cases split today. I still have some challenges ahead. First off it was difficult getting the cases apart, I had to heat them a bit before I got some movement. There seems to be an awful lot of gasket cement and other goo on all the joints.

So, the intake cam is not original. I’m wondering if any forum members might be familiar with this brand - Megacycle Cams from California?

I wasn’t able to get the rods off the crank. These say “JRC” and have 6 point star bolts. I got one loose but the other won’t budge with a long breaker. Any advice on how to get these off - many thanks! Do I finally need to get an impact driver?? Plus - any knowledge of these rods? They are obviously not original and I imagine I need to determine if they are still OK to use in the rebuild. I’ve got to get them off first. And one more thing - these do not have bushings in the small end so not sure how to manage that when I build it back.

I could not remove the exhaust cam because I can’t get the key out of the end. It looks almost like whoever assembled the beast deformed the top of the key a bit. I’ve tried picks and such to get it out. Any ideas on how to remove this so I can take a look at the cam?

I’m curious why someone would have filled in the hole with some compound (silicone?) on the end of the smaller transmission shaft?

One end of the crank is buggered a bit from some PO. Not sure if this is still ok for the rebuild. Notice the bearing is still on the crank. I’m wondering what kind of puller is needed to get this off the crank?

There is a number engraved on the flywheel of the crank - #10595 - any idea of what this is for? I am impressed by the weight of the flywheel!

So, I’ve got to get the rods off, bearing off the crank, then I should find someone close by to do some hydro-blasting.

Thanks for any comments or advice!!

 

Got it. It seems there has been some significant work done in the past.

 

I was able to remove the rods with a longer breaker bar. I see there are no bushings in the small ends so this seems strange. I suppose it will be an issue when trying to fit new pistons. Also the big end bearings read: 70-3586. I appreciate comments on this reading!

I removed the valves and it looks like they will need replacing. I noticed that one of the guides is different from the rest - the right side exhaust guide. I see lots of gunk near the guides, perhaps from too much gasket cement? The valve ends do show some indentations on the bearing surface and I wonder if this is normal or excessive?

There was a question about the oil pump and the nuts used to secure it. The nuts securing this were lock nuts without washers.

I’m still waiting on a bearing puller to get the bearing off the crank.

Cleaning the gunk and oil off the cases is much more difficult than I imagined!

 

Thanks darkman - So hopefully I can use these rods and the wrist pins of whatever pistons I fine will fit properly. When I removed the existing pins they one slid out and the other needed some heat and coaxing. I will measure the big end journals. Replacing the valves is definitely on my list, as well as my oil pump along with proper fasteners. I will keep scrubbing the cases and plan to have them hydro blasted. My local hydro blaster says the cases need to be free of all oil, dirt and gasket material before he will do his work.

 

Thanks for the tip on the pistons.

 

Exhaust cam key frustration - So, I still haven't been able to remove the exhaust cam because I cannot get the key out from the right side, so it will slide out of the bushing. I even purchased a very small punch to try to move it a bit but it doesn't want to move easily. I also notice that this bushing has a cutout (see photo) that I have aligned with the key in the photo. The intake side bushing did not have this cutout - so I'm wondering if this is something that is supposed to be there? I hesitate to apply and more energy to the key/cam/bushing to get it out. Any ideas/comments on this difficulty are appreciated!

 

I'm pretty sure this is correct. I will have to get the wrist pins and give them a try again through the small ends to find out.

 

OK, thanks. So does that bushing come out by pushing it inside the case? Must be.