Well, I’ll be damned… that’s cheap enough to keep my Hobart MIG (which I like). Yeah, please do post photos whenever you get things up and running. For $300, we’re back in the ‘buy it rather than pay someone’ category.

 

Did the 500-mile oil change (1st pic is my ‘no spill’ oil change tool—you just let the drain plug roll down the pipe and ****** it up). Reinstalled my passenger foot pegs (which amazingly fit beside the clutch hydraulic line), and ran down the two-lane blacktop to drain most of remaining fuel so I can fix the no. 1 intake valve stem seal this weekend.

Rolled back into the garage and… I misdiagnosed what I thought I heard the other day: fuel boiling in the Super E’s bowl.

Nope: it’s boiling in the R/H tank back where it contacts the rear valve cover—but not while motoring along. It takes about 4 to 5 minutes after the bike sits following a run to begin. These are ’61 tanks, so contoured for Pan valve covers, and there’s light contact at the rear of no. 2 cylinder as shown in the 2nd pic. I guess the easiest fix would be to oval the hole in the frame’s mounting tab just enough to lift the tank off the engine a few thousandths…?

As for the exhaust: first chance to goose it a little after bedding the rings in gently, and… man o man is that exhaust note sexy. The slightly canted, ‘school of fish’ UK tips are starting to grow on me, though ultimately I would like to weld up an SS100-style exhaust system. Very interested in to what extent the linked mufflers might even out the back-pressure across the differing length pipes.

 

Well, I found someone in the UK reproducing the Brough Superior SS100 muffler assembly. Below is a photo. Looks pretty nice, advertised as triple chrome plated.

However, two things. First, the webpage says “inlet 2”, and my shovel heads use 1-3/4” pipe (they also sell a Brough 680 very similar assembly with 1-3/4” inlet and 2” outlet). Second, the UK-made fishtails I now have accept 1-3/4” pipe—and this outfit doesn’t offer fishtails to fit this muffler assembly.

All that said, Gasbox’s vintage Sporty mufflers are $100 each, and I’d have to beg them to pull a pair before sending off to chrome, then send them off on my dime after going to the trouble of welding things up. So, if I were to end up fitting a late-model SS100 system on this or another bike, it would make more sense to purchase one of these assemblies and fiddle with adapting them.

I may email them and see if I can get photos of the baffle setup and confirm that the vertical pipes are indeed functional crossovers and not merely structural braces connecting the cans externally.

 

Update on the SS100 muffler. Here is their reply:

"We make everything here at Armours so if you like the look of the brough we can make the inlets to your size with the baffles you require and the fishtail to fit the outlet too.” So, wow… should I decide to go with this setup at some point—on this or another bike—these guys are the way to go.

 

As for the oil consumption in no. 1 cylinder… it was precisely as I’d suspected. The bone dry valve stems in no. 1 cylinder had lifted their seals off the guides, where they just jumped up and down uselessly, as you can see. The sealing rubber rings encircling the stems were hardened from the heat and lack of lubrication, felt like they’d been in there for decades rather than recent installs.

Sure enough, the intake valve guide and intake port were literally bathed in oil inside, and the exhaust valve seat had already started to pit from heavy carbon buildup, as Johnjzjz warned if one doesn’t quickly correct a bad or misplaced stem seal. (I should’ve done it immediately and not proceeded with the 500-mile ring bedding, but no evident harm done to the rings, so no biggie.)

The intake valve seat I had recut 3,000 miles ago looks fine; the exhaust seat will need a few light turns of my Neway cutter—after which I will lap both valves and hope that the pitting that’s already started on the exhaust valve can be removed (the intake valve looks fine).

If not, this repair will amount to 1 head gasket, 1 rocker gasket, 1 exhaust doughnut, 2 stem seals, and 1 valve. But then I’ll be good to go for a few decades.


Also I was wrong about the seals. The James # JGI-18000-48-10, which The Usual Suspects call out for a '66 Shovelhead, doesfit the guides in my S&S heads. I believe those are what you see in the third photo—or they could be what comes in the Cometic top end kit for the ’66 and later Shovels. Just not sure—though they look the same as the images online of the JGI-18000-48-10.

I have no idea about the order confirmation email right around the time I did the repair to S&S’s ‘ready to run’ heads, which was for James # JGI-18001-83-A, Those are for Evos, and are far too short and the stem diameter far too small for this shovel. Perhaps I returned them back then, but I’m mystified as to why I ordered them…

Finally: the two fitment concerns people generally have and which were in the video I linked earlier are not an issue here.

First, the bottom keeper slips right over the James seal you see in the third photo and rotates just fine. Second, as for ‘headroom’ when the spring compresses, you can see that although the new seals are a smidge taller than what was in there, it looks like there’s ample room. The first and second photos show that where the seals ended up riding on the stems is far higher than the height difference between the new and old seals. Well, maybe it’s hard to see with the keeper in place in the second photo, but there’s ample headroom.

I will try to get the seats and valves restored to serviceable condition after lunch, and if I can save the exhaust valve, she’ll go back together mańana. If not, she’ll be back in service whenever I can get another Kibblewhite exhaust valve delivered.

 

The amount of oil drawn into the combustion chamber without a seal in place is substantial (first few pics). Hard to see but the cross-hatching I laid down is still intact….

The next photos show how bad the exhaust valve and seat had deteriorated in just 500 miles. The intake valve and seat were affected but considerably less.

I was afraid I’d need to ditch the exhaust valve, but was able to repair its sealing angle and the similarly affected seat with grinding compound and a small electric drill motor (low speed, reversing direction a couple of times). This was after the initial step of putting the valve(s) into the drill press, dipping some red scotchbrite in lacquer thinner, and removing the carbon. I did the same thing by hand to the seats. Here and there, I had to chip away with an old dull screwdriver blade on the valve’s mushroom (not the sealing angle, of course).

