Hitchcocks Forum

I have recently acquired a 1955 RE Meteor 700cc, since only 5 meteor were shipped to the island of Cyprus the local mechanics do not have much experience with these bikes so I have an issue which I hope you can resolve. The engine seems to have been badly damaged, i.e broken cylinder barrels, broken conrod, and they will be replaced however on the upper part of the crankcase where the 2 cylinder barrels slide in there are small factory holes in the inside on the left and right side of the aluminum crankcase, 2 these holes are approximately 20mm diameter however because the bike has been badly damaged one of the holes seems to have been damaged also, it has been further opened up to around 38mm, with its surface being uneven.

The question is whether it should somehow been restored to its previous size or since that part will be closed and sealed when the cylinder barrels will slide in it doesn’t really matter if it has been slightly opened up.

P.S pictures are available if u can send me your email

Many thanks
Patrick

Hi Pat, I think you are describing the holes cut into the crankcase wall through into the camshaft tunnels at the front and back? If a con-rod has broken these are often damaged by the rod as it flails round. You can repair these with JB weld or liquid steel like Devcon or by using a good epoxy glue to position a thin piece of alloy sheet in place. As long as you can create a trough for the camshaft to sit in oil, that will be enough. This oil drains back down the pushrod tunnels from the rockers, fills the trough then overflows back to the crankcase oil pick up point. If you want to post photos look at the instructions in the Lucas SR magneto post on here right now.

REgards, Mark

Thanks Mark
I have managed to post some pictures...., in the picture that shows both cylinders you can see the difference in size in the holes.
From your experience do you thing that the ''wrong'' hole needs to be repaired somehow?

Pat, yes, the hole that has broken right through should be repaired, you should get away with leaving the other one although I'd dress the damaged alloy at the edge so that the barrel will drop n without obstruction. I'd do a dry build after repair to make sure that the glue or liquid metal doesn't obstruct the hole you repair. These holes are very variable in size as originally produced, (this is due to the variable thickness of the original sand-casting technique used to make the cases in the first place,) so as long as you end up with a trough for the camshaft to dip the cam lobes in oil you should be ok. Personally I think there's so much oil splash going on with the oil returning from the rockers that it may not be completely necessary to reconstruct the trough but as you live in a hot climate it might be sensible to do it anyway! I've seen loads of twin engines where this damage has occurred and not been repaired and they seem to manage ok. Nice looking project you have there, the soft torquey power delivery of the Meteor will suit your roads very well! Good luck with it and post again if you need help or advice on parts.

REgards, Mark

Hey

while i was trying to find the missing parts for my Meteor 700cc i came across in a local shop a complete 500cc enfield twin engine in a fairly good condition and at a reasonable price and i would like to ask you whether i can use the bottom part of engine since i am looking for con rods, crank cases, crank etc. As far as i know the conrods most probably will not be the same but how about crank cases, barrels, crank etc.

Regards

Patrick

Just to clarify i do not want to modify my Meteor 700cc to 500cc but simply to use some of the 500cc engine parts on my Meteor 700cc engine and not loosing its power