No,Whitworth thread bolts have heads with slightly different sizes than SAE-that's why you need a set of Whitworth sockets and wrenches when working on old British stuff-but it looks like you were able to find metric sockets that were close enough to fit-but then again,Greeves was pretty progressive-maybe they had gone over to metric by then.
I'm guessing the bolts are Whitworth. I was able to get slightly larger sockets on the bolts because the scuzz on the bolts took up the little bit of slack. Let's see if I can score a Whitworth socket set in Boise... Edit: I called three tool suppliers and got: 1) "Whoa. Whitworth! Haven't heard that in a while." 2) "Huh? You want a what?" 3) *laughter* "Been a long time. Let's see what's in the back. Nope." To the last store's credit, they do know a guy in town--an old Brit bike dealer/mechanic--who does have a secret stockpile. I called him and left a message. In other news, eBay has a small selection of Whitworth tap and die/sockets/wrenches. "O"
There used to be a vintage British shop down town Boise...I don't know if it is still there, and there was also another shop along side the 84 in Caldwell? I've been in this area for about 10 years and have hardly seen many vintage bikes, maybe I'm not looking in the right places
Here is a web site of British stuff for you. They have the Whitworth tools and the nuts and bolts. http://www.britishfasteners.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=BTF&Affiliate=BritBike Roger
I think the downtown one closed. The one off 84 is owned by a guy I used to work with. I think his name is Millican. Oh! The motherload! Thanks for that link. Washing the engine and its bits turned out well today. The bare aluminum bits are 95% clean and the black painted bits are about 75% clean. Next up: Finding a 21mm (?) thin walled socked to take the engine off of the primary case. Then it's time to dive into the gearbox and see why the kickstarter isn't moving. I'm a little afraid of the cheesehead bolts holding the engine and gearbox together; they look like they'll strip easily. "O"
The place by I84 is Lonnie Skogsberg, West Canyon Repair. Info on this page: http://idahovintagemotorcycleclub.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=24&Itemid=23
I'm in touch with Lonny. He's the guy I ordered a Whitworth tool set from. Hopefully the tools will be in Friday or Saturday so I can disassemble the crank this weekend, otherwise it'll have to wait till I get home in mid-February. Lonny is an encyclopedia of all things classic and British. We talked on the phone for about 30 minutes and he gave me a bunch of leads on where to get parts (locally). Good people. "O"
Don't give up on it! Once you get the engine apart, make friends with an 'Old School' machinist. There are several ways to salvage that crank. On the transmission: One of the shaft's runs in a bushing which resides in a hole in the case. It's not uncommon for that shaft to bind on the bushing, spinning the bushing in the hole, making everything fairly sloppy. If yours HASN'T, I strongly recommend you use the appropriate loctite product on the bushing-to-case interface. If it HAS, see if your new machinist friend can help. Quick and dirty fix is to knurl the outside of the bushing to take up the slack, and epoxy it into the case. A much better fix is to remachine the case for a roller bearing. Have fun with the right shift - one up, three down shift pattern!
Spotted this last night and had to throw it in for inspiration. Not mine. Just thought it was sweet and had to share. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Restored-Vintage-Greeves-1961-Motocross-Scrambler_W0QQitemZ200429607455QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_motorcycles?hash=item2eaa891a1f
Quick update: I made contact with the guy who was the Boise Greeves dealer from 1966-1972 who just happened to have a 1967 Challenger 250 engine with a good crank and mostly complete gearbox sitting under his workbench. Scored for $200. Also got a set of Whitworth sockets and wrenches from another guy. Once work calms down I'll start tearing apart the engines. "O"
I can see it's been a while since there were any updates to this thread. If you keep going with the project I'd love to hear what other "adventures" you have with the motor. I'm in the process of restoring a '69 MX6 Challenger myself. Luckily the motor is in much better condition than what you had to start with, but I'm still expecting plenty of surprises. You may already know this, but aside from Frank Conley in California, Rabers (www.rabers.com) is a fantastic resource for old British parts. They don't specialize in Greeves per-se, but they are unbelievably knowledgeable and can be a great resource. Connal
Sadly, I'm geographically separated from my bikes for the next year or so, but the Greeves got a little love this summer when I scored a clutch removal tool on eBay and got most of the bolts loose on both the original engine and the "new" engine. Thanks for the tip on finding old Brit parts! "O"