A weak Saturday Nite Live reference there... anyway, the last session saw us fabricate some new gaskets for the sidecovers. We removed them to get them refinished (Mr. S ended up polishing them with some equipment at home), and in the process tore some of the stock gaskets. Rather than order/buy new ones, we decided to make our own, using some gasket paper Mr. Sheppard dug up at home. An exacto knife, some scissors, and a hole punch had us make some replacements.
A steady hand an some patience, using a stock gasket as a template, got us what we needed. We did end up tearing one gasket. I think a sharper/newer blade would have made things easier... a famous saying is, "there is nothing more dangerous than a dull knife!"
While gaskets were being created, the trusty dremel tool made an appearance. A number of tabs needed to be removed in order to fit the manx seat. We borrowed the face/eye protection from the MCI shops.
A slow process, but it needs to be done.
Finally, the Ultrasonic Cleaner Mr. Sheppard ordered showed up. Kinda looks like a mini deep fryer.
The fuel petcock parts were pretty gummed up -- the fuel had begun to "varnish" over the 35-odd years it had been used. However, after a few cleaning cycles, the difference is visible. I think a more roboust machine would do it in one cleaning cycle, but those were far more expensive. The best part is it uses plain water, so no messing with gasoline, varsol, or worse yet, acetone. The students may do a science project for their academic class on how exactly ultrasonic machines work ('cause Mr. Sheppard has no clue!)
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