UPDATEAs promised, an update on the removal of the blind, gearbox input shaft bearing from the offside crankcase.
Today, I paid a visit to a new welding/fabrication business, just down the road in Perth, Scotland. Marc had a shufty at the bearing and case and proceeded to weld the head and 10mm stub of the 10mm bolt that I supplied to the inner race of the offending bearing. I was told "No charge", but slipped the man a fiver for his gas and time.
Got home and fired up the fan oven to 110°C, popped the case in and gave it 30 minutes to warm through after the thermostat went 'OFF'. Hauled the case out of the oven, put it on the Black&Decker "Playmate", with some 2" wood blocks beneath it and used a straight sided punch through the pushrod seal hole and a trusted 2lb kinetic energy device to remove the bearing, with two blows!
A good result.
Now to clean up the case, remove the wee bit of weld splatter and then give the case a good srub in plenty of hot water, with industrial cleaner, followed by a good flush in all the orifices using the garden hose. Then check all the galleries and thread holes for hidden/stuck nasties that might need winkling out, before another wash routine.
The attached images give some idea of the condition of the inside of the engine on stripping, with only 1,400 miles indicated on the speedo and Nigel Lacey assessing maybe as little as 1,000 miles use from the presence of factory grinding marks still on the crankpin. Followed by a "before" and "after" shot of the bearing removal.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Good health, Bill