I'm diggin' this topic & I hope to get some ideas offn you guys, while building my Rollfast I wanted to do my best to make the HT look as old school as possible... but I eventually decided to let the engine itself age naturally while distracting the eye with brass and copper doodads wherever possible. Leather too - but I've not gotten to that yet lol
There was some cool suggestions made, like gun-bluing treatment for the aluminum case & what you guys are chatting about - reshaping the cylinder & head for a more rounded look, I even thought about Rock Solid's round billet head... but I got a lil worried about a few things as I went along. Don't get me wrong - I'm not sayin' it's impossible or even a bad idea, I just had some concerns is all lol
The gun bluing treatment would be easy and inexpensive & because it's just a liquid dye there's some different color options - I really don't think there'd be an easier, faster way to add a vintage appearing patina/old iron look (it's not actually blue BTW), but I had the thought that I ride the heck outa my builds and I wondered how the treatment would withstand the abuse as I use my ride as a commuter. While it might age in well and look even better/older - it might just as easily just get scratched and silly looking. As I was "experimenting" with too many other things at the time I dropped this good idea (I think it was Tom/2door's) & let the engine age naturally - but ya might wanna look into it, it's only like $20 for a quality cold-bluing treatment kit:
Blue Wonder Gun Bluing Kit : Cabela's and here's some examples of how it looks:
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/22762860/378856564.jpg
As for reshaping the cylinder - once I actually got into it I realized that as the castings for the fins was
so bad that by the time I dressed just the deformities out I had already lost about 1/8-1/4" off the outer radius, I decided I was pushing my luck as it was and dropped the idea of a round cylinder also - going for just a tidy look instead... challenge enough with the casting the way it was lol here's some before & after pics;
(click to view)
So I rolled with just accessorizing instead heh, using an older style fuel bowl/filter/petcock (NAPA part# 7-02350) and copper fuel line - the right side of the engine & CNS is less noticed (I hope anyway), the left side was a lil harder to distract from as there's not much to put there - but I added the fuel sight gauge on the left with that thought in mind & the fact the right side was getting "cluttered" anyway - adding in copper straps instead of conduit clamps to hold the tank in place and a lil brass thingie to hide the 1/2 round hole left from the forward motor mount;
These are build pics ofc, I've been riding the heck outa the bike and the copper, brass, even the engine itself is tarnishing & wearing nicely. The bike isn't done (they never are right?), this is all a "preliminary" set up - I'll be tearing it back down and repainting it "final" this winter, I may even try the gun bluing trick & I'll be definitely be keepin' an eye out for any tips/ideas you guys have - I've about run out lol
Here's some more up to date shots... though I've finished the rear fender (no more gap) & some other stuff since then, the chain oil stains & other filth is coming along nicely heh;