BSA C15 engine rebuild - part 3

[@georgemoskal2098]

Nice work Hugh ,nice to hear the birds singing in the background.

[@hughferrier5837]

Thank you George. The birdsong is soon drowned out when I start the C15. But it is nice to hear while you are working. I am blessed

[@xa1a]

I LOVE that you’re using a knife to set valve clearances! That’s very old school!

[@hughferrier5837]

I'm old but not that old! It is a set of feeler gauges, maybe looks a bit knife like! Thanks for having a look and giving me more credit than due.

[@xa1a]

@@hughferrier5837 oops! From the angle it was filmed on, it looked like a knife! My apologies!! I’m about to split the cases on my b25, so watching this video has given me confidence! Cheers

[@hughferrier5837]

@@xa1a All the very best on splitting your cases. It shouldn't be too bad. Don't take too much from my videos, I am not a BSA single cylinder expert. After all that work I still have massive oil leaks. I'm going to take it apart again this winter and dress all the joint faces. I would settle for a few drips instead of a boot coated in oil.

[@xa1a]

@@hughferrier5837 I think BSA in general had massive oil leaks! I’m going to do the oil pressure gauge modification, and go for both a liquid seal, and a gasket and see if that does the trick. I’m also thinking of finding a way to tighten the seal on all the bolts by using a liquid gasket around each one. It’s excessive, but like you said, the old BSAs leak like a sieve!

[@morrion00]

Very informative and interesting. Thank you.

[@hughferrier5837]

That is so nice and encouraging. I'm no expert though, just a home DIY mechanic

[@oldmatelots2748]

Just stumbled onto your very interesting series of vids. Serious nostalgia for me, as I owned a maroon/red '59 C15 as a lad back in the mid '60s. As discussed in other comments, case leaks were/are pretty much par for the course on most '50s and '60s Brit bikes...the upside was no need for oil changes as there was fresh oil going in weekly😁 Question; was that you annealing the head gasket at 9:35? Any particular reason?

[@hughferrier5837]

Hello and a big thanks for taking time to comment. The oil leaks get to you! If I wasn't such a man I'd cry. The bike is a fun wee bike and I do enjoy going out on it. I took it out on Saturday last to a beach at Shandwick which is 25 miles away. I enjoyed the wee run. About the head gasket - that is me annealing it. It is the recommended practice as it makes the copper that bit softer so tends to seal better. I believe the process can be done several times on the same gasket.

[@k4106dt]

Annealing the head gasket and the penetrant can nozzle.

[@k4106dt]

Love to see your C15 videos. I hope to get my C15F on the road someday soon.