78 GS750 engine overhaul on the Cheap!

[Bobbys 94]

As some of you already know I purchased this 78 GS750 a couple months ago from a seller on FB for $500. The carbs were junk but I still thought there were some good bones to work with. After pulling the oil pan I noticed a lot of condensation had been in the engine for probably 32 years or so. I removed the jugs and found that most of the rings were seized to the pistons. I tried honing the cylinders but the damage was too severe. The rings in #2 & 3 had become part of the cylinder walls. Someone obviously broke them lose before I purchased it.

The proper fix is to have the cylinders bored .5 mm over and buy pistons and rings. Best case is about $800 using cruzin image piston kits and a qualified machine shop for the boring.
So that's what I'm going to do..........Later.

For now, I've purchased a cheap $70 complete gasket kit and 4 used stock pistons, rings and wrist pins for $20 plus $10 postage for All 4 on ebay and I'm going to put this thing together and see what happens. I'm Not going to use any gasket goo or silicone, they will All go on dry. This is a test for me and maybe a few on here. Almost every youtube I watch on engine building they all use some kind of Goo with the gaskets. I'm doing the opposite to see what happens when you use Chinese gasket kits and No Goo. I have to tear it down anyway after I build it.
Below is the pic of what I bought.

 

[Bobbys 94]

These are the pistons after the cleaning/ checking specs and stored in a oil bath for 2 weeks.

 

[Bobbys 94]

This is the tedious process of installing the cylinders. Took about and hour to get them on properly.

 

[Bobbys 94]

This is after the safe landing....I Hope.

 

[Bobbys 94]

Waiting on valve seals to finish the head. All valves lapped in nicely.
Should be in the next couple days. Thanks for watching

 

[Grimly]

If there was water in the sump for years, what condition are the crank bearings in? Rusty bearings are bad ju-ju.

 

[Bobbys 94]

If there was water in the sump for years, what condition are the crank bearings in? Rusty bearings are bad ju-ju.

Wasn't standing water. It was condensation that had built up in the cases. I can only go by what I saw from the top with the cylinders off and pistons removed. All looked normal to me.

 

[GregT]

My experience with the cheap gasket sets has been OK. The thing to watch is the thickness of the odd shaped O rings at the back corners of the barrel. If they're too thin there's not enough squash to keep them oiltight. A smear of sealant around the outside of those is all I use on the base gasket.
When stripping an engine if those O rings are in good condition I keep them for possible reuse if the next gasket set has the thin version.

 

[Nessism]

The green base gasket is red flag to me. Athena brand base gaskets are horrible, and almost sure to fail. Hopefully these are better.

Regarding the corroded cylinder, I hope it's not as bad as described here. Typically, you can find reasonable condition cylinders off eBay for a decent price.

 

[Bobbys 94]

The green base gasket is red flag to me. Athena brand base gaskets are horrible, and almost sure to fail. Hopefully these are better.

Regarding the corroded cylinder, I hope it's not as bad as described here. Typically, you can find reasonable condition cylinders off eBay for a decent price.

As I said in my first post, this is a test project. I've looked at the cylinders available on ebay and all the other sources. I could even get a Brand New Factory cylinder from cmsnl if I wanted to for about $700 delivered. This will not be a concours resto.
Buying a "Reasonable" cylinder off ebay, I could end up with something worse than what I have to work with now, been there done that. I value all the information I get from the members on this site because as I've said before "I'm no expert" I'm just a guy with time/tools and the love of working on these machines.

 

[Bobbys 94]

My experience with the cheap gasket sets has been OK. The thing to watch is the thickness of the odd shaped O rings at the back corners of the barrel. If they're too thin there's not enough squash to keep them oiltight. A smear of sealant around the outside of those is all I use on the base gasket.
When stripping an engine if those O rings are in good condition I keep them for possible reuse if the next gasket set has the thin version.

The O rings you speak of both measured about .010 thicker than the old ones that I removed. No Goo added.

 

[roeme]

Ok, this is certainly interesting. Basically a "I know what I'm doing and I wanna see the minimum amount of work I can get away with to get this running again", right?

Though...the engine did see some blasting, did it? No longer in the realm of minimum, then

 

[Bobbys 94]

Ok, this is certainly interesting. Basically a "I know what I'm doing and I wanna see the minimum amount of work I can get away with to get this running again", right?

Though...the engine did see some blasting, did it? No longer in the realm of minimum, then

Define "Blasting" I'm old and confused. I hope to get it running "Well" and ride her a couple times a week until I die. I've got a donor GS750 coming my way as we speak.
Not sure about your "minimum amount of work" comment. I massaged the valve cover for about 6 hours at a minimum.

 

[Nessism]

The cases look pristine, like they were bead blasted. Or, rattle can painted. Either way, you put in some serious labor. Looks nice. High labor, and low $ outlay?

 

[Bobbys 94]

Hope to installed these little bits tomorrow.

 

[roeme]

Define "Blasting" I'm old and confused. I hope to get it running "Well" and ride her a couple times a week until I die. I've got a donor GS750 coming my way as we speak.
Not sure about your "minimum amount of work" comment. I massaged the valve cover for about 6 hours at a minimum.

My comment was intended to convey that you're being modest; you write "The proper fix would be... but that's for later" and then the photos show an engine that could've rolled off the factory floor a few days ago Like Nessism elaborated, these cases look damn fine. "Blasting" as in vapour/ice/bead/whathaveyou blasted.

 

[Bobbys 94]

My comment was intended to convey that you're being modest; you write "The proper fix would be... but that's for later" and then the photos show an engine that could've rolled off the factory floor a few days ago Like Nessism elaborated, these cases look damn fine. "Blasting" as in vapour/ice/bead/whathaveyou blasted.

The only blasting was a few beers and elbow grease and Thank you for your comment about being modest. I thought that I was the only one to see the fruits of my labor. I Love this stuff

 

[Bobbys 94]

Took a little more time than I thought but it ended well.

 

[Bobbys 94]

Had to time the cams Twice. My bad. Fixed before valve cover installed.

 

[Bobbys 94]

All went well after the timing issue.