Sweet looking little thumper for $400, wouldn't you say? Almost seems too good to be true.







But you see, this bike comes with a story. And I love bikes with a story. It seems the PO was "staying with" with an individual who had an "ex" that was apparently not altogether enthralled with this new living arrangement. Moreover, the "ex" was the proud owner of a sledge hammer and by all accounts fancied himself quite adept in the use of his sledge hammer. As you might expect, in a chemically enhanced domonstration of artistic expression, and to reflect his displeasure with the new "living arrangement", he arrived late one night and commenced practicing "The Art of the Sledge Hammer". Didn't ya just know alcohol was gonna be involved?

Sadly, our little Savage became the artistic medium of the disenchanted sledge hammer sculptor who apparently took offense to the aesthetics of the tank, carb and clutch cover and promptly took it upon himself to do a bit of reshaping of those particular items as evidenced in the pic below.





Clearly, that tanks not gonna buff out and I'm now questioning whether JB Weld's gonna work for that clutch cover. None the less, replacement parts were secured for a mere $150 which would still make for a very reasonable little thumper.

However, when I removed the clutch cover and clutch I encountered damage that wasn't evident from the outside. It seems one of the sledge hammer blows smeared the heads of the 2 bolts on the case at the rear  of the starter and the forces traveled downward into the well that encirles the lower portion of the starter resulting in the 3 cracks as seen in the pic below.





And finally to the question. Could I stop drill the cracks and tig them up in place? The cracks would not appear to be in a highly stressed region and thus should not jeopardize the integrity of the case. I really don't relish the thought of tearing this engine down to swap out cases.

Your thoughts, prayers and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And for the record, yes the head plug leaks and no its not yet been Versied. But wouldn't we all hope that one day our name too would be used as a verb.

This forum's the best. Thanks!
Ron

Well,.. Versy does have the most rightful, and respected, title of "verb"...
....but,.. what is there to lose with trying?...
If your fix fails,.. you can probably buy a scrap engine as cheap as a bottom end?...
...(I guess, my question would be,..."Do you have a friend with a trailer?)... ... Just in case?...

In either case, (pun, craftily intended),...
I can't help but see an abused, dog pound dog,... finding a new life...
Hope you get her back on her feet...
...

PS,... I'm most certain that both you, and Versy, have more knowledge in the art case integrity... but, I can't help but encourage, experimentation...
...

Best luck,
Serow

Motorcycle cases can be welded.  In your situation you don't need high penetration or a strong weld.  You mention TIG but TIG does require that the base metal is melted and does generate a fair amount of heat.  A MIG welder can be set up to minimize heat and still deposit material very quickly.  If you can find a welder with experience in doing this sort of thing and one who is patient enough to weld only a small section at a time and let it cool before continuing then I think you have a chance for success.

Since you plan to weld it I don't know if stop drilling is necessary.  The weld and the heat should alleviate any existing stress concentrations at the end of the cracks and the welds will be wide enough to spread out any future stresses.  If you drill what will the drill hit when it pops through the case on the inside?  And where will the chips go?  I would  weld the ends of the cracks first, then the center, and fill in the rest.  With lots of air cooling time in between each weld.  I might be tempted to take a Dremel and grind out a very small bevel along the sides of the crack before welding.

I once had a case on a classic bike that was in three separate peices.  I can weld but I hired a welder who frequently welded aluminum to MIG it back together.  He charged me about $15, it was worth it.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. Versy, your point regarding the oil pressure is perhaps the most pressing concern. While the mating face of the case is flawless and free of a crack,I failed to check it for flatness. Indeed, it may be sufficiently deformed that it wouldn't hold pressure. And then, a swap out is in order.

And yet as noted, what do I have to lose? While I don't have a trailer, I have a pickup with loading ramps. And although I have MIG capabilities, I think this would be one for a professional. The welder I use for the "hard" work is just a stone's throw from my shop and is also an old biker who does great work for his biker customoers. My thoughts on stop drilling are rooted in aircraft aluminum work, not considering that it wouldn't be needed when welding. And I can do the dremel tool work.

With regard to a misshapen case, it is indeed. However the area affected is not in the transmission case. The backside is open to the area that holds the starter and thus gear engagement is likely unaffected. I suspect Versy's point regarding oil pressure containment is the crusical point.

So, with all due respect Versy, I think I'm going the check for flatness and if true, go for a weldup. And if she returns on the back of the pickup I will be back on here with profuse apologies and all due reverance. Perhaps one more opportunity to demonstate that the newb should've listened in the first place.

I'll keep you posted with updates as the drama unfolds.

I have a complete bottom end & 4-speed tranny, crankshaft & connecting rod from an 1988 savage that has 17,000 miles on it. I don't know if the 4-speed and 5-speed cases are the same...anyone know? I will post a pic of it later today. Asking 149.95 plus S&H.

Not a bad price on a bottom end

the late model top end will go on there nicely, but I'd rather have the late model cases and starter torque limiter.

and you will have to swap out the rotor cause the timing's different between the two.

If it were me I would try and save the existing case with tig welding the cracks. I don't see a problem with trying it first. You wanted the bike for a deal right? What do you have to lose at this point? If it doesn't work what are you out but the price of welding it and a clutch cover you can buy on e-bay for 20 bucks? The oil passage looks like it's still intact and the cracks look to be fairly close together. Weld her up and give it a shot.