Detroit Diesel/Norton Motorcycles - Kindred spirits...

My 1971 Norton 750 Commando leaked oil out of everywhere except the headlight. Of course the light and switchgear was Lucas so, although it didn't leak oil, it also didn't work most of the time. I find the my 8V71Tis have much in common with that Norton.

I noticed a bit of engine oil seeping from the fuel pump. Imagine my surprise to find in the service manual that it is normal(!) for the fuel pump to seep engine oil. There are also seeps dripping off the undersides of the exhaust manifolds. I haven't looked into where it's actually coming from yet. Then there are the minor drips from the myriad assorted fittings that attach to hoses, sensors, and pipes, some of which seem to head out into some alternate universe.

One of my low level "to-do's" is to see if I can actually stop all the little drips and seeps. But it's not encouraging to read that the factory didn't even bother to try; they just wrote it off as "normal." I'm going to check the engine closely to see if there is any codes that would show it was made in Wolverhampton!

i came to the same conclusion about DDs and Jaguar V12s... don't know which one leaks more oil... and they are both basically bulletproof engines.

http://www.pam-trading.com/pg/galler.../851566111.jpg

I have the same alternative universe on my boat. Maybe our lines are connected somehow… http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/ima...ons/icon11.gifMy port fuel pump leaks, not the stbd. http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/images/icons/icon8.gif

My stbd. manifolds leak, not the port. http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/images/icons/icon8.gif

Pascal,

Nice toys!!!

Neither of my Triumphs nor my Norton leak oil. I better check to see if the sumps are dry :(

I have a time tested solution for your "normal" oil leaks. It's probably a reality that the little buggers need a paint job anyway. Bring home some IMRON (DuPont) - color of your choice, I prefer white, wipe em down with enamel thinner to get the petroleum residue off. Scrape where you need to, and sand the smooth surfaces. Get a good brush and a good charcoal breather mask (or better), mix up a batch and spend a rainy weekend in the engine room. Two to three coats will stop all of the weaping and they will look like a million bucks to boot. This is the forth set I've done - it works.

Jim,

Check that sump! If your Norton isn't leaking oil, it's because there isn't any in it! You shouldn't run it without oil like that! :) I can't speak personally for Triumphs but they are British...

No, I'm only kidding. They do have oil in them. I haven't got to ride a lot lately, but with the weather getting better I'm hopeful. If you are down here and want to briefly recapture your lost youth, you can take the Commando around the block. Although after you kickstart it, you'll be too tired to ride it. :D

So how many of us also restore old vehicles?? I have a '49 Mercedes that I had to buy three of them to get enough original parts to put one good running one together.

It's gott'a be something about loving working on these machines and bringing them up to our standards.

My wife claims that I really bought 2 big, hairy diesel engines and a boat to carry them around.

Doug

My restoration was a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S convertible. I guess living near Lansing, MI puts the love of Oldsmobiles in ya. It took many trips to bone yards all across the country to get that one right.

Now I just hold on to my 1987 Olds 442 (the last year that they made 'em). Bought her new and can't bear to let her go.

'66 Mustang sedan. 289, std trans, fully restored sits in my garage. It's fun to time warp back to my high school days, cruisin in my mother's '66 'Stang with my HS girlfriend Jeanne.

Hmmm... that was over 30 years ago, I bet that car has aged better than she has...

65 Mustang for me. Been sitting in the covered side yard for 10 years. Haven't yet found the time...

I have a '69 4.2 E-type sitting alongside the garage where it's been since around 1994. I did a lot of frame/body work but the last time I touched it was probably 5 years ago. I used to say that I'd finish it eventually. Now I think it's more likely that I won't.

For me it is a 1963 Mercedes 230 SL. It is serial number 24, and the first 23 were kept in Europe. Thus it was the first one shipped to N.A. I bought it three years ago and it spent the first year getting restored. Nice car to drive.

