Got a couple boxes in from Billy at B&B Racing in Metairie Louisiana. I was referred to these guys by my long time pal Bo Bennett at East Texas Cycle in Tyler Texas. I had been sending all my case and head repair work to Tom Shaw at Creekside Welding in Chillicothe Ohio. Unfortunately we lost Tom to cancer last year. The vintage motorcycle world will never recover from the loss of a craftsman like Tom. Fortunately I took Bo's recommendation and called Billy at B&B. He was awesome on the phone and I instantly felt more comfortable about sending my cherished junk to him. I don't know about you folks, but I can instantly tell when a mechanic, and especially a machinist knows what they are talking about, and Billy did.
The boxes arrived at my house before I even sent Billy the check. He didn't want to make a second trip after he got the shipping total so he just sent them then. They were packed nice and secure and arrived safe and undamaged. When I pulled them out of the box I was impressed. They look like brand new heads. Perfectly clean and in pristine condition. These could not be the same turds I sent him a few weeks ago, but they were. They initially had broken fins, stripped threads and one of the combustion chambers looked like it had run 100 miles with a handful of dimes in it. But all traces of that damage were gone.
He must have found that some of the rocker assemblies I sent were beyond repair, because he sent back a bag of unused parts, containing two of the rockers sets that I had sent. He did't make a big deal about it, he just grabbed a couple from his stash, refitted them, cleaned and re-sized them and put them on. Now lets talk about the blown out rocker cover holes. Helicoils right! Not a chance. He over drills the holes, welds them up with a harder aluminum, and then drills and tabs a fresh set of threads. Then somehow blends the area so that you cannot tell which have been repaired and which are original.
Bag'O'parts
Oh. what about that beat up combustion chamber? I can barely tell which one it was. Smoothed out like it never happened. All the head bolt holes cleaned up nice so the bolts will thread right in. I also had him install a set of O-ring spigots for the intake instead of the old plummer style that was in there. That was a tough call because now the heads are so nice that it is a shame to alter them from that original configuration. Well Billy installed them using the factory technique and sent back the threaded inserts should I ever decide to revert back. Dilemma laid to rest.
Needless to say I am more than happy about the work and the price paid for it. The service was fast and friendly and I got exactly what I asked for. So here is a money shot of the heads perched on top of the motor they will be installed on. I have added the shops web page to the links on the right side of the Blog. Stop by the page and have a look at what they have to offer. I will add a note once the motor has fire to let everyone know how they perform, but based on what I have seen so far I have no concerns about that.
Well what was in the other box you ask? Have a look. 1963 Panhead transmission. So here is a caveat that you did'nt get above. About half way through the head work I had a chance to stop by the shop in Metairie. I was in New Orleans for the weekend, and Metairie is a suburb of the big easy. Billy and the crew welcomed me and my wife Laura to the shop. We got the full tour and lowdown on the capabilities and services they provided, and then they proceeded to fill us full of beer. While cruising around the shop I noticed a bench full of fresh rebuilt transmissions. All 4 speeds and all in excellent condition. I picked one out we settled on a price and he added it to my ticket. I am stoked about how nice it looks and how well it is going to work with the motor that I am building with the heads they did. The drive train will go into the chopper I am building in one of the earlier posts. "Cycle Daze again". Its the bike I got from Graybeard Jack up in Norman Arkansas.
