Hello Mr. 59 / 57 Birmingham,
If worst comes to worst and you can not move the pistons, drill the top of the pistons and get into them with a die grinder and large course burr and chew away behind the rings, then pretend you are working on a Harley and smash the ring and bits of piston with a cold chisel. If it frees up after that it was the rings that were stuck, if not you will have to split the piston with the burr and probably a sacrificial screwdriver. If you buy or borrow equipment make sure that you can reach far enough down the bore with it. Aluminium is a pain with burr’s, rubbing french chalk on the burr helps a bit, as with files.
I have never had a problem with dumping moderatly heated casting ionto cold water, I have dumped 125 K.T.M. castings and 50’s Matchless singles into cold water on many occasions. The only problem encountered was the a bent conrod on the K.T.M. Twice, in four years. I learnt something from that, avoid crashing in rivers.
I know iron oxide, and most other metal oxides are considered insolubile in water but the only reason water is used is it is a low viscosity fluid. Anything of similar or lower viscosity will do. But water is cheap and non flammable etc. I know Keith spent a day dissassembling a late teens or early 20’s Velo when the previous owner had tried for 20 years to dissassemble it. To the previous owners credit he had not destroyed anything.
Geoff
