I needed to rebuild my carb and I was leaking oil from the back of the intake so thought I might as well replace those while I was at it. Got the carb off, stripped it and cleaned the body and the small bits are soaking in the bucket now. Man, there was a bit of gunk in there and one of the venturi was completely clogged with gunk.

So, when I go the intake off I saw something I had never seen before.



I've never seen this red before. I don't think it's corrosion, it's uniformly smooth, more like a coating.



If it is a coating of some sort, it appears to be flaking off at the front wall.



So how should I treat this mess? Just wipe it down clean? Also, I don't have a wire brush for my drill to clean the old gasket material off. Could I use acetone and steel wool? I also have carb cleaner and brake cleaner, if that would be better.

I'm going back out now to finish up the carb, and I'll check back later.

Thanks.

 

When it was rebuilt someone painted it. IMO never a good idea because no matter what you do to prep it the chance is always there for it to peel off as you can see.

 

Why in the world would someone paint under the intake? If that's what it is, the did an excellent job of masking.

 

Glyptal.

We used to use it as a porosity sealant and to promote oil drainback in older British motorcycles.

 

Clean up went a lot easier than I thought with a razor blade, some brake cleaner, steel wool and a rag. Now comes the hard part -- getting the intake back on by myself without messing up the end gaskets.

 

All back together. A little tweaking of the carb and timing and it's running better than ever. Got a water leak at the t-stat housing though. I hate the cheap-*** flimsy gasket you get in the "kits". I'll go tomorrow and try to find a "real" gasket.

 

I think you're right. I was looking at it online and that looks like the stuff. Never heard of it, and never used it on a Norton...

 

...I used to have a Combat with a primary case that would weep like a sponge.

Dry belt drive conversions were REALLY expensive, and no one had explained that Loctite green would do the same thing.
So, yeah, I had some in my bike.

I've never had any trouble sealing the thermostat housing.
Are you sure the 'ears' of the housing aren't bent?
FWIW, I always drill a tiny (3/32") hole in the flange of my thermostat to make it easier to fill.

 

I had a Combat as well, man I regret the day I ever let that bike go. I had a little drip at the primary, but it wasn't anything I couldn't live with.

I was pretty careful putting the housing back on. Tried not to tighten it too much and tried to make sure I tightened it evenly. I'll check it this morning before I leave for work.