mmmm...glistening scrubbed metal. The 34cc overbore necessitated the appropriate Wiseco gasket, an elaborate 3-layer affair stamped together by brass pins. The entire process of installation required almost an hour and a half, of which approximately an hour was spent by me either (a) rearranging the playlist in Winamp or (b) laying out nuts and washers on a paper towel in the EXACT pattern they were to be installed in the head. The remaining half hour was a sweaty-palmed threading of an oily cam chain through a clean shiny gasket and clean head surface (thanks Jerry for the extra pair of hands!!), the setting of the head upon the studs and settling thereof upon the gasket and thumb-tightening all twelve bolts.Then they were torqued, according to the pattern, to about 10 lb-ft. I'll let the head sit and relax the gasket overnight while I scrummage through my tools and see if I have a more rigid 3/8 extension than the articulated Great Neck one in the Garage.
Note concerning torque wrenches. If you're building an aluminum motor, buy the best dial wrenches you can possibly afford. I'm not kidding. The length of time an aluminum motor holds together is greatly dependent upon the uniform tightness of its fasteners. Also, buy two torque wrenches. One in inch-pounds and one in foot-pounds. Most bike fasteners seem to require less than 20 ft-lb of torque, which is right on the edge of the margin of error of my 100 ft-lb big Precision Instruments torque wrench. Also, when torquing down bolts, remember that you are setting up a lot of internal stresses in the bolt and threads. When the torque level is reached hold the pressure for a few seconds to let those internals stresses stabilize, for example let the bolt untwist itself in the nut - otherwise you'll end up with a loose nut.
Homemade tappet adjustment tool coming up next...stay tuned.
(how does one caption photos? I continue to be frustrated by blogger's clumsy photo interface. insertion in text is not always what it seems)
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