Hitchcocks Forum

Hi everyone, some of you will know that I've had problems with my Connie since the day I bought it. I have now saved enough money to rebuild it. I have ordered new cylinders & pistons, I will also be fitting mushroom tappet adjusters. I am on intimate terms with the top end of the engine & the timing cover & its contents. I have never been inside the crankcase of a Redditch twin - the reason for going there is (for my peace of mind) check the conrods, bearings, crank etc BUT I would also like to ERADICATE once & for all the irritating oil leak between the crankcase halves near the rocker feeds. I did have an article by J Gander (Gander & Gray) on how to cure the problem but cant find the magazine. Can anyone enlighten me on how they solved the problem on their engine? Are there any pitfalls/ potential problems whilst dismantling the bottom end? Any advice regarding removing the engine from the frame? Any tips & advice would be greatly appreciated & I thank you for your time. I hope to start the strip/rebuild within the next few weeks. May thanks & best regards, Mark

Hi, camshaft nuts are lefthand thread and don't forget the two screws between barrels accessed by two large screw heads on driveside case. Heat up cases if crank a tight fit. Also two nuts need removing from studs by camshafts. Vince

Hi Mark, I did mine last winter with good advice from Mark M, same oil leak now cured, there is a groove cut in one crankcase face joining the crankcase to the oil tank this I welded up, also then oil feed to the top end I changed to a one into four feed and tapped and plugged the timing side to prevent oil crossing to the drive side case but left a dummy feed pipe up the back of the engine for original looks,

Hi Marko.
I make a habit of scanning any article I find in old bike magazines, focussing on RE and Matchy’s, and then pass the magazine on to others. I haven’t found an article on the Interceptor by Mr Gander, but I have one from Jack Gray which discusses, inter alia, the crankcase and oiling issues of “RE 700cc Twins”. It is in Classic Mechanics 1986 January and is 7 pages long. Send me an email contact and I’ll send you the copies ofthe pages.

It may be that ifit's not the correct article, the same magazine might have one by Mr Gander in a nearby issue.

Cheers, ChrisD

Hi Marko

I cured the leak at the rear end by doing the following.

Using a standard Kitchen cabinet jointing bolt ..You know the ones that connect two adjacent kitchen cabinets to each other. The metal ones not the plastic variety

I cut one down to about 1/4" in length which produced a hollow dowel if you like for want of a better description.

Counter bored the oil way in the crank cases just enough to insert the dowel with a bit of locktite on one side and a sliding fit on the other basically forming a bridge between the two oil ways.

Reassembled with suitable sealant and it's never leaked since. At least not from there!!

Sounds like a bodge but its invisible and it works!

Tom

Hi Chris, my email is [email protected] it would be interesting to see the article you mention. Tom what you mention makes perfect sense, I found similar info in a copy of the Gun but it took me hours of sifting through all the online copies to get there. I also found a helpful article (I think its from the Gun too) on the Interceptor owners group on Yahoo re oil leaks & breathing. New std bore cylinders (Hitchcocks)& NOS Hepolites (BBB) have arrived - I was surprised how different the shape of the Hepolite is compared to the Indian made pistons. Poor bike has just got to survive till next Saturday when hopefully it'll make an appearance of some sort at the Gloucester "Retro Festival" - after that I can begin taking things apart & sort it out from the bottom up thanks for all the replies