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Slaughterhouse Sally 63 Pan

47K views 249 replies 34 participants last post by  slvrx 
#1 · (Edited)
After a profitable year and being able to comfortably pay taxes I decided to get a Panhead. After looking locally I hit the auction site. $25-30K was way outta budget and the only thing that caught my eye was this 63 swingarm.

Of course I cringed when I saw the color and the pinstripes. Not to mention the shop name all over it. Found the same thing listed on Craigs and made contact. A deal was made and owner took listing off of auction site.

Onto the Porn.....

As she sits today.


The Glory Days.


Should be obvious to all that Suckerpunch built this bike. Not much info on their build as far as I can find. Lots of info on shop after Old Man Clayton burned a few.

So I pick her up last Sunday in BFE Oklahoma. Damn near Kansas border.
Owner Nick does a cold start ritual, and no dice. Waits a few and tries again. Glory Be, she's a runner ! Rocker clutch and Jockey shift. This will be interesting as I have never ridden that setup. Gravel road also. While my wife makes chit-chat w owner I tootle down the drive only to kill it at the road. Fuck. I hope she starts again. She does and off I go. I'm good till time to turn around. Back into first. Wait, where is first again ? Got it. Painful amount of gas and ease the clutch only to rocket down the gravel road with shit flying everywhere. Oh yeah, interesting. I manage to not look like a retard when pulling into driveway only to realize the brakes are shitty. Well, its a long driveway and I make a stop. Big grin on my face and off to do some paperwork ($).

The good:

Clean paperwork.
Recent(verifiable) rebuild on engine. Longbow Customs. See Facebook for build.
Factory frame, transmission, forks.

The bad:

Did I mention it has Suckerpunch all over it ?
Not a fan of turquoise.
Shovel swingarm/brakes.
Lack of braking.
It has Suckerpunch all over it
Seat is lame.
Super B w/ Superbowl is a bit funky when she's hot. Starting ritual is being worked out between she and I.
And it has Suckerpunch all over it.







Kick pedal looks like a chick on rollerskates and a cowboy hat taking a dump. Classy !
 
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#2 · (Edited)
So, a little practice with the rocker clutch around the neighborhood and pull her up to my driveway only to dump the clutch and kill it. God damn it. Oh well, I figure it out soon. let her cool down and take a look at the brakes. Rear has nothing so I look into master cylinder, add some fluid and pump away. Not building pressure. Nothing but a minor amount air and some residual fluid from caliper. Take a closer look at master and find a crack along threads.



So i give up on that and move to the front brake. Service Manual shows an adjuster w nut so I give it a 1/4 turn and tighten it up. Seems better.

While I'm looking around I see a couple welds on brake lever.



I assume the extension is to get you past the B carb.

I poke around some more and find this...



Not sure what the wrench is for. Anyone wanna guess ?

So, this afternoon (Tuesday) I take her for a spin to test front brakes and get some clutch time in. I venture out of the 'hood and onto the city streets. The rocker clutch is still an oddball to me but getting better. Front brake feels better, but makes a good squeak at full stop.

About half an hour into the ride and it feels like the engine is struggling to make power. Hmmm, getting slower and slower.
Fuck. Back brake is locked up. Of course I kill the engine with the clutch in the process. Double fuck. Stuck in middle of a lane 20 feet away from a driveway. Wave traffic past me only to have a local cop stop by for a look. "Hey officer, got a pair of vicegrips ?" He digs out some cheap-ass Leatherman copy and I get to loosening up the bleeder. An evil hiss and steamed brake fluid comes a-bubblin' . So I push her into the driveway and wait. Back bleeder all the way out and not only does the tiny bleeder come out but also the threaded insert. Plus some teflon tape.

So much for banana brake and wagner master. I have a Fab Kevin Jap bracket in hand and Tokico on the way. I know it will look odd but I gotta stop. Searching for make-do 5/8" master cylinder until I decide if shovel swingarm gets the yank.
 
#3 · (Edited)
She has a couple of leaks and chain lube all over the left side.

The culprit...



Front Cover. Looks like a blind hole and screw is bottomed out. Yep, broke fin also. A little nervous to tighten it up. I may try to get it out w/o pulling the tank to see how long it is. Next to it has a screw showing under mounting fin so it may be too long.

Carb goo also...

 
#11 ·
Vent goo is pretty normal on a Super B. That fender hinge needs a little attention.

I'd also be a little wary of the nuts on the clutch hub; that might fuck you on the side of the road one day. Those are a mishmash of bullshit with external locking star washers; the correct setup has the notched nuts and corresponding teats on the pressure plate.