The remaining photos show the result: perfectly serviceable valves and seats, with a (still) nicely centered sealing ring, smack in the middle of the center angle I had cut 3,000 miles ago.

So, mańana I will install the head and enjoy smoke-free riding for a few decades.


No. 1 cyliinder



no. 1 combustion chamber



no. 1 exhaust



no. 1 intake stem - like a river



no. 1 exhaust seat



no. 1 intake valve


no. 1 intake seat



removing carbon



after drill press & lacquer thinner



after grinding compound - nice sealing rings



DIY three-angle valve job still good to go after lapping - but note that I’ve labeled them exactly backward, as this is the exhaust side, not intake…. the orange and yellow arrows should be flipped. Obviously, the sealing angle is the same...



end result



stem seals nestled in the right place - just visible on the left...



machined shafts still put rockers at .008” end play all the way across—no shims!



ready to rock

 

What size cam? Solid? .008 end play is too tight in my world. The smallest cam I run is a Andrew’s M grind in my 93”, but I like the S82 and my V-Thunder 630 lift cam in 103’s. The old Sifton Bandit 117 or 118 cam, can’t remember is Awesome with over 11:1 and makes a lot of power but super hard on the valve train.

I’ve been hoarding parts with the idea of building an old school dedicated drag bike. I have one of those Siftons brand new in the box. I also have the 630 V-Thunder another brand new early cone Andrew’s M, a Redshift 550 & 580S just waiting… There was some glorious 3 13/16 megaflo done heads floating around but somebody bought them… I’d like to build like a 12:1 108” . I used my aluminum rim and hubs for the springer but I still have a lot of hard to find shovel parts. Nos sifton blocks, T&O 4 3/4 wheels.. couple sets of 1970 polished rods. A couple D carbs, and I have a chromoly rigid frame.

 

I don’t know but am fairly sure the guy who built the bottom end twenty or thirty years back (who has since died) installed a stock cam. The valve gear sounds really nice to my ear with that clearance and those roller rockers in there.

Wow… sounds like you have a neat racer in mind. I hope you’ll share some pics of the project when you dive in.

I could’ve borrowed your handle today, as I finished buttoning up the Pan-Shovel late this morning, looked up at the sky, and… bummer. Big old thunderhead billowing up over the Sandias. Ah, well. I’ll fire her up tomorrow. Can’t wait to see two smokeless exhaust streams again…

Oh: I also fixed the tank-to-rocker box clearance issue by simply inserting a few shims between the rear and bottom tabs and the tank, kicking it out just enough to generate a little air gap.

 

So, I finally got a moment—and some relatively calm weather—to go for a 30-mile spin to test out the new valve stem seals. The rings are now fully bedded in, so mostly did 55-65 mph along the two-lane blacktop down to the river and then south through the reservation farm fields and back. Man, she really wants to GO.

As you can see in these ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, it was indeed the displaced valve stem seals causing the problem. Bike started easily, ran great, zero smoke.

Looks like the all-original Panhead deal will go through after all, so this Pan-Shovel is up for sale.

I’m in no hurry to sell the bike, so am going to wait to post on the classified page (and elsewhere on the web) to favor those familiar with this bike, who might want to ponder having her in their garage. I can’t extend any warranty, of course, but as documented extensively here and elsewhere, she’s been gone through from the hubs and steering neck up. Nothing to do but kick her over and ride.

Here’s a short list, some of which is documented in the original thread:


- Unmolested frame, triple trees, hubs, rear wheel. Front 21” hoop, good Michelin Commander II tires;

- 1961 tanks and emblems, aftermarket ‘70s or ‘80s fenders, so-so paint by PO’s friend has a few scratches;

- hybrid forks with chrome sliders, Harley 11.5” rotor and caliper;

- Original cases w/matching belly numbers, original tranny rebuilt by PO shifts excellent, lined with glyptal;

- New cyinders, pistons, wrist pins, Cometic MLS .040” head gaskets;

- S&S high-performance Shovel heads with Kibblewhite black diamond valves;

- Paughco side-by-side shotgun pipes with Gasbox vintage Sporty mufflers (drilled baffles), UK style fishtails (clamp on);

- 1966 OEM Shovel rocker boxes with S&S roller rocker arms, new shafts machined to .008” end play @ 12~15 lbs ft. on nuts (no shims needed);

- Two sets of polished aluminum handlebar risers (5-1/2” and 1” shown here), bars & risers drilled for internal horn and high beam wiring;

- Hydraulic kicker installed, fresh kevlar clutch with aluminum pressure plate, new springs, original kicker and mousetrap included;

- Cycle Electric generator, Yuasa battery, upgraded loom with dual blade fuses, new coil, E-Beyond pointless ignition, LED headlamp and brake lights;

- S&S Super E with S&S teardrop air cleaner plus CNC machined Red River Hogs K&N unit with hand-formed aluminum lid (shown);

- Oil cooler with hand-fabricated and polished aluminum bracket (not shown);

- Rich Phillips hand-tooled leather saddle with upgraded foam.


Depending on the offer I end up accepting, I may include the Stewart Warner Police Special speedo I rebuilt (per another thread) and which has an inline cable ratio adapter to run on this bike's 2:1 tranny. Looks awfully cool on this bike.

Cash offers only, clear NM title in hand.

P.S. - looking at those new Champions in today’s photo… that company’s quality control has gone downhill. Is it just me, or do those electrodes look different lengths? I mean, nothing made contact or anything, but geez…

 

Okay, I’ve got to get my nickels and dimes together to buy the ’62, so am placing the ad for this bike this afternoon. Just a heads up…