Jugs. flat black or simi gloss?

[Derf]

I’m finally getting ready to assemble my 53 motor. From the factory was the jugs painted flat black or Simi-gloss? I’m also getting ready to buy my cam. I’m running stock, so I heard that the H grind is the ticket. I’m thinking about going with the Crane cam. Does anyone have any other suggestions or recommendations?

Duration 248 /INT .455 /EXH .455

[VT]

Call you local Harley dealer and ask them for a can of heat temp black. I think it's satin-finish.
You might be able to find heat-proof Wurth® on line or at a dealer. Wurth has a (1) case min., so it's hard to find.
An Andrews "J" cam is close to stock.

[Cotten]

Derf!

If your '53 is a Pan, they were silver.
I prefer VHT products.

The Factory made two H cams. Pick a cam that has the proper journal size for a bushing, and not a bearing on the inboard end.
Crane makes nice hardware, but my catalog at hand doesn't show that they make the distinction (!), nor an H copy for pre-'70 models.

In fact, my '07 V-TWIN catalog doesn't make the bushing/bearing distinction for any brand of cam. Duh.


....Cotten

[King]

Hi Derf

Yes they came from the factory silver, but I too prefer black. I just use the hi-temp engine enamel (gloss or semi-gloss) that you get at NAPA. Cotten has brought up an important point regarding the inboard cam journal. From 48 to 57 they were bushings and after that needle bearings. All the cams manufactured today are set up for the bearing journals and are about 0.002" too fat. I installed an Andrews #1 a few years ago and had a machine shop turn it down to fit the bushing. Installing a bearing journal is just putting another grenade in your motor IMHO.

King

[51Hog]

I did not use anything special for paint on the cylinders and heads.
Any Hi-temp engine paint will work as long as you find a color that you like.
The attached pic is of my engine that has close to 5000 miles on it. It was painted with 1 coat of whatever Wal-Mart sells for hi-temp--and it was on sale for a couple $ per can.
I have solvent cleaned a couple times and I pressure washed Many times.
Gas and oil have been all over it several times.
Dale

[Derf]

Wow...Thanks for all the tips. I had no clue on the cam needing to be grounded down. I would have just popped it in. I’m going to go simi-gloss black on the jugs and definitely going to bring my cam to the shop that balanced the motor. Thanks again.

[1964 pan]

Real nice looking engine, 51 Pan. Back in the eightys the fad was wrinkle black paint on the jugs. Bead blasted heads and cases. Not original but looked Semi gloss looks good also. As a matter of fact anything on a pan looks good. By the way I see Cotten is about to hit 1000 posts. Congratulations Cotten.

[Cotten]

Grinding a cam journal is a lot of bother and expense.
It is much easier and cheaper to cut a fitted bushing from scratch.

....Cotten
PS: Hereafter, I shall only post useful content.
PPS: I guess I have since broke my promise, but I was provoked.

[64 panman]

What cleans gas and oil off of the cylinders and heads?

[steve_wood]

I guess that depends. Are the cylinders still on the engine? If they are, you can try S100 Total Cycle Cleaner Aerosol. Let it soak then wash it off with a hose. But if the stuff is baked on, it might not be that easy to get off. You can also try pressure washing, but be careful of your electrical stuff.

If the jugs are off the bike, it gets a whole lot easier. The above-mentioned stuff works, but you can also try soaking them in mineral spirits and cleaning with a good stainless steel wire brush. Even soaking in detergent or a good degreaser could work. For baked on stuff, sometimes oven cleaner works, but it will wreck the paint underneath so it's only useful if you're gonna repaint.

If all else fails, clean them as best you can and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees. Once they cool down, all the gas and oil should be completely dried and you can get it all off with a bead blaster.

Hope this helps.

steve.