I'd probably pop for some new rocker box hardware. If you're broke, a stack of washers might get you where you need to be.

Is the 11/16" possibly for the clutch pushrod adjuster locknut? They're usually 9/16" on a four-speed clutch, but maybe you have one of those odd-ducky Evo diaphragm things? Incidentally, it looks like your adjuster hangs way out. Might just be the angle of the photo, but given some of the bodgy stuff on there, maybe it would be a good idea to see exactly what's going on there in Clutchtown.
 
#17 ·
That fender hinge needs a little attention.

Cotter Pin is so Fopressional.

I'd probably pop for some new rocker box hardware. If you're broke, a stack of washers might get you where you need to be.

I tightened up the allen screws today. 1 on the front felt a little soft when snugged. So far so good.

Is the 11/16" possibly for the clutch pushrod adjuster locknut? They're usually 9/16" on a four-speed clutch,

My thought too. Yup, 9/16". Im gonna need a fist full of wrenches when I ride.

but given some of the bodgy stuff on there, maybe it would be a good idea to see exactly what's going on there in Clutchtown.
So far clutch hasn't complained yet.
 
#13 ·
Can't tell from the typing, but I hope you're taking this in stride and feeling excited for the adventure you've embarked upon.

So far all this looks like a combo of usual old bike BS and work by an image-focused shop.

Split MC is from gorilla-fisting. I've done it too. Goes like this . . .
1) use janky old brake line with banged up flare or a half-ass flare PO made at some point
2) wonder why it leaks
3) fixing correctly takes too long
4) gorilla fist the fitting
5) (optional) round off the fitting for lack of a flare nut wrench or a clue
6) deal with it that way for a while until you realize safety issue or are feeling legit
7) throw away the MC that you wrecked and start over

Boiling brake fluid has a couple possible explanations . . .

* residual pressure valve in MC when used with disk brakes. Pads drag and boil the juice.
* front exhaust header WAY too close to to MC and brake line, boiling it in the line and dragging the brake

Kicker pedal might just be a past Cleveland steamer fetish by PO. Roll with it as testament to "different strokes for different folks", which you not only believe in but allow others to live as well right?

Valve covers . . . get real fasteners and start over. Might as well check rocker arm condition while you're in there.

Super B gonna Super B. Still a nice carb until the throttle shaft boss gets so wallered out it starts sucking air and starting and idling poorly. Never had any luck with add-on accel pump. No way to adjust the delivery. Soaks the shit out of the motor with raw fuel every time you turn the throttle. Maybe an early version of rolling coal back when the drugs were stronger?

Half-ass tool kit that looks like an Instagram pic from a cool kid group ride to Mexico? You can figure that one out.

Keep on keeping on. You can't fail to learn and have fun if you look at it right.

Jason
 
#18 ·
shovithead,

Im taking it all in stride. I appreciate your input and interesting way of speaking(so to speak). By all means, anyone can chime in with tech/comedy. My posts are a meant to "cheeky".
 
#19 ·
I like this story. Good read.

Chop it up and make a long bike.

Ditch that POS rocker clutch. I HATE them more than I hate sportsters.

Wait...This isn't my bike. Carry on and don't pay attention to the caveman in the corner.
 
#21 ·
Yesterday, instead of wrenching, the wife, dog and I went to a local "lake". Nice afternoon and after 3 hours of tossing balls for the dog, I was ready to go. The dog wanted more ball time and I relented. While dealing w/ a dog thats very protective(German Shepard), I noticed he was keeping an eye on 3 young men swimming. The 3 swimmers went out about 100', goofed around for a bit and started back. 1 in particular was not a strong swimmer and the other 2 were ahead of him. Then I watch him go under. 5 seconds later he reappears. A fearful yelp out of him and back under he goes. I give the leash and sunglasses to the wife, kick of my shoes and holler "he's been down there for awhile" to the 2 guys as they finally touch bottom. They stare out looking for the friend as I start their way. 1 gets hip to whats happening and yells "911, call 911". The other is in disbelief. At that point, its been 15-20 seconds. Another bystander, the 1 friend, I start trying to find the guy. No such luck. 1st responders appear and we have 6 looking. Still not finding him. After 30 minutes I gotta get out and console the wife who is a wreck. The dog is cool. He understands when Mommy is in distress. Still looking for him today. God rest his soul.

So to alleviate the stress I have built up, I go out into the garage and wrench.

