You may remember the wee chunk missing from one of the head fins, previously documented for the avoidance of doubt and future embarrassment. Fortunately, my neighbour is a career welder and—either out of kindness or curiosity—agreed to patch it up for me. Today was judgement day.
I set off for his garage around 2 pm, embarking on what can only loosely be described as a journey. The sidewalks were glazed over nicely thanks to a recent winter storm, turning a short walk into a low-budget audition for Dancing on Ice. Still, it’s only door-to-door, which is comforting when you’re contemplating how far an engine head might fly if things go wrong.
The photos above show the arrangement Steve put together on his welding table, with the welder sulking quietly in the corner. He spent a fair bit of time persuading the shielding gas to make an appearance, as it stubbornly refused to cooperate on either the trigger or the foot pedal.
Whether this was due to the cold, a wiring control issue, or the machine simply taking offence at being asked to work in winter remains unclear. That said, some strategic fiddling with the cable connections eventually produced results, which in the world of welding is generally considered a sound diagnostic method. The cold, however, remains under suspicion.
The photos above show the build-up at various stages of shaping. Steve made use of a pneumatic Dremel for the rougher work, along with a hacksaw to remove the inner chunk and allow the file to get properly between the fins—because subtlety only gets you so far with aluminium and cold fingers.
All told, the job was wrapped up in roughly 90 minutes, and that figure generously includes a fair amount of off-topic discussion. In other words, not bad going, and nobody lost any skin or sanity, which counts as a successful afternoon.
The image to the left shows the finished repair on the fin, and against all reasonable expectations, it actually looks good.
No obvious bodges, no artistic liberties—just a solid repair that blends in nicely. How it all came together quite so well remains something of a mystery, but I’m fairly sure Willie would approve. Possibly even nod. Steve keeps his expert welder badge of honor (was never a doubt).
As for the piston rings, the latest update is less triumphant. They failed to arrive at Eleanor’s mum’s place during her visit, which means they’ll now need to be forwarded via international mail once they finally show up. That honour will fall to either her mum or her sister. Realistically, this pushes things to Monday.
It was a good plan at the time. And that, in itself, deserves some recognition.
looks great was it tig welded or mig
Tig. He did great job building it up and then the cleanup. Very pleased
Hi BRIAN.
Isn’t it great that Steve and Barb are always ready for their fantastic neighbors.
Take care.
Arnold
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