Some (possibly demented) musings on a G3/LS

[Pharisee]

Is it within your abilities to split the crankshaft assy ,get new bits, fit them and straighten all the bits up on assembly. If not , its worth getting a quote now as everything else you do revolve around this bit

I have the skill but unfortunately, I no longer have the facilities to undertake a crankshaft rebuild. That's one of the things I regret most about retirement.... The loss of a fully equipped workshop. A 4" vice in a garden shed just isn't the same.

[Pharisee]

Things have moved on apace. I've sourced another 350cc crankshaft that is in considerably better nick than the one I have (and less than the price of a new drive side axle). From the photographs, it looks like it has good axles (but I'll see better when it arrives.)

Life can be a real bummer at times.... The newly purchased crankshaft arrived this morning. Photographs can be deceptive and in this case, they deceived me completely. The description said that there was "a little play in the big end but otherwise in very good order"... In fact it was a load of scrap. There was play in the big end, and I accept that. What I'm not going to accept was the complete lack of splines on the drive axle... they had all been completely sheared off. That's going straight back to the seller. Ho hum...

[Brad]

That is disgraceful, I feel for you. I just don't understand these people who blatantly misrepresent articles they are selling. They should be banned.

[Pharisee]

The crankshaft I bought on eBay has been returned and a full refund in now in my PayPal account.
The barrel has been bored out to +0.040" but still had crater sized rust pits in the bore. It's being re-sleeved as we speak.
I've revisited my original crankshaft. It's been cleaned and wire brushed. For the most part it's sound enough. The timing side axle is good... it seems to have been protected by a layer of oily crud. The drive side axle, however, is U/S. The thread on the end has rusted away almost completely and there's no way I would trust it to hold the shock absorber retaining nut. A new one has been ordered from Andrew Engineering. I did try AMOC Spares but they had no stock and weren't expecting any in the immediate future.
The big end feels ok... in as much as there is very little play in it but I'll get it replaced anyway... It's almost certainly as rusty as the other bits and I don't want to have to strip the motor down again any time soon. I'll get that from AMOC Spares. Not cheap, are they

John

[thornebt]

The crankshaft I bought on eBay has been returned and a full refund in now in my PayPal account.
The barrel has been bored out to +0.040" but still had crater sized rust pits in the bore. It's being re-sleeved as we speak.
I've revisited my original crankshaft. It's been cleaned and wire brushed. For the most part it's sound enough. The timing side axle is good... it seems to have been protected by a layer of oily crud. The drive side axle, however, is U/S. The thread on the end has rusted away almost completely and there's no way I would trust it to hold the shock absorber retaining nut. A new one has been ordered from Andrew Engineering. I did try AMOC Spares but they had no stock and weren't expecting any in the immediate future.
The big end feels ok... in as much as there is very little play in it but I'll get it replaced anyway... It's almost certainly as rusty as the other bits and I don't want to have to strip the motor down again any time soon. I'll get that from AMOC Spares. Not cheap, are they

John

I've never understood why big end assemblies are so hideously expensive. Does anyone know? Is it that the engineering of it is time consuming? Or maybe the hardening process puts up the cost. They just don't look like £250 worth of engineering to me! Cheers. Bruce.

[56G80S]

"...everything else you do revolve around this bit..."

That's a bit worrying.

Joking aside, I've done a lot of miles since the last big end and am starting to wonder when that kind of bill will be reaching me. But on the basis of previous work it'll probably go to T&L Engineering when it happens.

Johnny B

[Pharisee]

But on the basis of previous work it'll probably go to T&L Engineering when it happens.

Johnny B

Interesting... T & L are just up the road from me, well 17 miles anyway. They're currently re-sleeving the cylinder. They seem to have a good reputation among AMC owners so I'll probably entrust the crankshaft rebuild to them.

[Pharisee]

Well, I've taken the plunge (into my bank account) and bought a new crankpin assembly, a new drive side axle and a set of drive side main bearings. The timing side bush is perfect and won't need replacing.
Funny how prices have changed; back in the day, I bought a complete, running G9 Matchless for 1/10th of the price of the new crankpin

[Stuoyb]

Looking at a 1959 brochure, think I would like:-
G80CS - £259/6/11
G12CSR - £287/1/8
Even after buying both, I would still have a lot of change left over after having a twin crank reground & new shells, plus rebore & new pistons.

Aaah, if only ....

[Rob Harknett]

I am sure I paid £20 for new big end and new piston, back in 1957, for my 55 G3LS. I was only earning £7 a week at the time. I complained the 9-1 piston I put in was OK. The dealer said, we'll put it back in, if you want other bill like this. Lesson learned the hard way.