HOW TO: RECYCLE OLD CAR PARTS

Stuck for valves for your flat tank 350 Sunbeam? I repurposed these from an old Ford Transit.

step 1

by Classic Bike Team |
Published on

1: The guides and valve stems in my mate Richard’s 350 Sunbeam sidevalve are badly worn and hard to find... but they look similar to this inlet I salvaged from a scrap Transit with a ‘banana’ head engine.

step 2

2: Although the valve head is the same diameter, the seating angle is ground at 30°, not the 45° of the Sunbeam. Luckily I have a valve refacing grinder which will sort that out.

step 3

3: At 9mm the stems are a useful 11 thou larger than the 11/32in Sunbeam originals. Reboring the guide with a 9mm reamer removes wear from the old guide, leaving it as good as new.

step 4

4: I’d also salvaged the spring collar and collets from the Ford engine, which worked fine with the original spring. So, after lapping in with valve grinding paste, the valves are fitted and ready to go.

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