Hanging around

 

 My father and I built this overhead crane and trolley system back in 2000. It rests about 15 feet above the shop floor and can travel the length and width of the main bay.  It's been used hundreds of times over the years for moving around stone blocks when I was carving stone.  These days its used for just about anything and everything that's too heavy to lift, including this old panhead engine below...

Stuck on you

 I've worked on old Harleys most of my adult life and I've never seen a clutch hub stuck on the tranny main shaft like this, but I guess after being rusted together for decades it was to be expected.  After an hour or so of spraying it with degreaser, I used my home made clutch hub puller to eventually break it free!

clutch hub rusted onto trans main shaft



puller bolted on



home made puller did its job to remove this clutch hub




trans is now ready for the new clutch hub

Everything but the kitchen sink

 So, after a few days into my task of sorting out the '56' panhead parts, I'm beginning to find out that Billie Jo's father loved keeping worn out old motorcycle parts about as much as I do.  The only thing was, he liked to keep them mixed in with all the good parts, LOL.  I'm finding parts from as far back as 1941 in the coffee cans and boxes.  I even found an old screen door return spring and a few old car muffler clamps!

I'm actually having a blast sorting through all this rusty and greasy treasure.

cool old coffee can filled to the brim with nuts and bolts

Beauty in boxes

 It showed up this morning in crates and plastic bins, in boxes and coffee cans.  Most of it hadn't seen the light of day in over 35 years.  I'm talking about this 1956 Harley Davidson panhead that belongs to Billie Jo and her husband Matt. 

 Billie Jo's father owned and rode this beauty for years before dismantling it in the 70's and storing the pieces in his home with hopes of one day rebuilding it.  Luckily he has a daughter that saw the history and sentimental value in all those dusty parts and pieces.  So now it looks like this 'basket case' will one day soon have fresh air and gas running through its engine ports, as it comes back to life after so many years of rest.  I want to thank Billie Jo and Matt for trusting in me the task of rebuilding her family treasure.