Engine Cooling

[RJag]

Hi all,<br /><br />I am working on a 65 honda dream Ca77,<br /><br />I have been trying to figure out how to get the head and cylnder to look presentable. The metal it is made of is poor and it has oxidized badly over the past 40yrs. I was considering doing a cleanup with some aluminum rim cleaner/degreaser and then painting the fins with black hi heat engine paint, then using a sander with fine paper to strip the paint off of the ends of the fins and shine em up... <br /><br />Only problem is that I don't know if this will affect how the engine cools. <br /><br />Any opinons out there?<br /><br />Rick

[51ratt]

no effect on cooling, as the fins disipate heat the same..us car (well, i normally build cars, but look at me now) guys do it ALLLLL the time... seen this done a million times, never on a dream though (might look great), some bikes even come from the factory like that, like newer yamahas etc.... wont give you any troubles man, GO FOR IT!!! i was thinkin of using what us car guys call bumper grey, but im not sure it will hold the heat, so im goin for a nice grey color, with same idea of polishing fins... ive seen this before, looks stock, but nice.. if u want the more outrageous look, go for the black, or maybe even a dark grey, that could look REALLLLy nice too cause difference wouldnt be as noticeable... i think drastic things on dreams dont look as good... but what do i know? LOL, its your bike... if you are gonna paint though, spend the money and get a kit and rebuild the top end... make the bike worth more, run better, etc... this is something i need to do BADLY, but dont have time, and im a lil scared in all honesty (would LOVE To do rings and gaskets on mine, but cant find anywhere with 150 rings

[Pigeonalley]

I have seen this done on the cylinder, but not the head. These parts were painted originally so I can’t see why painting them should cause much of a problem.<br /> I would not put multiple coats on them, or take much off the fins. I would recommend you clean between the fins with a “scotch-bright” before you paint and be careful not to bend or brake any! They are much more delicate then you might think. <br /> <br /> Rick, I know you know all of this. It was just a comment for other “newbies” like myself. Please keep us up to date and take pictures I would lone to see how it is going. <br /><br />Rob<br /><br />

[j666laz]

I had my engine rebuilt while I was restoring my '67 Dream. The guy that did the engine work had the exposed parts bead-blasted and powder painted. It came out great. You should be able to find someone to do this locally.<br /><br />Jeff L.

[RJag]

That looks really nice!<br /><br />Good job!