This is what I found today...


Banana bleeder and repair insert, heat welded together.

I decide to ditch the well designed and executed hardline from rear master to brake switch and find this...



Nicely done ! Notice the well braided termination ? I think I need a doobie and reflect on this piece of alien technology at work here.
 
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#35 ·
After 10 years, they have smoke in the pipes, it jumps out of 2nd gear and needs rewiring.
I bought a '63 Panhead in '73. The wiring was OK, 'cept for where the wiring for the 13 taillights was spliced in. It did smoke a little and it did jump out of 2nd gear. The seller told me about the 2nd gear thing. I still have it. I'm enjoying this thread.
 
#24 ·
Love that Russ! haha.

I feel your pain though Tater, like you I bought a panhead unlike you I was 3400 miles away and relied on the guy to be "decent" I bought a lemon, which the dude had taken all the good parts, starhubs, straight leg frame juice drum etc and put back cheep late shovelhead parts, every seal in the tranny and top end including mainshaft were fucked if I moved the bike side to side fast oil splashed out.

So I feel your pain, 3 years in and a lot of support from these guys I have a real solid 54 pan which runs well. I blew a head gasket last weekend so my topend is now off waiting for gaskets from the US. As everybody here will attest, unless you're buying from somebody well known and you can trust take it apart and do it right. The fucker I bought it off had angle grinded parts down to fit... rather than measure or get actuals!
 
#26 ·
Pulled rear wheel/brake combo last night. Wheel seems OK. Banana/boomerang into the small but growing pile of recyclables.

Like a good proctologist, I examine the ass end of things. Best to glove up for this operation, she's kinda greasy back there.

I first notice the kick side, outboard trans mount nut is loose. Damn near to the ends of threads. I assumed it was a stud/nut combo. Nope. Bolt hanging by the last thread. Only saved by oil breather line. Good for an out loud "WTF ? " and a shrug of the shoulders. BTW, brake line T-block had no mount. You guessed it, tie-wrapped to frame.

Chain guard made laugh also. 1/4-20 bolt/nut/washer combo thru what was left of 5/16 bushing. Mount hole looking nasty too. Break out the Harbor Freight tap and die set. Before anyone chimes in on HF tools, let me tell you this. The tap/die set has lasted almost 20 years. They even marked about half of the set with correct diameter and pitch. The rest are blank and require a machinist knowledge to determine. I have an easier method. Looks like the bolt I wanna use, run it thru. Works well.



Next up was chain. That thing swung way out when removing wheel. Great for clearance. Not so good for longevity. On the list of shit to get. Speaking of clearance, I suppose the clutch arm needed some so break out the chain saw.



Close to the bend and pinched skinny when forged. Plenty of meat left so it stays. I hope.

Im starting to believe the wrench attached to frame with bailing wire is actually a splint. Wrap the wound and tie it off. Oh, dear Lord, please just be for looks and not hiding a crack in the frame.

Swing arm moves up and down with relative ease. Some resistance. Lift it up and watch it sink. That kept me entertained for a few minutes. Tie-wraps on shock collars to keep it all together. You could call it plunger swingarm at this point.

So now I wait for the boys in shorts with trucks full of cardboard to arrive.
Brake components and their way.
 
#28 ·
I have helped a few people repair bikes from cool guy shops now.

Some of the shit I've seen doing so is terrifying.

Those shops come and go. ("There's a sucker {punch} born every minute" - P.T. Barnum)

The people who rescue the bikes, make them whole, and ride the shit out of them are the converted!

So it all serves a purpose.

In '97 I bought a pile-of-parts bike (although not from a shop) that turned out to have every hack/issue you've shown so far and plenty more.

Taught me a lot.

I've put 140K miles on it since then ;-0

Jason

 
#29 ·
Curiosity killed the cat. I just HAD to look under the header wrap and 11/16" wrench. Im getting "Punch" drunk from this "Sucker".





A lil more chain rash also. That weld looks like the bubble gum under a bus stop bench.



A bit if rust along casting. Fuck. I can live with a shitty looking weld( Im not that much better) but come on. At least cut a groove along casting and stitch it up. Only the gusset is doing the work. Let me guess...rear hit left round swingarm/rim mangled. visible crack in frame, so you weld 'er up and swap a shovel ass onto it. Genius. I know how to fix this. Slaughterhouse style.



OK, OK. Not a fix but another cover up. At some point the tins are coming off to finally rid myself and Ol' Sally of the paint. At that point I will have more room after oil tank is out to do something more elegant.
 
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