CA77 Crank Differences

[conbs]

I have a '64 Dream (CA78 - 1011XX). The engine appears to be a very early 1960 type (CA77E A10071. I bought the bike with the engine in a basket. When I got it together I found the stator end of the crank is bent.
I bought a crank on Ebay a few months ago (without proper study) and unfortunately didn't get the engine number from which it came. Now have learned that there are differences among CA77 cranks. (I tell my kids, "Education is ALWAYS expensive)

To determine what path to take:

1. Since this is a very early engine and apparently rare, is it worth more to someone else than it is to me? If so, perhaps I could let them worry about the crank. Is it worth more to someone else?

2. If I try to put the Ebay crank in, what issues do I need to look for? I found Bill Silver's Dream restoration guide and it indicates there was a change in cranks when they went from ball to roller bearings but he doesn't say just what the change was. How do I figure out if the Ebay crank will fit?

3. Can I put the stator end of the Ebay crank on the original crank? I saw a reference to a change in "splines" at one point in production, but I couldn't tell where the change was or how it changed. Are there other issues involved with this course of action?

I am getting ready to take the engine apart and would appreciate knowing what to look for as I do.

Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this.

[conbs]

Bill Silver gave the following response:

"I am surprised to hear about a bent crankshaft snout on a 250-305cc engine.
They are pretty stout and I would have thought that force enough to bend one
would have broken it right off.

"In any case, you can use the correct rotor puller tool to get the rotor off,
then remove the woodruff key, the inner starter clutch hub slides off. The
outer starter clutch portion bolts to the back of the rotor.

"http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-c72_model743 ... t/E10.html The three
springs, caps and rollers are still available from Honda.

"The only splines on the end of the crankshaft are to hold the primary drive
sprocket. That spline dimension was changed, but you just use the matching
sprocket to go with it. Everything else will fit, just fine.

"The rotor ends are all the same."