Here's an update on the
Shovelhead. I picked up the engine from
Phil's Speed Shop in Anaheim. He
rebuilt the battered heads and lifter stools,
installed new JIMS lifters, S&S roller rockers
and CCI Black Diamond Valves. He welded
and repaired cracks and exhaust manifold
threads. Old used Shovelheads can be fragile.
I installed studs with a mixture of
liquid metal and red Loctite. I don't like
screwing anything steel in and out of
aluminum. It wears on the threads and
stresses the weaker material. Besides, from
the extreme heat expansion and contraction
the threads always feel loose. So I packed
'em with liquid metal to tighten the fit and
added the red Loctite to keep them from
coming loose. We'll see.
I dug through my junk drawers and
discovered another top motormount stud. I
treated it the same as the exhaust manifold
studs for a tight lasting fit, I hope. I've
decided to fab shotgun pipes. The front out the
left and the rear out the right and attempt to
keep the lengths the same. I would like to
work in some shorty mufflers for performance
and sound reduction, but a couple of fish-tips
caught my eye that sultry morning.
I tinkered with the studs while Layla
headed to Home Depot to grab some
stainless steel bolts, that I could polish, and
use for the motormounts. She was going to
call me from the Fastener bin. I didn't
hear from here for a half-hour so I dialed her
number. She forgot and was rolling up to the
Bikernet gate. So I dug around through
drawers to find usable bolts for the time being.
That's why the spacers show up on the
rear mount--it's temporary.
Rear motormount bolted into place first, for
front motormount adjustment.
This one shows the gap with the rear
mounts bolted down.
The old code called for bolting the
rear motor mounts down first, so that if any
spacing was needed to the front, it would
show up. It did and I found a piece of almost
1/16-inch aluminum plate that fit perfectly. I cut
it, drilled, polished the edges and slipped it
into place. We'll see if it works with the
BDL inner primary belt drive plate.
Ain't she sweet?
That caused another dilemma to surface.
The engine is a late '70s Shovel with a
early electric start, JIMS four-speed
transmission case and plate. According to
Kent at Lucky Devil, there's another
variable lurking. I'm still having a
problem finding the correct chain sprocket. As
you can see this CCI job is meant for even
earlier transmissions. Then I need a BDL
system that will fit the engine, transmission
and line up. Hold on for that one.
