cb350 build/entry : part 2

Last week worked-out pretty well for me and the old CB. I had been at odds with my sand blaster. It has had problems with starting and stopping and could only produce a weak stream. I did a bit of surgery; added an old 80 gal tank I had, for more reserve air capacity. It also helps catch some moisture. Plenty of dry air is the only way to get this thing to work. I was able to take off work early, for several days this week. I really enjoyed the sunshine. After I had removed enough crust, I moved over to the paint booth (yard).

I scrounged through my junk bins and found just what I needed. I had just enough self-etching primer and gloss black paint to do the job. This time my hoarding paid-off. It's good urethane auto paint, so it should hold up well for chassis duty. I'm calling the frame paint job "free". The materials were scraps that a normal person would have thrown-out years ago.

I spent quite a bit of time searching for steering stem bearings. I went to local parts stores and an industrial bearing supplier: no luck. I might as well have brought in a piece of space-junk, as to laid an old bearing and a set of calipers on the counter. The old Honda bearings have part numbers on them, but if those numbers don't show up after they hit the "enter" button, they don't exist. A call to the dealership didn't get me anywhere either. I finally ordered a kit off the bay. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Next, I wanted to get that engine in. I had it cleaned up, thought it would be easy, then I hit a snag. It would not fit. I wrestled that stubborn bastard 'til I was tired. After I slept on it, the solution wasn't too hard to figure. A trip to Harbor Freight got me an impact driver for $6.99. No self-respecting motorcycle mechanic should be without one. Off came the starter, the kick-start lever, and my paint protection towel; slipped in like it was supposed to.

Then I decided to look into this bargain gas tank. I poured in a cup of sheet metal screws and shook the Hell out of it. I had known that the screws were going to be hard to get out of there. BB's are a better choice for most tanks. I thought all the sharp edges of the screws would a better job of busting up the rust that I suspected was inside. Well, the last photo shows just how well they did. I broke out the grinder to find the extent of the cancer. It's terminal. Only a crazy person would attempt to cure this tank. In the next installment, I'll show off my mad fab skills or my new gas tank.

Rand Man