Over the years there has been a 1967 mustang convert, a 1970 cutlass convert, 1974 Camaro (my first car), a really fun Porsche 924 (cheap but great), an older capri, a 2000 CLK 320 convert, and many other cars and trucks - but those were the ones that were most fun. Also had several bikes and currently have a Yamaha V-Star (you may laugh, but I chose it to save $20K over the Harley I really wanted and I have not regretted it for a moment).

My current daily driver is a 2003 Navigator. Two years old and 24 visits to the dealership. I wrote Lincoln yesterday asking them to buy it back or give me a new one. I've had previous Explorers, Expeditions and Navigators - none were great, but this one takes the cake. Unfortunately, Canada does not have any lemon laws. I expect them to tell me to go away.

Murray

Well....right now I have a 2004 Triumph Bonneville, plus two vintage bikes, a 1975 Norton and a 1982 Triumph. Cars: a 69 280SL, a "1972" classic Mini-Cooper which somehow ended up with a 2000-spec engine, interior and emission control system, plus airbag, a 71 6.3 Mercedes, a '90 Ferrari Mondial...but the big project is a GT40 which will be the newest original Mark 1 car when it's done. It's been four years in gestation and not done yet. And this doesn't count old Fender amps, B3 Hammonds and related bits, etc. And now you know why I'm single...who'd put up with all this? I have to say, after the GT40 I'm done with it all....but there's an E-type that I've been eying that's for sale.... ;)

Fender TUBE amps, I hope! :) Transisters are to sound what sand is to engine bearings. ;)

Triumph Spitfires 1962,1976,1977,1978

Nice E Type Pascal...looks good in Silver, I thought you had a later one? that looks like a 67-71?..been a while though

I thought I was a the biggest mechanical masocist with my 58 and my 65 Lincoln Continental Key West (4dr convert) but I see I have been far outclassed!!...


Jim has one of my favorites..a 6.3.....what a great machine, and nobody has a clue what it is..that air suspension locks that car to the road...used to eat lots of tires though!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by admiralty58

Nice E Type Pascal...looks good in Silver, I thought you had a later one? that looks like a 67-71?..been a while though

---

72 2+2, V12. number of upgrades like 5 speed,suspension, MSD... extrmely reliable car believe it or not... I often drive it on long trips, usually non stop with short naps in rest areas... 2years ago, I drove 10k miles in a month with a trip to phoenix and a couple of weeks later a week end in Limerock CT. Never misses a beat... jsut like hte Hatt :-)

It does eat tires, but it eats fuel even more. For an old car, it goes fast. :D

Jim,

My bike was a 1951 Triumph 650 hardtail (spring hub). The old Triumphs really rip.

Doug Shuman

Ahh..but as far as bikes go - If only I could find an affordable Vincent Black Shadow - the ultimate superbike!

I still have a 64 Triumph Bonneville that I purchased in 66. We also have the wifes 67 mustang and my 68 427 Vett, plus a couple of 58 chrysler hardtops with the orgional hemis, one of which was purchased new by my dad. For water thrills we have a 1975 32' off-shore race boat built by Dan Arena of unlimited hydro fame, plus two other of his boats including a purchased new, still origional 1956 Arena Craft Barracuda with a Thunderbird 312 for power. But all in all too much junk......it owns me instead of the other way around...... even the kids don't want it....go figure.

Iv'e had a lot of cool bikes, and a lot of super cool cars. What I have done recently is dump most of those toys (boats, bikes and cars) and now have durable Toyota car and truck (needing minimal service/repairs) so I can consintrate my efforts on my Hatt!!! (1970 44' Tricabin!) Spread yourself too thin and nothing gets done right, or quickly!
Norm aboard Runaround Sue

1949 Ford F8 Wrecker. Used to drive it back in the late 50's, early 60's. Found it in a junkyard, and restored it right back to where it was. What a hoot!

Norm has a good point that I have slowly been edging toward over the past several years. I haven't yet been totally successful but I have finally learned to tell myself, "You don't need that-you don't have time for another toy."

But if that Vincent Black Shadow showed up...

Jim,

Old Fender Amps…
Which ones do you have? If I ever make it up that way, I’ll bring my Strats with me.