First road test after a monumental engine fail! So when I first got her all was good. Needed a new exhaust as there was very little of the original. What could go wrong? Took her for a test drive. All good. put her to bed. Came back a few days...no starty. Had a spark. Had fuel. So thought maybe I had left some packaging in the exhaust maybe. Bit wierd as it ran. Nope that was ok. So went to take the carb off and noticed 3 pushrods up the side of the rocker. Bent. Sign of an engine thats been stood and not lubed before starting or has overheated and seized. So took head off. replaced the push rods....took the opportunity to do the head. Bit of a skim, unleaded valve seats and guides. New valves...Fitted it still nothing..At a loss I turned to my good friend Jeff Marshall at Fins & Chrome , Titchfield. He knows the engines more than I do. So we both could not figure it out. Jeff did a leak test. No1 leaked into no2 and no 4 leaked into no 3! So no compression on a new head. Took head off. Just as shiny as when fitted. Jeff put a steel rule across the machined surface....revealing that it had been machined more in the middle! Head came from a reputed builder Cxx and Txxxxx. Don't use them. Jeff took it to Banda's. He revealed not only was it not flat, they used the same cutters for both valves causing minor damaged to the cumbustion chamber. Also it was not lapped in and some springs were upside down. I had noticed that there was abit of debris left in it, when it first arrived. So. on we the head...still no start. The plugs were sparking but a bit weak. Jeff then commented he had not seen that name of plug before. A google search showed they had gone out of business in 1962! So new Bosch ones fitted and away she went. Note smoke is not because she is a worn engine, just too much oil in it. Also had Jeff do some minor welding. Very indebted to him.
