Question about my cases

[Luke]

My left engine case is an old aftermarket one. It has no belly numbers and a blank boss. It looks old and has an large M cast with the case to the right of the boss. Can anyone tell me what that means.

Also I was told the motor was a 64 and the belly number on the original right side says 159 xxxx So does this mean the motor may be 59 or 60?

I will take pics tonight but the OL has the camera right now.

Thanks in advance

Luke

[caschnd1]

Luke,

It's probably safe to say that right side case is not from '64. Its possible whatever killed the left case also killed the original right side case. Maybe they found a OEM used right side case but had to buy the aftermarket left. Hard to say really. A '64 should have outside oiler heads (fed oil from outside oil lines on the right side of the motor). Are your heads outside oilers? What years does the title say? You must have an assigned vehicle number since the left side case has a blank number boss, eh?

-Craig

[Luke]

Luke,

It's probably safe to say that right side case is not from '64. Its possible whatever killed the left case also killed the original right side case. Maybe they found a OEM used right side case but had to buy the aftermarket left. Hard to say really. A '64 should have outside oiler heads (fed oil from outside oil lines on the right side of the motor). Are your heads outside oilers? What years does the title say? You must have an assigned vehicle number since the left side case has a blank number boss, eh?

-Craig

caschnd1 thanks for the reply. Yeah, it has outside oiler heads. Its hard to say. It was reassigned a title in 1987 by secretary of state. So the vin was stamped in the neck of original frame then. I would've like an original title but I don't care I still love the bike. I got it to fix up and ride not to make profit.

panhead043.jpg

[steinauge]

Your left case was made in the 70s.I have one just like it and I cannot remember who made those.I will go through my old magazines and see if I can find an ad.

[mbskeam]

house of horse power?

[Bosheff]

There weren't to many aftermarket cases manufactured in the 70's. Cal products also produced a left side case. How bout a picture of the left side of the mill?...bosheff

[Speeding Big Twin]

Luke, I don't know who made the case below but the M sounds like the one you're referring to. Eric

[62pan]

I had one of those left cases, I believe they were made by a guy named Merkel. If the story I heard was correct, he was the grandson of the guy that made the Flying Merkel motorcycles in the teens.

[Bosheff]

Why can't the right case be a 63, 4, or 65? As for the left case, I have never seen one with the "M" cast on it, but seein is believin. One more question. Does the left case have the tight or wide inner primary front mounting pattern? This would at least tell ya whether it was intended to be used for 1954 and earlier, or 55 and later...bosheff

[caschnd1]

Why can't the right case be a 63, 4, or 65?

Because Luke said the right side case had a belly number of 159 XXXX. The "1" indicates a 74" motor, the "59" is the year the case was line-bored in the maching shop after casting. After the line-boring process the case would have gone on a shelf until it was needed for production (it wouldn't have sat there for years). This case would have been destined for a 1959 or early 1960 model.

-Craig

[Luke]

Here are a couple shots of my left case.

dualheadlight030.jpg

dualheadlight033.jpg

[Luke]

[quote="Speeding Big Twin"]Luke, I don't know who made the case below but the M sounds like the one you're referring to. Eric


Yeah, looks like a match. I'm assumong someone stamped a VIN in that case. (since there is a blackout covering the #'s)

[Bosheff]

If ya look at the right case you will note that it has a boss machined for outside oil lines. Also, note the cam cover has the matching gear cover oil passage bolt. This indicates to me at least, that the right case was originally intended for use for a 63, 4, or 5 pan. To take it one step further, 63 and 4 used the same part #, while 65 used a different part #. The cam cover indicates 63 or 4. A 65 cover was smooth and had no fins. Most of the time when someone went to outside oiler heads on a pan bottem end not originally produced for top oiler heads, they tapped into the cam cover or off the oil pump body for a source of oil to lube the top end. I'm not saying that the right case is not a 59 or 60, but it seems unlikely to me. I would bet the belly #'s were changed to accomodate the VIN if this unit is now or at one time was titled 1959 or 1960. 1959 or 1960 cases did not have oil passages to accomodate the overhead system. Also, a 65 cam cover could be used in place of the existing cover as it was produced to accomodate outside oiler heads. Feel free to add or correct.

[hplhd]

theres no relay boss on the right case. cant tell from the pic if it was ground down or just was never there like a 65 or later case half.

[caschnd1]

If ya look at the right case you will note that it has a boss machined for outside oil lines. Also, note the cam cover has the matching gear cover oil passage bolt. This indicates to me at least, that the right case was originally intended for use for a 63, 4, or 5 pan. To take it one step further, 63 and 4 used the same part #, while 65 used a different part #. The cam cover indicates 63 or 4. A 65 cover was smooth and had no fins. Most of the time when someone went to outside oiler heads on a pan bottem end not originally produced for top oiler heads, they tapped into the cam cover or off the oil pump body for a source of oil to lube the top end. I'm not saying that the right case is not a 59 or 60, but it seems unlikely to me. I would bet the belly #'s were changed to accomodate the VIN if this unit is now or at one time was titled 1959 or 1960. 1959 or 1960 cases did not have oil passages to accomodate the overhead system. Also, a 65 cam cover could be used in place of the existing cover as it was produced to accomodate outside oiler heads. Feel free to add or correct.

Good catch seeing the boss for the outside oil line. I completly missed that. Makes the right side case more of a mystery. Could well be a aftermarket case (no regulator boss) that someone put their own belly numbers into, or as you suggested, a OEM case that has been altered.

-Craig