Dude, when you race vintage, you need a sense of humor. I mean, for the money I invested in this bike, I could have bought a nice slightly used modern Italian V4 that would be much much faster and (kinda more) reliable.
I know a guy, he could weld it and straighten it too. But he's in Calif, http://gpframeandwheel.com/index.html He probably has the correct numbers for the frame too since there were more than a few racing them in the AFM.
Yahoo Auctions JP. There are frames on there all the time for very reasonable prices BTW. https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search...oq=&sc_i=&exflg=1&p=NC30+フレーム&x=0&y=0&fixed=0
Only one on here that I’d trust to weld it is Britt, sure there may be others as well. Call Framecrafters, I’d bet they can take care of it if it’s something worth fixing.
Awww WTF does Britt know about welding? He's just some long haired hippie that lives in a ChickenHouse on some Ball Ground in N. Georgia. I shit you not. I was on a plane trip back from Pittsburgh after opening day for the Pirates and the dude sitting next to me (can't remember his name as it was first class and the cocktails were free flowing) but he mentioned Matt Lynn and I mentioned racing with him in WERA and Britt and he told me he was on his way to visit them shortly. Talk about a small world. The look of shock on his face was priceless when I mentioned Ball Ground and Britt's welding prowess.
looks like it was welded t00 hot..problem with bike frames. the metal type isn't listed...(could be 7000 series, could be 6000 etc)...it also looks dirty...4 sure heat treat but again... what type of aluminum...different schedules for different alloys http://www.esabna.com/us/en/education/blog/how-to-avoid-cracking-in-aluminum-alloys.cfm
Thanks. I think the welds look good, but what do I know. Guy that did them worked for Rothmans Honda in the day, I am told. I'll try to find out his name.
I’m no expert welder by any means especially with aluminum, but to me it looks like the metal was not cleaned enough. If I were you I would run that by someone who inspects weld integrity or at least a qualified welder like Britt.
What he said. I've been in this industry for 25 years - there's something going on with these marks around the sloping section at the top. I thought they were chipping hammer dings at first but there's no slag on aluminum welds - arc strikes? It also looks like he welded over the crack as opposed to excavating it. I'm basing that off the assumption that that is the 'factory weld' on the left, I couldn't see the need for a multi-pass weld on that type of joint. But that's just my opinion...
IMO, it is too late for 2nd guessing...kind of like getting a tatoo. Unless you have photos of the prep work, you don't know much except what you see...