CAT 250 Resto project help

#1
Hi , thanks for the welcome in the intro forum. Here is my first mini project. I was told it was a cat 250. The foot peg does not look original , but I don't know much other than what I learned here in the last few days. The head has a stamp of 8 d , but the decals look old and say 2 hp. I would like to go back stock as possible...
Do these frames have numbers ?
Do those foot pegs look original ?
Take a look at the hacksaw/hammer mod at the rear frame, I guess to get that hill climber sprocket to fit. One tooth bigger and it's a trencher!! A little welding in order after the soda blast.

Thanks again and any comments and help is much appreciated. Let's see if the pics show image.jpg
 

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#2
Hey Uncle Mike,

Welcome to the OldMiniBikes.

Nice little Cat you have there.

Your suspicion about the footpegs is correct, at least compared to mine anyway. Mine is a '69 model, and has solid footpegs that are welded about where your brake stop peg is.

The forks on yours interest me though...on mine, it looks like my handlebars, and possibly lower forks go 'back' a little bit but yours don't ? I wonder if they changed fork profiles, or if perhaps mine may have a little bit of high-speed impact profile to them ?

Anyway, cool little bike, and neat little briggs on there. Keep us posted as you progress.

RobertC
 
#3
Thanks Robert, I think the peg has to go, the welds don't look original. I guess I better get wrenching ! My wife says I'm actin 12 , I told her 7 cause I don't care about no girls.. Just MINI BIKES.. Great site and thanks again
 
#4
Hi Mike,
There should be a serial number on the front left side of the engine mounting plate. The first two digits will denote the year. As Robert pointed out, the pegs are wrong. Even if it had welded pegs (69) they're in the wrong position. Rear wheel is wrong, should have the five bolts like the front, and of course the rear sprocket it wrong, should be a 72 tooth that bolts directly to a flange on the rear wheel.

The engine is way older, and wrong than the original Briggs 2.5 HP. (But it is a cool engine) The later models had a Tecumseh. The forks look okay, although the bolt should go in from the top and a nut should be welded to the bottom tree. The seat is wrong too.

I (and several of us) have had these and restored them. Parts are fairly easy to find. I rode one around with a Briggs 2.5 and it pulled my 240 pounds around without too much problem, reaching a blistering 26 MPH maybe. Those brakes work quite well, and though they wear out a tire, work better than the other Cat brakes which are far more sophisticated.

Scrape off the paint and find that serial number. Some of the more qualified experts will no doubt be along to fill in any blanks or correct my evaluation. LOL. Everyone likes Cats. Great way to get into this addictive hobby.
 
#6
Thanks Dave, I will get to the frame number when my garage warms past 36! The motor shroud has stamped numbers 61102 940528 5907140 . I couldn't find anything here to I'd the year.. But it runs. I will look for the sprocket and rear wheel here.

Mike
 

45t

Well-Known Member
#7
Yours is a 1969 model. As Manchester pointed out, you still have part of one peg left that the scrub brake arm is resting against. Early 69 models had the welded on foot pegs, which HPE Muskin/Cat switched to folding pegs sometime later in 69/early 1970. If you take the purple paint off and its originally red its a 250X if its originally pink its a rare 250KC (girls bike).
 
#10
I could be wrong in process of moving and looking at your engine numbers..I have a factory manual from the 80's ...but the third set of numbers tells you when your engine was manufactured First two are the year and the second two the month next two are the date and the last number the shift..It would make your engine 7-14-1959 ..I got a 1961 Briggs just like yours.Mine is off a old reel lawnmower..I am guessing its not the original engine,but could be though.Not sure which year cat started up...
 
#12
Definitely not the original engine, it's a 1959 Briggs engine.
I could be wrong in process of moving and looking at your engine numbers..I have a factory manual from the 80's ...but the third set of numbers tells you when your engine was manufactured First two are the year and the second two the month next two are the date and the last number the shift..It would make your engine 7-14-1959 ..I got a 1961 Briggs just like yours.Mine is off a old reel lawnmower..I am guessing its not the original engine,but could be though.Not sure which year cat started up...
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#13
13 yr old with a hacksaw , chain clearance I guess ?? Amazing what we did to these things as kids !
Yea if you look at that big honkin' sprocket you can see it flares out, The wheel is still original so if they didnt bugger up the mount flange too bad all they need is a more correct sprocket to get it back to normal.......and alot of welding to the frame :laugh:
 
#14
Thanks guys! It is a 59 engine , and in like the bs stamp in the cover. The frame is red under the purple . I have not found any number on the frame, maybe after I strip it. What year did they first make CAT ? I will go with 69 if the I can't find a number, is that legit in mini bike world? I will get it back to period correct.. Not sure of color yet. I better get wrenching .

What a great site! This could become more than a hobby. I'm hooked!

Thanks again
 
#16
Thanks guys! It is a 59 engine , and in like the bs stamp in the cover. The frame is red under the purple . I have not found any number on the frame, maybe after I strip it. What year did they first make CAT ? I will go with 69 if the I can't find a number, is that legit in mini bike world? I will get it back to period correct.. Not sure of color yet. I better get wrenching .

What a great site! This could become more than a hobby. I'm hooked!

Thanks again
I started with the same bike, almost the same purple. That was at least 10 Cat restorations ago. Derek hasn't been around this thread yet, but as I recall, the determination that the welded frame bikes were 1969 was due to process of elimination. It's been awhile, but I think maybe that year did not have any serial number. (Later years, or Chain store destined bikes didn't either) The 69 was welded pegs, and the kick stand mount was not recessed like the other models. That might have been the first year, but I'm just guessing. You wont see any numbers (if they're even on there) until all of the paint is off of the fwd, left top area of the mounting plate.
 
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