Wow, it's been that long since I last posted? I'm lazy!
Okay, so after remodeling the livingroom, replacing the window, putting up wainscoting, landscaping the yard, freshening up the flowerbeds, mowing the lawn, and doing some spring cleaning, I finally got back to my bike today.
I stripped the rear fender mount/license bracket and clutch guard bracket and sprayed them with some black enamel.
I couldn't seem to get the old jackshaft apart from the frame on either side. The nut was rounded off, and the roll pin was stuck on the other side. I ended up grinding the sprocket off and cutting the nut in half. Even after that, I still couldn't get the roll pin out of the hole. I ended up getting a repopped jackshaft from Mark G (thanks Mark), and got it put together with the new sprocket and roll pin from BWMS. Some new bearings were popped in and it looks great. Should be ready to pop onto the bike frame when it gets back from powder (if I ever send it out :laugh
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Next, I took the shroud that I got from Markus and cleared the old paint. It had some pitting around the recoil studs, so I patched them up with some bondo and sanded them smooth. It ended up taking three rounds before I was satisfied with the result. Honestly, I still wasn't happy with it, but I was aggravated and didn't feel like doing it anymore!
Once I got it cleared and patched up, I redid the gas tank again. I sanded it down and patched a few little spots that I missed the first time. Then, I sprayed both the shroud, gas tank and an NOS air cleaner I picked up on Ebay with silver engine enamel. It's original Rupp, but it's pretty darn close.
Once those were done, I went ahead and sprayed the engine. It's been done since the first of March, but the weather has been too spotty to paint, so it had gotten shoved to the side.
I'm still not happy with how the block turned out. Tecumseh must have used a bad cast to make the block and crank case cover. They have little hairline cracks on the outside (they're superficial), and they look terrible. It also had some little bumps in the casting, which make the paint look like crap :doah: Oh well, moving right along.
Once the paint on the block dried, I got it all put back together. I'm going to coat the engine and gas tank with Eastwood 2K clearcoat this week if the weather holds up. I'd hate to see it get ruined by a little bit of gas.
I picked up an NOS diaphragm carb on Ebay a while back. I opted not to paint it, even though the original was painted silver like the engine. I think it looks good as-is.
I am hoping I can get some time to get the frame, swingarm, fork mids and footpegs out this week for powder. I've been dragging my feet, but I've gotta kick into high gear if I want to meet the deadline.
More to come!